Perceived Value

In the 87th episode of Perceived Value, host Sarah Rachel Brown is just outside Medellín, Colombia, recording from the family home and studio of contemporary jeweler and author Nicolás Estrada. Nicolás and Sarah first connected on social media in 2018, when Nicolás was living in Barcelona, and Sarah was in Philadelphia, PA. Their online friendship led them to meet in person during Munich Jewellery Week that year, and all these years later, they have reconnected in Colombia.
When Sarah returned to Medellín to work on theCONNECTOR Exhibition, she took up Nicolás’s offer to host her and record a podcast interview. The two friends discuss Nicolás’s upbringing in Colombia during the height of violence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, being sent to the United States to study business and marketing, and navigating education, language, and identity abroad. Nicolás shares about his familial expectations to follow a path to financial success and how a later move to Barcelona led him to discover contemporary jewelry and choose a creative path.
Listen to this intimate conversation between friends about what it means to live within one’s means as an artist, redefine wealth beyond money, and use jewelry to process anger, politics, and personal history. Nicolás offers insight into how he developed multiple bodies of work—commercial, artistic, and experimental—to support himself, and into the origin of his influential jewelry books, where an unpaid opportunity grew into a long-term publishing practice rooted in connection and service to the field.
Towards the end of their conversation, Nicolás reflects on returning to Colombia after more than two decades abroad, on grief and inheritance, and on settling into a slower rhythm of life.
🎧 This episode is sponsored by SNAG Metalsmith, the publication of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). Subscribe and save 25% with code VALUE25 atsnagmetalsmith.org.
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In the 86th episode of Perceived Value, host Sarah Rachel Brown records from Bogotá, Colombia, where she visits Marcela Rozo, artist, designer, and founder of the textile brand Please Rain. With an unconventional background that combines economics, anthropology, and design, Marcela left a stable career in public policy to follow her passion for craft and handmaking.
Their conversation explores the long and winding path from economist to maker; how Marcela rebuilt her career around textiles, founded her own rainwear label, and became one of the longest-standing residents at Materia Prima Escuela de Joyería. She reflects on motherhood, entrepreneurship, and the delicate balance between creative fulfillment and financial sustainability.
Together, they discuss the intersections of craft, community, and education and how Marcela’s collaborative workshops with Materia Prima continue to blur the boundaries between textiles, ceramics, and jewelry.
📍 CONNECTOR: Jewelry as a Language of Connection opens November 15, 2025, at Gallery Loupe in Montclair, New Jersey—just ahead of New York City Jewelry Week.
🎧 This episode is sponsored by SNAG Metalsmith, the publication of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). Subscribe and save 25% with code VALUE25 at snagmetalsmith.org.
FOLLOW YOUR HOST: @sarahrachelbrown
FOLLOW THE PODCAST: @perceivedvalue
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www.pleaserain.co
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In the 85th episode of Perceived Value, host Sarah Rachel Brown records from Bogotá, Colombia, where she sits down with jeweler, educator, and designer Simón Mazuera. A graduate of Universidad de los Andes, Escola Massana in Barcelona, and MAD School of Arts in Belgium, Simón is known for his technically precise and process-driven approach to jewelry.
Their conversation traces his journey from industrial design to contemporary jewelry, the influence of his mentors in Spain and Belgium, and how he balances teaching, studio practice, and family life. Simón shares his perspective on Colombia’s evolving jewelry landscape, the challenges of making a living as an artist, and the importance of passing on knowledge generously and without ego.
This episode is sponsored by SNAG Metalsmith, the publication of the Society of North American Goldsmiths. Save 25 % with code VALUE25 at snagmetalsmith.org
📍 CONNECTOR: Jewelry as a Language of Connection opens November 15, 2025, at Gallery Loupe in Montclair, New Jersey—just ahead of New York City Jewelry Week.
FOLLOW YOUR HOST: @sarahrachelbrown
FOLLOW THE PODCAST: @perceivedvalue
FOLLOW OUR GUEST: @simonmazuera.jewellery

In the 84th episode of Perceived Value, host Sarah Rachel Brown records from Bogotá, Colombia, where she visits Materia Prima Escuela de Joyería, a jewelry school founded in 2015 by Linda Margarita Sánchez Méndez and Tatiana Apráez. What began as two friends sharing tools and rent has grown into a vibrant creative hub for jewelers, ceramicists, and artists across Latin America.
In this conversation, Linda and Tatiana reflect on the origins of their school, the challenges of sustaining an independent art space, and the lessons learned through a decade of growth—surviving the pandemic, moving into Tatiana’s historic home, and building a community rooted in generosity and collaboration.
Looking ahead, they share their hopes for Materia Prima’s next chapter: artist residencies, international exchanges, and new ways to celebrate Colombia’s rich jewelry traditions.
📍 CONNECTOR: Jewelry as a Language of Connection opens November 15, 2025, at Gallery Loupe in Montclair, New Jersey—just ahead of New York City Jewelry Week.
🎧 This episode is sponsored by SNAG Metalsmith, the publication of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). Subscribe and save 25% with code VALUE25 at snagmetalsmith.org.
FOLLOW YOUR HOST @sarahrachelbrown
FOLLOW THE PODCAST @perceivedvalue

In the 83rd episode of Perceived Value, host Sarah Rachel Brown begins her travels through Colombia with an in-depth conversation with Ana María Jiménez of Taller sin Bordes and the co-curator of the CONNECTOR exhibition.
Broadcast from Medellín, this episode marks the start of Season 9: CONNECTOR, recorded during Sarah’s early 2025 travels across Colombia while studying Spanish and living as a digital nomad. What began as a one-way ticket evolved into one of the most ambitious projects of her career: an international exhibition and podcast series exploring the lives and practices of Colombian jewelry artists.
Ana María shares how her background in architecture and fine arts informs her jewelry practice, which bridges the object, body, and space through a deeply intentional and experimental approach. The two discuss her creative space Taller sin Borde (“Workshop Without Borders”), her research project Volver al Proceso, and how she reconstructs pre-Hispanic goldsmithing techniques using stone tools, clay molds, and lost-wax casting.
Their conversation explores the cultural differences between Colombia and the U.S., the realities of working as an independent artist, and the freedom that comes from defining success on one's own terms. Together, Sarah and Ana María reflect on what it means to build a sustainable creative life rooted in curiosity, care, and connection.
📍 CONNECTOR: Jewelry as a Language of Connection opens November 15, 2025, at Gallery Loupe in Montclair, New Jersey—just ahead of New York City Jewelry Week.
🎓 To U.S.-based listeners: Ana María will be a visiting artist at The Bench Jewelry Studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on November 7–8, teaching her workshop Exploring Alternative Casting and Forging, where participants will learn pre-Hispanic metalsmithing techniques.
🎧 This episode is sponsored by SNAG Metalsmith, the publication of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). Subscribe and save 25% with code VALUE25 at snagmetalsmith.org.