Moose Spotlight: Creating Handcrafted and Timeless Jewelry
Meet the jewelry artist behind the Instagram account @coastalninejewelry, Ana Maria Hanken from Plymouth, MA. She has been making jewelry for 15 years now!
@coastalninejewelry on Instagram
As an artist, it is also important to know where you source your materials. For someone who uses turquoise, we got curious as to where Ana gets hers. She mentioned she actually just got started into working with turquoise! In her fifteen years of creating jewelry, turquoise has always been a stone she wanted to work with and we are so lucky we are Ana’s first turquoise vendor!
“I’m in love with all my stones so far and can’t wait to get more,” she shares.
What are the things that help you make the decisions on which pieces to purchase?
Being a one-stop-shop for all your turquoise needs, we wanted to know what are the deciding factors for artists in choosing which turquoise pieces to work with. For Ana, she said that at times, she already has a design in mind whenever she looks for pieces to work with. More often, she tends to purchase pieces that have caught her eye, and then she eventually figures out what to do with them after.
If it isn’t that obvious just yet, turquoise is pretty high up there when it comes to our fave stones. From a jewelry artist’s perspective, we wanted to know what are the pros and cons of working with turquoise.
Ana shared what she likes about working with turquoise. For starters, she thinks it is such a raw and natural-looking stone. In addition, she loves the look turquoise brings to designs and its amazing contrast with silver.
The downside for her is the porosity and softness of the stone. She emphasized how someone has to be really careful whenever working with turquoise on the bench. Ana also said to avoid certain things such as an ultrasonic.
As someone who just got her hands on turquoise stones, Ana has been really loving her surfboard-shaped turquoise stones from the Sand Hill mine!
In our efforts in making sure we do our best in making eco-friendly choices, we wanted to know and get inspired by how artists do their part for the environment.
Ana, as a jewelry artist, tries to continually educate herself on safe and eco-friendly studio practices. This involves safer chemicals to refining scrap metals. She also makes sure to source her stones from trusted sources. Moreover, as much as possible, she tries to use recycled metal, either from the refiner or from her studio.
For someone who has been creating beautiful pieces for more than a decade, we thought of asking if Ana had a favorite design technique or signature of her own. She mentioned that up to this date, she is still always trying to learn new techniques. Now that she works for herself, Ana enjoys having the creative freedom to make whatever she wants to. “I’m having fun playing around with different mediums, stones, and styles.” Way to go - and yes to creative freedom!
Here's a preview of her latest turquoise creations. So gorgeous! We can't wait to see more!
by Ana Maria Hanken of @coastalninejewelry on Instagram
What do you like about working with Turquoise Moose?
“It has been a pleasure to work with Turquoise Moose. The quality and stone options are great, my questions got answered right away and shipping was fast.”
- Ana Maria Hanken
ARTIST TIP:
“Try and finish the top rim of the bezel as polished as you can; that way once the stone is set it will make bright cutting the bezel easier.”
Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coastalninejewelry/
Take a look at her website: http://www.coastalnine.com/
