My tools and workspace will, of course, be separate from the open space, but I do hope to build a space for a community of creators and people who are inspired by my work. I hope that my jewelry will only make it more fascinating to be part of a community encouraging the arts and creativity.

Understanding this feeling of discouragement is part of the process and has made me a better maker and a better designer. I remind myself this when a project feels like it is going nowhere; to keep going and to believe in the process. I initially questioned finishing this piece (took months to finish this--thanks Chithra for encoraging me to finish this piece) for example, but I finished it and now you are reading it. Yay!

Some of my most successful designs and pieces, I doubted ever making and have put down on the table after starting for a few weeks or months. I respect this process, if I am not feeling an idea or a project, I let it rest. Until I am in the right mindset. But I try to not wait for too long; also known as procrastinating.

I strike to make work that is undeniably beautiful and innovative. Work that has not been seen before anywhere else. More than a jewelry designer or maker I feel like a painter. I can create so much detail using granulation. I never thought I would have the opportunity to carry the legacy of granulation.

I am used to answering hundreds of questions by now but recently one of my students asked me “When did you find out you are an artist?”

JEWELRY X FURNITURE BY NELLY