Nancy Troske: 30 Years of Beautiful Chains, Enamel and Granulation!

Nancy Troske In Her Studio

I "met" Nancy Troske when she contacted me after finding my blog as she went in search of another great designer recently profiled here; Holly Rittenhouse.


I love Nancy's jewelry but was most impressed that she has successfully sustained a 30 year career as a jewelry designer. I am just beginning to get the drift of how challenging it is to actually make money in this business, so her ability to achieve success for a span of more than 30 years tells me that we all would be smart to pay attention to what she has to say...so I asked her what the top three essential elements are to achieving long term success and here is what she had to say:


1) Stick with it and don’t get discouraged.

2) Don’t be afraid to experiment and learn from your mistakes. Mistakes are the best teachers.
3) Change with the times, don’t get stuck in your ways.


Tell us about your training....you studied at a variety of places including the highly respected Revere Academy...what did you find valuable from each of these places of instruction?

My very first class was in 1976. It was silver jewelry class at a very small craft store in Croton, NY called “Wondrous Things.” There I first learned to make a basic silver bangle bracelet, which I still have! They taught soldering, metal forming, forging and stone setting. Eventually, I taught classes there to beginning students.

Suppliers back were very limited; one day I was in NYC at Myron Tobak buying supplies and there was an ad for ancient jewelry making classes in downtown Manhattan called “The Jewelry Workshop & Gallery.” It was run by Fredricka Kulicke and Joseph English. There I learned the ancient techniques of enameling, granulation and chain making. It was a fantastic school. I’ve since read on Ganoskin, in a comment by Fredricka Kulicke, that most people in the US today doing granulation either learned it at her school or at her father’s school (Robert Kulicke) or from a student of those schools.

I moved to San Francisco in 1979 and found employment as a bench jeweler. The company that hired me sent me to the California College of Arts & Crafts and then to the Revere Academy of Goldsmithing (as it was called then) to learn jewelry repair and diamond setting. Alan Revere taught the classes and he is absolutely the best teacher you could ever have.

You also teach. What do you enjoy about this part of your work?

I love seeing the excitement of students finishing their first pieces. One student said she wished she had a padded room so she could jump around in it; she was so elated with her enameled ring! It is really thrilling. I love being able to pass along all I’ve learned over the years.

How do you balance the design and creation with the business side of making money?

I try to keep my finger on the pulse of what customers want while not straying too far away from my own core.

For me, it’s important to decide when to use a commercial item in my work and not hand fabricate every single element, as I was trained to do. For example, I know how to make a box clasp but does it make sense for me when I can purchase one for a few dollars and solder it into the piece I’m making? I have to decide when I can make money on that extra labor and when I can’t.

What do you think is the most successful way to get your pieces in front of a ready-to-buy consumer?

Although I sell online, I think my jewelry sells best in person. The chain pieces, especially, have a solid, sensual feel that people fall in love with when they pick one up. My work sells well at art galleries and by word of mouth.

What advice do you have for fledgling jewelry designers?

Keep two notebooks – one for projects and one for ideas.

Always keep copious notes and photos on your projects. I have my notebooks from the day I started making jewelry and I refer to them frequently.

Keep an idea notebook with you as much as possible, you never know when inspiration will strike!

You say you are inspired by the Hudson Valley. What do you pull from this beautiful landscape?

I take my inspiration from the local and seasonal color. The sunsets around here are magnificent, I’ve lived in many areas but they are never as dramatic and colorful as they here. The Hudson River and the surrounding mountains present beautiful color combinations year round. I pull these colors into my enamels. The river is peaceful, quiet, and embracing and has inspired generations of artist and designers. I strive to reflect this in my jewelry.

Nancy's work can be found on her website and the following galleries:

http://www.ozworksgallery.com/ Ozworks Gallery, Cold Spring, NY
http://www.riverwindsgallery.com/ River Winds Gallery, Beacon, NY

Back Room Gallery, Fishkill, NY

Thank you, Nancy for your excellent advice. I am going to stop feeling discouraged about all my mistakes...I know I am learning from every one of them!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sally

Holly Rittenhouse: Subtle Discovery

Holly Rittenhouse in Her Studio

Thanks for stopping by...

