About the Jewelry
Philosophy
We now live in a digital age, art as we know it is entering a new plane, one that seems to be seamlessly and without question integrating the digital and the handmade. I am drawn to the art of goldsmithing because the techniques it utilizes today are not so far different from the ones it has used for hundreds of years. I strongly believe that myself and my generation need to leave something more tangible behind than just a digital footprint. Moreover, we need to retain the knowledge we have as makers and share the healing properties of craft with those who have lost touch with that part of their humanity. Humans are an incredibly adept species, capable of making so many incredible things, and yet we are losing this and giving our opposable thumbs over to tiny touchscreens and hanging on to singular moments in the virtual web of time to keep us content. I believe true joy (and a verifiable cure for depression) comes from the act of making things by hand. Our brains need our hands to make things. It is with this in mind that I have chosen to remain traditional in my studio. Each piece at Belle Brooke Designs is made using traditional tools and techniques, with human hands.
The Process
Each piece of Belle Brooke Designs jewelry is made using traditional tools and techniques in Santa Fe, NM. As a professionally trained goldsmith, Belle specializes in hand fabrication and stone setting. The jewelry is produced in small batches and made with heart and soul in each piece by both Belle herself and her admirable assistant, Shannon.
Belle creates two types of jewelry, one-of-a-kind works and production works. Both are unique. All of the jewelry is made from either sterling silver or 18 karat gold, or a mix of the two. Belle’s work is known for her meticulous craftsmanship and keen attention to detail. All of the metals are 100% certified recycled, and all of the stones and diamonds are natural as well as conflict free.
The one-of-a-kind pieces are made directly in metal from milled materials, sheet, wire, and tubing. These are unique pieces that take a significant amount of time to develop and execute. These pieces usually, but not always, feature high quality semi-precious stones as a centerpiece. They are works of art in the form of bodily adornment.
For the production work, we offer pieces with and without semi-precious stone centerpieces. The pieces with a unique gemstone are called “unique production”; due to the rarity and variety in material we cannot always source another stone of the exact same character.
We use a local casting company to create multiples of the frame elements only, for our production work. All of the castings are created as metal models first, not as wax carvings, which creates a crisp second generation piece. The tubing matrix is added in by hand on each piece, as it is not able to be cast, and therefore cannot be replicated or “mass produced”, this gives each piece its own true fingerprint and makes each and every piece we produce unique.
We pride ourselves on our work, on making it here in Santa Fe, and without the aid of computer technology. It is Belle’s mission to do it this way and uphold her belief in, and philosophy of, handcrafted.