A Jewelry Designer’s Hand-Forged and Rustic Creations
This is jewelry artist Amanda Brittin, also known as @amandabrittin on Instagram. She is based in Mount Albert, Ontario, Canada, and she has been making jewelry for fifteen years now.
When we asked her what got her started in creating jewelry, she shared with us that her educational and earlier work background is in Archaeology and Anthropology and she loves the look of ancient jewelry that has been unearthed - the patina, the decay, the years of use, and then preservation until the pieces are excavated.
With this, Amanda was inspired to create her own ancient-looking pieces and to put her own creative vision in her rustic jewelry.
Like most creators, she also had challenges with her craft. For her, as a self-taught artist, the early part of the learning was difficult. She expounded that there are so many tricky little things a beginner just has to go through to achieve even modest success. When she first started, she remembered she overheated and melted a lot of pieces.
Eventually, those lessons are learned through hours and hours of repeating the process. She continued, “Learn that solder follows the heat, learn to keep your silver clean, learn to heat the larger pieces up first before trying to solder, learn to use heat sinks and protect delicate parts...so much that I don't even think about now because it is just part of the everyday process of making jewelry, but it took quite a long time to get to that comfort.” That being said, Amanda still melts things once in a while, and she declares it keeps her humble.
When it comes to inspiration, Amanda is inspired by nature for so many of her jewelry pieces. Living on a rural forested property with adjacent wetlands, nature is certainly a part of her daily life.
With her work, she uses silver to create stylized leaves, flowers, birds, insects, and other elements of nature. Adding to that, she also likes incorporating these bits and pieces to highlight the beautiful stones she uses to her design and to bring it all together. Her assemblage necklaces are one of her more iconic pieces of jewelry illustrating this.
As turquoise lovers, we asked why she works with them. According to Amanda, turquoise is her favorite stone and always has been, both for personal adornment and to work with. She elaborated that she loves that turquoise has such an earthy quality and so much variation, depending on where it comes from. Adding she loves that it is found in all different parts of the world - an international stone! Turquoise really lends itself well to her rustic style of jewelry-making.
Take a look at some of her beautiful pieces!
by Amanda Brittin of @amandabrittin on Instagram
Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandabrittin/
Check out her website: https://amandabrittin.com/
What do you like most about working with Turquoise Moose?
“TM is always super professional and I like that I am always going to get exactly what I thought I was buying. The cabochons are always beautifully made and well photographed. I feel like I can count on the quality every time. Also, if I have a question, the quick response is very much appreciated.”
