Jessica Balazovich

Meet the Designer-Artist

Where do you live?

Flint, Michigan

What inspires you as a designer-artist?

Usually gemstones or the beads themselves. Color schemes in nature and around the community.

What medium do you work with mostly?

Gemstones, glass seed beads (Delica®), leather and crystal.

Why did you become enchanted with this style of jewelry-making?

I love the freedom of knowing many different techniques. I’m also a huge fan of malachite and wanted to try my hand at something monochrome. Embroidery allows for a custom setting for the stones that can adjust and adapt to the stone and surroundings and incorporating a few different techniques means lots of different, yet cohesive textures.

Where and how do you sell your jewelry?

Usually through my Facebook business page.

What is the name of the piece you submitted with your success story?

Malachite Madness

What inspired this design?

The love of malachite and wanting to try something monochromatic.

How did it come together?

I knew I wanted to use the malachite cabochons and teardrops but didn't know how to connect them all together. Then I found the donut. I had had the emerald beads surrounding the two cabochons for some time and wanted to work them in somehow as well. So long story short (not really) it developed over time with certain components I wanted to include.