Slowmade: Nourishing Conversations for Jewelry Artists and Metalsmiths

If you’ve ever felt that tug-of-war between creativity and business, or struggled with the balance of freedom and financial pressure, you’re going to feel so seen in this episode.
Julianne is a maker in the truest sense—her work is soulful, organic, and deeply connected to the natural world. We talk about her journey from teacher to metalsmith, the unexpected start she got thanks to her husband’s old silversmithing tools, and how her creative voice found its way through texture, form, and layers that reflect the landscapes of her life.
We also dive into the challenges of building a jewelry business in a rural setting, navigating the rollercoaster of sales, and the ever-present feeling of not doing it ‘right’—even when your heart knows it’s exactly what you’re meant to be doing. Julianne shares how she’s embraced the imperfections of her craft and found freedom in letting go of comparison and self-doubt.
If you’ve ever felt the pull to create simply for the joy of it, or if you’ve ever wrestled with the tension between art and livelihood, this conversation will resonate. You’ll walk away with a deeper appreciation for the slow, mindful process of making, and for the ways we can infuse care and intention into not just our work, but our lives.

Follow along with Julianne...
Instagram: @silverstruckstudio
Website: etsy.com/shop/silverstruckstudio

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Follow Christine & Slowmade...
Instagram: @christinemighion
Jewelry website: christinemighion.com
Slowmade website: slowmadepodcast.com

In this episode of Slowmade, I’m joined by jewelry artist Dawna Gillespie, whose work is rooted in personal story, persistence, and a strong sense of artistic identity.
Dawna shares how she discovered metalsmithing almost by accident during her final semester at Texas Tech and immediately felt a connection to the process that she had never experienced with painting. After becoming a stay-at-home mom, she eventually found her way back to jewelry and began building a creative practice alongside family life.
We talk about how Dawna developed the visual language behind her work using a small group of shapes and motifs that represent pieces of her own story, and how she continues to manipulate those forms into completely one-of-a-kind adornments. She also shares why copper and brass became such important materials in her work, particularly because of the way they naturally change and develop character over time.
Dawna is wonderfully candid about the less glamorous parts of building a creative career too. She talks about being told early on that she was a “nobody,” learning to listen for the useful parts of difficult feedback, being waitlisted for exhibitions, hearing no from publications, and continuing to put herself and her work forward anyway. For Dawna, perseverance doesn’t mean forcing a particular timeline. It means continuing to grow, staying open to what can be improved, and trusting that a no today doesn’t necessarily mean no forever.
We also talk about comparison, feeling behind, the importance of setting goals without becoming rigid about them, what the creative process gives back to us, and why she believes the stories and experiences we carry are worthy of being expressed through our work.
Dawna’s reminder is a simple but powerful one: don’t be afraid to ask. If you never ask, the answer is already no.

Follow Dawna...
Instagram: @dawna_gillespie_adornments
Website: dawnagillespie.com

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Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠
Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much!

Follow Christine and Slowmade...
Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠
Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠
Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

David Forshee is the jewelry and lapidary artist behind David Forshee Jewelry.
In this episode, David and I talk about the early years of learning a craft and the many small decisions, experiments, tools, and mistakes that slowly shape a maker’s path. David works with mixed metals, opals, and gemstones, and much of his work begins with the stone itself.
David shares how jewelry making first found him after he and his wife began looking for a handmade engagement ring, and how that experience opened his eyes to the beauty and presence of handmade jewelry. From there, he started with a simple torch and a few basic tools, learning to set rose-cut stones and slowly building his skills one piece at a time.
We talk about working in a small garage studio, the reality of making jewelry without a large or perfect workspace, and the way tools slowly enter our lives as the work asks for them. David shares what led him into lapidary, from adjusting wonky cabochons to cutting opals, and we talk about the heartbreak and wonder that can come with working such delicate, beautiful stones.
Our conversation also moves into family, memory, and the tools we inherit. David shares how some of the tools he uses came from his father and grandfather, and how making has become a way of carrying those connections forward. We also talk about the fullness of family life, raising a young child, and finding creative time in the in-between moments.
This is a warm conversation about learning as you go, making do with the space you have, honoring the slow parts of the process, and allowing the craft to keep opening new doors.

