Kerri Hale » Handmade Lookup

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Kerri Hale

Artist: Kerri Hale
Work Willistone Vermont USA Etsy Shop

Biography

Silver & Crystal Jewelry

I’ve always been enchanted by natural crystals and minerals… all the different colors and shapes fascinate me, especially when you think about how they grow underground where no light would normally reach … all that color growing in the dark! It kind of blows my mind a little. I remember as a kid picking out the landscape stones from my mom’s garden that were especially pretty to me – ones with shimmery flecks or pleasing shapes – and hoarding them in my room. And I remember my mom had a big huge shiny-paged book with colorful gemstones pictures next to pictures of the uncut crystals… so intriguing! I graduated from landscape rocks to Quartz and Fluorite and Zeolites and such, and eventually added other things I think are amazing like Tourmalines and so on. And I still can’t get over the fact that all the bright beautiful colors grow underground in the dark.

Why jewelry? Kind of dorky but I would often keep a crystal (or several) in my pocket or at my desk at work because I liked hanging out with them. Actually, looking at my desk, I still do! But when you keep them in your pocket you run the risk of chipping them or breaking them or dropping them on the floor in the bathroom and trying not to sob because you shattered the Malachite your friend bought you at a concert the year before… so… I thought a safer way to hang out with crystals would be to put them into jewelry. And since I have so much fun playing with stones, I made so many, and a new side-job was born. I still have my “day job” working in an office, but I have so much more fun playing with pretty stones and finding new ways to put them together.

My jewelry workshop is currently a little nook in the corner of my living room, right in front of a big window with a view of big old pine trees. We live in a little red house next to a creek, nestled in the foothills of Vermont’s beautiful Green Mountains. I did a lot of traveling all over the country in my 20’s and the first time I saw Vermont I knew I had to come back to stay. Coming from a suburb of a big city, I couldn’t get over how much the trees outnumbered the people – I was smitten. Little barns and cows everywhere, and big huge country skies with no street lights to drown out the stars… smitten! Spring and Summer are intensely green, with warm days and cool nights, after-dinner family bonfires, and landscapes covered in wildflowers and hay bales. Autumn is beyond description… farmers markets, fresh produce, crisp fresh air and blue-sky days, and an overwhelming blaze of autumn colors you really should see someday, trust me! Winter is long (oh so long) and very cold (we didn’t get above freezing for two months last winter) but you can’t deny how amazingly pretty a fresh snowfall is. Usually in the warmer months I’ll try to explore as many little craft fairs and farmers markets as I can find, and then in the colder months I bury myself in books either at home or at a cafe, or near to a window to watch the snowflakes fall …. and of course I’m always playing with pretty stones. Thank you so very much for browsing my shop and if you have any questions or are interested in a custom project please don’t hesitate to let me know.