People often ask me my jewelry background, where did I learn to make jewelry? The truth is I am completely self taught! Until recently I had only ever taken one jewelry class, on a Saturday afternoon all the way back in 1995. It was a wire wrapping class held at a bead store in downtown Buffalo, NY. I had been recovering there from a back injury, and after the class was through I bought enough materials to keep practicing at my grandmother's country kitchen table during my recovery.
Back then there were no youtube tutorials, so I mostly learned on my own trying different techniques and observing different styles at farmer's markets and art festivals. Jewelry making had always been something I loved, and I had been making crochet and macrame designs up until then.
A few years later in 1999 my son was born, and I never got the chance to professionally study jewelry (or business) before opening Sayulita Sol in 2004. As I realized that the store was becoming quite successful, I longed for the opportunity to take classes and learn more about the process of jewelry making and metalsmithing. But the balance of raising my son and running a business made it impossible to pursue my dream of studying. I decided that when my son graduated high school I would return to school myself.
Obsidian graduated in June 2018, and I enrolled in a jewelry school in San Miguel de Allende that August 2018. I spent the month immersed in silversmithing and spent every possible moment in the studio. I learned so much during that month, but when I returned home to Sayulita I didn't have the tools I needed to create my own home studio. It took me about a year to gather together all I needed just to get started. By the time I was ready to begin I had forgotten most of the process I had been taught in school. I often played around with designs, but wasn't able to produce finished products that I felt represented the quality of Sayulita Sol. So I decided to return to school once again.
This past September I returned to San Miguel de Allende once again, and took another month of classes. It was so nice to return to my school and familiarize myself with the process. I realized how much I had grown in two years. I also realized the little steps I had forgotten, so important to create a quality finished product. I am back home now and my home jewelry studio was here waiting for me. I've been working there almost daily, and I am SO excited to share the new designs I have been creating. My plan is to sell the designs in our store and online using my name, Kimberley Keehn Originals. For the moment I will be just be making one of a kind pieces! Make sure you are on our email list to be notified when they are available!
