Lulu Smith Jewelry is the exploration of a colorist. An artist and designer, Lulu hand-pigments and hand-pours the resin in each piece. Simplicity and bold color outlined by sterling silver are the central elements of her distinctive style. Some of her jewelry features sensual, haphazardly poured color, some are complex, conceptual and exotic, while some just make you smile from the simple, happy visual impact. Lulu had an early interest in jewelry and color. As a child, she vividly remembers her mother hand-dyeing wool to make folk art style rugs and talking to her casually about the importance of color in people’s lives. She discovered her affinity for adorning the body when she became preoccupied with sewing, making friendship pins and hand-braided bracelets as a young girl. This same obsessive habit had her signing up for metalsmithing classes while in high school and later for two apprenticeships with local jewelers while in college. She completed her BFA in 1995 with a double emphasis in painting and ceramics, not realizing at that time that jewelry was really her calling. Shortly after college, Lulu Smith Studio was created, selling to jewelry stores, American Craft galleries and to small design boutiques nationwide. In August of 2005, she released over 60 new designs, this time turning to an emphasis on line and color instead of the painterly pours she had become so well-known for in the past few years. Her work has appeared in American Craft Magazine, Metalsmith Magazine, InStyle Magazine, and in early spring of this year graced the cover the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. New fans and collectors alike commission one-of-a-kind pieces from Lulu, often giving her carte blanche to create what she wishes. Lulu Smith jewelry is currently sold at galleries, e-sites, musuem stores and boutiques such as Patina Gallery, Guild.com, Walker Art Center, and the International Metalsmith Exhibition Center. Popular pieces include her backless earrings that glow like glass in the light, and her bracelets, which are her favorite thing to make.

Here you can see her new collection. This new work springs from a collection of drawings she did the year after her daughter was born. The interest in hand-pigmenting and layering color is still there, as is the interest in opacity and translucency. Beautiful…