Follow David...
David on Instagram: ⁠@davidforsheejewelry⁠
David’s Website: ⁠davidforsheejewelry.com⁠

Love the Podcast?
Support an episode: ⁠⁠Click here to learn more!⁠⁠
Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much!

Follow Christine and Slowmade...
Instagram: ⁠⁠@christinemighion⁠⁠
Jewelry Website: ⁠⁠christinemighion.com⁠⁠
Slowmade: ⁠⁠slowmadepodcast.com

In this episode of Slowmade, I’m talking with Los Angeles jewelry artist Tzipora Hoynik.
Tzipora has been making and selling jewelry for around forty years, but her creative life began long before that. As a little girl, she told her father she wanted to be an artist, even though she didn’t yet know exactly what that meant. Over the years, that pull toward making has taken many forms, from drawing and painting to glass blowing, ceramics, weaving, beads, metalsmithing, and eventually the bold, colorful, deeply textured jewelry she creates today.
Tzipora’s work begins with stones. Color is her starting point, and her pieces often feel layered with pattern, texture, movement, and embellishment. In our conversation, she shares how gemstones guide her designs, why she doesn’t like to leave a surface blank, and how her love of color continues to keep the work exciting after so many years.
We also talk about the evolution of a long creative career, including her early years making beaded jewelry, her time doing wholesale shows, and the moment production work started to feel more like work than play. Tzipora now focuses mostly on one-of-a-kind pieces, allowing the stones, the process, and her own instincts to lead.
Along the way, we talk about her Los Angeles studio, her very practical relationship with tools, her longtime connection to Burning Man, the special jewelry pieces she has made for that community, and her Warrior Women series, a design she returned to after many years and reimagined with more detail, strength, and meaning.
This conversation is also about what it means to keep creating over the long arc of a life. Tzipora talks about the need to make things as something deeply innate, something that feeds her and feels woven into who she is. Even after decades of working as an artist, she still finds joy in coming into the studio, playing with stones, and seeing what wants to become.
We talk about creative devotion, staying true to your own voice, selling work through Instagram and shows, working with collectors, the reality of pricing handmade jewelry, and why the value of a piece is never only about the materials. It also carries the years of experience, the choices, the eye, the hands, and the voice of the artist who made it.
If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to build a life around making, not for a season, but for decades, I think you’ll love this conversation with Tzipora.

Follow Tzipora...
Tzipora on Instagram: @opalgirl
Tzipora’s Website: spiraljewelry.etsy.com

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Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠
Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much!

Follow Christine and Slowmade...
Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠
Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠
Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

Marie Kappenman is the artist behind Notions of Lovely Jewelry, and she has built a creative business by gathering skills wherever she could find them, trusting her instincts, and refusing to accept the old idea that artists are somehow destined to struggle.
In this conversation, Marie shares how she first discovered metalsmithing as a teenager, what she learned from working throughout the jewelry industry, and why so much of her real business education happened outside the classroom. We talk about pricing, custom work, social media, motherhood, creative burnout, and the sometimes messy reality of building a business while continuing to make work that feels like your own.
Marie also speaks candidly about the fear of stepping away from a steady job, the moment she realized her jewelry could truly support her, and the importance of letting go of the belief that making art and making money are somehow at odds.
This is a thoughtful, funny, and deeply practical conversation about faith, risk, creative ambition, and building a life around the work you feel called to make.

Follow Marie...
Marie on Instagram: @notionsoflovely
Marie’s Website: notionsoflovely.com

Love the Podcast?
Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠
Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much!

Follow Christine and Slowmade...
Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠
Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠
Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com