Karen Edgerly

There is a saying in Japan, wabi-sabi, meaning there is beauty in the imperfect. I love jewelry that is slightly off-centered either by stone setting or just a little bend in the metal. When designing a piece I always look for a way to make it slightly imperfect. I want people wearing my jewelry to feel they own a piece that no one else does, and one the feels like is has been especially made for them. Each piece holds its own story in either the stones, glass, rust or just the design. Having majored in geology and art, I love working with all types of stones – knowing their science along with their art form, make it particularly fun for me. Precious or semi-precious gems accent my work, i.e. a piece of Greek sea glass accented with tourmaline and tiny diamonds, American turquoise accented with sapphires and topaz, or a rusted washer made into a belt buckle with agate and sapphires. I also mix silver with a little bit of gold creating a richness to my pieces. My jewelry embraces the fine craft of silversmithing using various techniques and plays with mixing silver with other metals and always adding the sparkling aspect of faceted stones. And yes there is imperfection in beautiful jewelry.

I discovered silversmithing when I was 13 years old, I took a class at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, where I grew up. I was hooked. I took jewelry classes all through high school and college, where I majored both in science and art. I then went on to be an environmental geologist and a science teacher. I taught for 20 years. My plan was to go back to silversmithing when I retired, but thirteen years ago a serious health issue changed my path. Faced with looking at my mortality, I knew I had to leave teaching and start the career I had wanted to do years before. I took a sabbatical and then silversmithing classes at the community college. I took over my teenagers’ tv room and created a studio. And my business has grown from there, along with my health. It has been an amazing journey. I love what I do and the journey I am on. My jewelry embraces the scientist and artist in me.