I've studied art and fashion for as long as I can remember, and can't think of a time when I didn't have a keen interest in personal adornment in a variety of forms. Decorating the human body can be a celebration of personal expression. I feel exceptionally lucky to be able to create a variety of unique pieces for my clients, and take great care to design pieces to help fit their personal style.

I am a very detail-oriented person, and enjoy designing pieces that capture attention on a number of levels -- catching the eye from across the room and keeping interest as one looks more closely at the interplay between texture and color. Many of my pieces are the result of play and experimentation rather than an elaborately crafted color theory; this approach allows each piece to be a fresh experience. The organic look of many of the designs on these pages is no accident; I strongly believe they grow naturally out of the materials on hand with a little encouragement on my part.

I've often been asked, "How do you do it?" In all sincerity, the best answer I can ever give is simply, "I gather up things I like the look of, and find a pleasing way to make them fit together." I wish I had a more elegant answer to offer, but that's the needed element of experimentation. Fitting the pieces together often takes a great deal of time, and trial and error is essential. I've attempted to teach in the past, and it simply doesn't work -- many of the things I do when constructing a piece are things I've done long enough in solitude that I wouldn't know where to begin; they come as naturally as writing my name on a piece of paper.

As freeform as my design process may be, I take my work very seriously. I have been a professional jewelry designer full time since 2000. It is important to me that my work meets a very high standard for durability, balance, and quality. I commonly work for over fourteen hours per day, and feel this is necessary to allow for the level of detail I consider a necessary aspect of my designs.

The studio itself is located in my home in Delaware, and working from home has given me time to dedicate to my designs with a minimum of distraction. As I've always been a night owl, the ability to work through the quiet of the wee hours of morning is a measure of flexibility for which I am eternally grateful. Working out of a home studio has its disadvantages as well: we haven't had a living room in years; the beads took it over entirely. (This is all ignoring the look on the faces of houseguests when I tell them to please avoid the corner with the sheets of glass, or tracking sequins and seed beads to two European countries!)

I consider myself very fortunate to have been raised in an environment with a strong emphasis on the arts, and to enjoy endless encouragement from my family -- an equally creative bunch -- to pursue my work. My mother, Arlene Finocchiaro, has her own jewelry design business, The Olive Branch, and specializes in polymer clay pins and pendants. Many of the polymer components on these pages are her handiwork. She does not have a website at this time.