I grew up in Kiel, Germany and remember how I spent timeless summers along with my two sisters scouring the beaches of the Baltic Sea, always on the lookout for small pieces of golden amber amongst the sand and rocks. Although I had no formal training, this Baltic amber along with other small “treasures” of varying shapes and colors ended up in my very first creations of earrings and bracelets. It was a very humble beginning to a design career and I remember it fondly.
I moved to the United States in 1988 and enrolled in my first jewelry making classes at the Massachusetts College of Art. Two years later I transferred to the technical program at the North Bennett Street School in Boston’s North End.
Next, I studied under Cecelia Bauer in New York in the late 1980s and discovered the ancient granulation technique I have used extensively in my designs. I put my first jewelry line together while completing my technical studies and immediately began to sell some early designs for my collection at several arts and crafts shows locally.
I established Cornelia Goldsmith Studio in Sausalito, California in 1994 and remained there, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, until early 2013 when I moved the design studio to San Francisco in an old brick building that overlooks San Francisco Bay.
I completed the “Jewelry Design” course at GIA in 2011 to better learn how to render my ideas on paper. Prior to that I relied on some relatively basic sketches (some might say scribbles!) to develop my ideas. Being able to render my designs in watercolor has streamlined the first stage of a new earring or bracelet I might be thinking about and allows me to better visualize and incorporate color into my design from the first moment.
The Design Process
I dream in shapes, colors and of little things that pass through my life. These motifs gradually transform into more developed ideas for a piece of jewelry, usually through several iterations of drawings. I feel a great need to get them out of my system once they become earrings, necklaces, brooches and rings. It feels very purifying, really, to design, render and fabricate some idea into existence as a finished piece of jewelry – and it is equally fulfilling when I am finally able to see my jewelry being worn.
My jewelry reflects an enduring love of natural, organic forms that blend ancient and new world sentiments. I also have a deep appreciation for exacting craftsmanship and fine detail, which are very important to me and, I suppose, express my view of the world.
Favorite Gemstones and Metals
There are so many beautiful gemstones, so it is really very difficult to choose a favorite. I do love to design with sapphires – just because they exist in so many gorgeous colors of the rainbow! I also use a lot of tourmalines. And of course diamonds – in all shapes and sizes.
My jewelry is all handmade in various combinations of alloys such as 18K white and yellow gold, 21K yellow gold and platinum. I also like to make a few of the designs in silver. We manufacture our own alloys in the workshop, making sheet and wire in all shapes and thicknesses.
Motivation
Being a designer is very fulfilling for me and I love deriving my inspiration from all the little things that surround me in my life.
I believe we should act as stewards of the planet and the environment, so take the extra time and expense to seek out and use conflict-free and recycled materials. I think that is of vital importance. We really have no other choice if we are to leave behind a world fit to inhabit for future generations.
Cornelia Goldsmith. Photo provided by Cornelia Goldsmith.
I grew up in Kiel, Germany and remember how I spent timeless summers along with my two sisters scouring the beaches of the Baltic Sea, always on the lookout for small pieces of golden amber amongst the sand and rocks. Although I had no formal training, this Baltic amber along with other small “treasures” of varying shapes and colors ended up in my very first creations of earrings and bracelets. It was a very humble beginning to a design career and I remember it fondly.
I moved to the United States in 1988 and enrolled in my first jewelry making classes at the Massachusetts College of Art. Two years later I transferred to the technical program at the North Bennett Street School in Boston’s North End.
Next, I studied under Cecelia Bauer in New York in the late 1980s and discovered the ancient granulation technique I have used extensively in my designs. I put my first jewelry line together while completing my technical studies and immediately began to sell some early designs for my collection at several arts and crafts shows locally.
I established Cornelia Goldsmith Studio in Sausalito, California in 1994 and remained there, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, until early 2013 when I moved the design studio to San Francisco in an old brick building that overlooks San Francisco Bay.
I completed the “Jewelry Design” course at GIA in 2011 to better learn how to render my ideas on paper. Prior to that I relied on some relatively basic sketches (some might say scribbles!) to develop my ideas. Being able to render my designs in watercolor has streamlined the first stage of a new earring or bracelet I might be thinking about and allows me to better visualize and incorporate color into my design from the first moment.
The Design Process
I dream in shapes, colors and of little things that pass through my life. These motifs gradually transform into more developed ideas for a piece of jewelry, usually through several iterations of drawings. I feel a great need to get them out of my system once they become earrings, necklaces, brooches and rings. It feels very purifying, really, to design, render and fabricate some idea into existence as a finished piece of jewelry – and it is equally fulfilling when I am finally able to see my jewelry being worn.
My jewelry reflects an enduring love of natural, organic forms that blend ancient and new world sentiments. I also have a deep appreciation for exacting craftsmanship and fine detail, which are very important to me and, I suppose, express my view of the world.
Favorite Gemstones and Metals
There are so many beautiful gemstones, so it is really very difficult to choose a favorite. I do love to design with sapphires – just because they exist in so many gorgeous colors of the rainbow! I also use a lot of tourmalines. And of course diamonds – in all shapes and sizes.
My jewelry is all handmade in various combinations of alloys such as 18K white and yellow gold, 21K yellow gold and platinum. I also like to make a few of the designs in silver. We manufacture our own alloys in the workshop, making sheet and wire in all shapes and thicknesses.
Motivation
Being a designer is very fulfilling for me and I love deriving my inspiration from all the little things that surround me in my life.
I believe we should act as stewards of the planet and the environment, so take the extra time and expense to seek out and use conflict-free and recycled materials. I think that is of vital importance. We really have no other choice if we are to leave behind a world fit to inhabit for future generations.
Cornelia Goldsmith. Photo provided by Cornelia Goldsmith.
