One request now keeps jewelry on artist's mind

One request now keeps jewelry on artist’s mind
Chicago Suburban News, IL

Hinsdale, IL –
Hinsdale resident Colleen Smith now spends about 40 hours a week working on something that started as a request from her sister: making jewelry.
“My sister came to me and said she was going to a wedding, and she wanted me to put something together for her,” Smith said.

She created a chunky necklace of semiprecious stones.
“She got a lot of compliments on it,” Smith said, and her jewelry-making grew from there. The necklaces, bracelets and earrings are part of a collection called Colleen’s Creation.

Smith recently brought her necklaces, bracelets and earrings to the Hinsdale Art Fair. It was her first year at the show.
“I didn’t expect it to go so well and have so many great responses to my jewelry,” Smith said.

Most of Smith’s jewelry is “pretty organic looking,” she said. She uses semiprecious stone, wood, sterling silver and gold to create her pieces.
“All my things are wearable,” Smith said. “I didn’t want to create something that was too much of a piece, so people would be afraid to wear it,” she said.
Color and texture are the main inspirations for Smith’s jewelry, as well as how two different stones will look together and as a piece, she said.

She keeps some tools and materials in a bag in her car so she can work on her jewelry wherever she is, describing herself as “kind of nomadic.”
“Just because I love doing it, I’m always thinking about it,” Smith said. “It’s about putting that piece together. There’s something about it that makes you feel so good.”

Her brother’s death in April gave Smith a new reason to create jewelry. Todd Smith died from Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. She hopes to hold a fundraiser for Ewing’s Sarcoma research, as well as donate a portion of her jewelry proceeds to the cause.

“It means a lot for me to do something as a benefit with my jewelry for Todd,” Smith said. “It’s devastating, and there’s no cure,” Smith said.
Smith’s jewelry is sold at Urban Sole shoe stores, in Hinsdale and La Grange, as well as home shows. Her work can be viewed online at www.creativestonejewelry.com.