Richard Hoff
My earliest memories are of picking up a piece of quartz, playing with a broken twig, marveling at a lighting bug. Then the amazement I felt when I found out earthworms eat dirt, trying to catch crayfish, their segmented bodies faster than my mammal hands. Watching an ungamely beetle lift its shell plates and fly away.

I've never stopped relishing the evolutionary whims that shape the flora and fauna around us. Only now I try to show my reverence for the natural world by attempting to duplicate some of it in metal. Letting colored alloys and surface texture highlight their bits and pieces.

My hope is that somewhere there are others who will enjoy wearing these little adornments and that they too will remember we're all just part of a process.

Patty Parise Minkowski
"Holding the raw materials, I can feel the weight, the work and the potential."

It was the process that first attracted me to the art of jewelry design and fabrication. The guidance of my teachers and peers from The Maryland Institute College of Art helped establish my jewelry techniques.

Typically, I work in series, such as "Leaf and Bamboo", "Abstract Glass", and "Bling" based on the organic forms of flowers, bamboo leaves, stalks and vines. By using sterling silver, with intricate cutouts, diachronic glass, jasper, carnelian and lapis, I create repetition, color and movement to evoke energy and mood. The evolution of each series is visible in my jewelry's excessive detail.

Clara Ines Arana
Throughout my life as a metal-smith, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to different cultures, teachers, and techniques. These experiences, as well as long research on the artist production of my people's culture, have led me to discover a new line of work.

I find myself now working on pieces that show simplicity in their design, where forms, shape, space, and color are represented with more clarity, and where lines and movement give a deep, sculptural feeling to the piece.

I feel that these cultural influences in my work have just begun; and I am ready to keep moving in that direction.

Ruslan Tokaev
Ruslan Tokaev was born in an artistic family. Both his parents were graduates of S. Petersburg Academy of Ballet. Inheriting his parents' talent, Ruslan decided to continue the tradition of the family. After completing his education, he became a ballet dancer. He had a successful career, working in different theaters in Russia. After sustaining an injury, Ruslan's dancing career ended prematurely.

Having always been an artistic & creative person, Ruslan decided to try himself in the art of jewelry. He became an apprentice in a jewelry factory and then continued his education in a School of Jewelry Art. From an apprentice in the jewelry factory to creating his own inspired designs, Ruslan's career spans 25 years.

He has participated in many international exhibits and won awards for jewelry design. He is a member of IFA UNESCO (International Federation of Artists and Graphic Design).

He has lived and worked in Baltimore since 1999.

Emma Villedrouin
Renaissance art, ornate Byzantine detail and the simple flowers of her garden inspire Emma's luminous gold pieces. She uses traditional time honored techniques to fabricate her pieces one at a time.

Emma was raised in Haiti and in New England. Her upbringing in these two dramatically different, yet equally rich cultural environments has influenced her personal sense of color and appreciation for bold shapes.

Emma Villedrouin works with opulent 18k gold, lustrous pearls, and richly colored semi precious stones to create stunning, unique jewelry.

Her handcrafted pieces are intricately detailed, luxurious, feminine, and easy to wear.

Megin Diamond
I've always loved the feel of silver in my hands... the way it looks, the way it feels, the way it moves in my hands as I work with it.

My introduction to metalwork focused on jewelry making techniques. Before long I expanded my horizons to include works for the home.

Some of my work is in Sterling Silver, others in Gold, mixing the metals or standing alone. Colored stones and just about any other materials that catch my imagining may enhance the metals. Many of these pieces can be used or worn in more than one way.

The designs I conjure and create you have not seen before. They interweave elegance, fancy, and function. Time-honored methods of metal smithing are used in each handmade piece.

Dawn Kidd
Dawn's distinctive pieces represent her love for the abstract and extraordinary, which is evident in the beauty of each of her creations. Dawn carefully seeks out and collects rare and unusual beads, pendants & vintage findings to create her one of a kind pieces.

Striving to be different and always going against the grain, Dawn's jewelry is as unique as she is. Her eccentric and charismatic nature has become the driving force of her creative imagination. She has lived in Hong Kong and has traveled abroad which has enriched her knowledge of many different cultures.

Dawn has been studying art for 14 years exploring various avenues of artistic expression until finally pouring her passion into creating one of a kind handmade pieces.