One of my favorite Los Angeles boutique stores is freehand located on Third Street among some of the best haunts in town. I love to stop in and gaze at the beautiful jewelry, ceramics, fibers and wood pieces...and the staff is always friendly and accommodating. Not long ago, I went in search of some new jewelry designers and found several works on display that knocked my socks off including the work of Holly Rittenhouse. I am finding that many jewelry designers started their studies and careers in fine art....it turns out that Holly is no exception; originally studying fine art and sculpture, but then turning her focus to jewelry design. Here's what she had to say:

You studied fine art and sculpture, but then chose to focus on jewelry design. Tell us what attracted you to this form of expression?

Jewelry design has all the ingredients of making art, but it’s more fun and rewarding because I can focus solely on aesthetics, form, and function. When making fine art, at least with my background, the emphasis was always on content, then aesthetics. But then I got older and my focus changed. I love jewelry design because I can put my energies into combining form and function with aesthetics.

How would you describe your style?

Contemporary to begin with. I would like to be able to say Modern too, however I think I may not fall into that description strictly. Geometric perhaps, and also casual. I’ve always found it hard to stick to one “style” because a lot of things interest me.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I do look to the Modernist jewelers from the Mid-Century. I also make note of how mechanisms work, on a simple scale, both man-made mechanisms and those in the natural world. And I can’t help but see jewelers working all around me who make the most inspiring work! I love to see it.

I find your work beautifully subtle. What do you find most challenging about achieving this effect?

Why thank you. I would say that ultimately the way it looks is a reflection of the way I solve problems and search for solutions through elements I find intriguing. I self edit A LOT. I think I must be searching for just that particular piece of jewelry that has an element of discovery to it; and you have to get up close to find it. The search is the challenge.

What do you do when you struggle with inspiration?

I have all these parts and bits on my workbench left from unfinished thoughts, or 3-dimensional note-taking if you will, which I use as building blocks for the next group of pieces. I also look at books, or go online to a website called Metalcyberspace. It is an amazing resource of people and information. It has a huge directory of jewelers’ websites. Sometimes, too, I just get out of the studio for a little while; take in new sights and sounds so-to-speak.

What is most challenging for you as an artist to spend the time an energy necessary to make your work successful as a business?

This is something I’m just learning about and I am finding it very challenging indeed to think of what I make as a business. Coming from the fine art background I have, I find it interesting that the things I’m creating cross the line into product. This is a counter intuitive intersection to me. The other challenge is one everyone knows about, organizing time. I have to remember not to let all the tasks involved with business creep in on the highest priority, making the jewelry itself. So I’ve needed to identify the times of day I’m best at being creative and use those to the best advantage. The rest of the hours, p.m. mostly, I use to take care of everything else. My biggest challenge is that I’m not a“p.m.” person.

What do you think are the best ways to market one-of-a-kind jewelry?

My first thought is to say through galleries that promote the Arts and Crafts. Right now, I think that is where people are best able to appreciate and understand the context of this unique jewelry. But it would be nice to come up with new venues for the Arts and Crafts; new ways for people to come across them. Again, I see it as that intersection of art and product/merchandise. It’s new to me and I’m giving it a lot of thought.

You recently tried marketing your jewelry to wholesalers. What was that experience like?

It was eye opening! Of course it was also my first event like it. Up until now I have sold my work only on consignment through galleries.The ACC Baltimore show presented me with a whole new set of variables. I enjoyed being a part of the community of Artists and Craftspeople for that week. Most fascinating is seeing/watching who buyers are, what they look for, what they ask about. Putting yourself in their shoes, you understand that they have looked at 750 booths (overloading!) in a day or two and are making decisions about where to put their money for the coming year–and not a good economic one either.

What advise do you have for other jewelry designers?

Set yourself apart. Advise I need to always keep in mind too.

Holly's amazing work can be seen by May in the following locations:

Mimosa in Saratoga Springs

Ozworks Gallery in Cold Spring

An American Craftsman Gallery in Slate Hill

Pistachios in Chicago

Cockerill in Cinncinati

Artswork in LeClaire, Iowa

Silver Works and More in Lawrence, KS

Discoveries in Tustin, CA

Holly also has plans to do retail shows this year such as the La QuintaArts Festival march 14-16 and the Tuscon 4th Street Spring Fair in April.

In the Los Angeles area, Holly's work is also shown at the Pasadena Museum of History and be sure to visit her website: http://www.hollyrittenhouse.com/

Enjoy!

Sally