In this month's spotlight of Black, Indigenous & People of Color (BIPOC)-owned jewelry businesses I want to introduce you to Tracey Timmons Jewelry. Based in South Carolina, Tracey is, in her own words, a Mistress of Metal Artistry. When you see her work you will understand this is true.
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Tracey has a knack for making flowers out of silver. It's no easy feat to fabricate hard metal into something that represents a delicate, ephemeral petal or a leaf. But clearly this is where Tracey's artistry excels. The hand-wrought Periwinkle Flower earrings above and the Pansy Necklace below are gorgeous examples.
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Tracey kindly answered some questions I had for her about her work and her evolution as a metalsmith.
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In a few words how would you describe the soul of your work that you hope comes across to the customer or viewer?
Tracey: The soul of my work is to bring a piece to life. I lean towards botanicals and wings in my work and when I work through a design my intent is to bring the piece to life through different techniques and application of textures and color. I hope that my customer or viewer sees a piece come to life when they look at it, pick it up, or wear it.
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How did you get your start in jewelry making?
Tracey: Like a lot of self-guided smiths, I started beading, moved to metal clay and when my designs were no longer practical in metal clay, I started metalsmithing.
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What’s your favorite thing to make (or favorite part of the jewelry-making process)?
Tracey:
Botanicals and butterflies for sure. Fabrication is my favorite part of jewelry making.
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When you look back over your time as a silversmith, what is a moment you recall where you realized you have a deep command of your style and craft?
Tracey:
I haven’t been super successful selling my jewelry online and during the pandemic I decided people needed to see my work. To hold it and connect with it and that meant I would begin to do art fairs. With that, I would need submission photos that showed a cohesive body of work. Once I did that and applied to my first big juried art show and got accepted, it was validating. Then I applied to a very prestigious juried show and got in and thought to myself, “I must be alright”. Most days I feel like I have command over my style and what I’m doing. Some days, not so much.
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I argue that Tracey certainly has a command over her style. Tracey is a master at using a rolling mill and has the unique line of "live edge" cuffs where she's intentionally left the edges of her silver raw. It's a brilliant design that highlights the nature of what happens to silver as it is rolled from an ingot to a usable sheet of metal. Here is her Live Edge Silver Ginko Cuff, which is a made-to-order item in her shop.
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With impeccable finishing work and attention to detail-- from the tattered edge of a petal to the texture of a leaf-- Tracey's jewelry is femenine and powerful. I hope you enjoy taking a look at the following pieces, all of which are available on Tracey's website.
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A very unique and heartwarming offering Tracey has are her custom Tribute/Memorial Enameled
Keepsake designs. She takes a photograph and converts it into an enameled image that can be made into any style of jewelry you wish. Below is a very special piece Tracey made using a photo of my grandmother. Take a look at her website for more examples of this meaningful way to memorialize an important person in your life.
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Be sure to follow Tracey on Instagram @traceytimmonsjewelry for all the new designs she creates.
If you haven't already clicked on any of the links above, you can get to her website HERE.
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Also! Tracey has some upcoming in-person events in 2023:
Dogwood Festival in Atlanta, GA on April 14-16
Artisphere in Greenville, SC on May 12-14.
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