Slowmade: Nourishing Conversations for Jewelry Artists and Metalsmiths

Allison Ford is a studio artist and educator whose work lives in the in-between — between jewelry and sculpture, storytelling and adornment, play and meaning. Based in Indianapolis, she has been part of the Harrison Center community since 2009, building a creative life shaped by curiosity, community, and a deep commitment to handmade work.In this episode, Allison shares her winding path back to making and how her practice has evolved alongside raising her family and later earning her MFA. We talk about the importance of creative community, the role teaching now plays in her life, and why staying playful and curious continues to guide her work.Our conversation also explores the stories behind some of her most recognizable bodies of work, including her Indiana bug series and the folklore-inspired figure Baba Pascha and her bronze spider companion, and how art can serve as a vehicle for empathy and connection.This episode is a thoughtful reflection on building a handmade life over time — one rooted in intention, experimentation, and the freedom to create beyond defined lines.Follow Along:Allison on Instagram: ⁠@studioamfAllison’s Website: studioamfdesign.comLove the Podcast?Consider supporting an episode! Learn more at here.Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much!Follow Christine and Slowmade...Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

In this episode, I’m talking with artist and goldsmith Elisa McLaughlin, the creative artist behind Truly Kindred. Elisa’s path has wound through watercolor, music, candle making, and raising five kids — all of which eventually led her to the jewelry bench. Her reflections on finding goldsmithing, navigating her first real creative dry spell, and learning to trust the natural rhythm of inspiration offer such a grounded, honest look at what it means to build a creative life in the real world.We also dig into the realities of working in gold right now, pricing during unpredictable markets, balancing motherhood with making, and the constant negotiation between authenticity and the pressure to present a polished image online. Elisa shares openly about what nourishes her, what drains her, and how she’s learning to protect her own creative spark. It’s a thoughtful, relatable conversation with so many small truths woven in — one I think will stay with you long after you listen.Follow along...Elisa on Instagram: ⁠@trulykindredElisa’s Website: ⁠trulykindred.comLove 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: ⁠@christinemighion⁠Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

In this episode, I sit down with Catherine Marche, a French-born goldsmith and designer now based in London, whose jewelry feels alive with movement, color, and emotion. Catherine’s journey to the bench wasn’t a straight path — she began her career as a computer scientist before following her curiosity into the world of fine jewelry.We talk about how her life of travel and discovery has shaped her artistry, the importance of intuition in both design and business, and what it means to create jewelry that truly reflects the essence of its wearer.Catherine shares how she built a jewelry collective in Hatton Garden that supports emerging artists, her thoughts on creative freedom, and the tension many of us feel between making from the heart and making for a living.It’s a beautiful, joy-filled conversation about curiosity, courage, and the stories that live within the work we make.Follow Catherine:Catherine on Instagram: ⁠@catherinemarcheCatherine’s Website: ⁠catherinemarche-designs.comLove 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: ⁠@christinemighion⁠Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

What does it really mean to live a creative life that’s true — not tidy, not performative, but real?In this conversation, jewelry artist Susan Wachler shares her journey from a multi-generational family of jewelers to her own late-in-life return to the bench after decades as a psychotherapist. Her work carries the weight of both lineage and lived experience — raw, textural, and deeply human.We talk about redefining success, creating without proof, and how honesty — both emotional and artistic — can become a kind of freedom. Susan also reflects on what it means to make art in uncertain times, to let intuition lead, and to find joy in the alchemy of the studio.It’s a conversation about resilience, honesty, and the quiet courage it takes to keep showing up for your craft simply because you love it.Follow Susan...Instagram: @susanwachlerjewelryWebsite: susanwachlerjewelry.comLove 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: ⁠@christinemighion⁠Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

Have you ever had a season in your creative life where slowing down wasn’t a choice—it was the only option left? Maybe your body demanded rest or maybe the joy of making faded under pressure and you started to wonder if you had lost that spark for the work that you once loved so much.That’s where today’s conversation begins.Laney Clark—known to many as Silent Goddess—has been making jewelry for more than thirty-five years, and I’m thrilled to say I’ve known her for probably 20 of those years. Her work is rooted in patience, precision, and the kind of simplicity that only comes from experience. She’s known for her hand-pierced designs, inspired by the tall pines and mountains outside her Washington studio.We talk about the long arc of a creative life—what it means to work through fear and anxiety at the bench, the rising cost of materials and what that does to our mindset, and how slowing down can become its own form of wisdom.If you’ve ever wondered how to keep creating when things get heavy, or how to find meaning again after years at the bench, I think you’ll really feel this one. Follow Laney:Instagram: @silentgoddessWebsite: silentgoddessartjewelry.comLove 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: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@christinemighion⁠⁠⁠⁠Jewelry Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠christinemighion.com⁠⁠⁠⁠Slowmade: ⁠⁠⁠⁠slowmadepodcast.com