Arlene Freed

Arlene is from Bucks County , Pennsylvania .
She got a BA in Art and her years as a graphic designer have contributed greatly to
Arlene's unique sense of design.

Arlene uses mixed metals along with her hand painted silks (embedded in a resin), to add texture, color and balance to her jewelry. She distinguishes herself as a "Jewelry Artist", not a jeweler. A jewelry artist takes more chances. "We're freer with our designs, use of color and materials.”

Her works have won a number of awards,
and her work is one-of-a-kind artwear.

Eduardo Milieris

I was born in 1960 in Montevideo, Uruguay. An exhibit of Alexander Calder's work gave me my first, and longest-lasting influence in art. After the show I went home, painted my first "sunny-side-ups", and converted them into clocks. I was seven years old.

By ten I was painting the glass of my watch with beautifully-colored markers. In the process I also managed to decorate my shirt sleeves - an art project my mother did not appreciate. I made my first seconds-meter-machine at age fourteen. It had an old, enameled face with only one hand ticking the seconds away. Below it a sign read: Ars Longa, Vita Brevis ( Art Lasts, Life is Brief). It could not have been more apropos for a young artisan who is still, today, fascinated by the integration of art and time.

From 1985 to 1990 I attended the School of Liberal Arts in Montevideo, where I experimented with photography, video art and sculpture. It was there I conceived and built my signature work, the Slow Reading Clock: a piece comprised of three, one-handed dials, each dial reading the hours, minutes, and seconds respectively. It was a natural step toward the beginning of my company, Watchcraft (R).

But alas, vita brevis... so between family and work, I still manage to find a few moments "on the dial" to experiment with photography, and if I can, get my shirt sleeves dirty with something new.

Today a line of more than 100 unique watches are crafted in my New York City studio. Watchcraft (R) is represented by over 400 galleries, and museum stores around the world.

Diane Widman

Diana Widman hails from Lake Forest , Illinois .

Diana, a jewelry artist, loves the potential inherent in paper and fabric. Blank canvas, paper, or sheet metal, all invite a story, a building process, and resolution into form. A former printmaker and bookbinder, Diana uses fold forming, raising, chasing, and other techniques as a vocabulary to transform precious metal into tactile pieces that engage the wearer. In addition, she is well known for her one of a kind jewelry. Each piece has at its center extraordinary stones that invite a story. It is through the design process that Diana interprets the story and sets the stones within the context of precious metal architecture.

“Elegance for Every Day” is Diana’s core design philosophy. Scale, comfort, and durability are central considerations so that pieces can
be worn with casual or formal attire.

Diana is a Colored Stone graduate of the Graduate Gemologist program at GIA and a metalsmith. Diana’s work has been featured in many publications including Professional Jeweler, National Jeweler, American Style, Niche Magazine, and Jewelers Circular Keystone Open to Buy. Her work was also featured on Good Morning Tucson (ABC) and
ABC 7 news in Chicago.

Susan Moore

Susan Moore is Canadian born and hails from Calgary, Alberta. She has made her home in the beautiful hill country setting of Austin, TX since 1999 and has traveled extensively to Europe, Jordan, Mexico, Nigeria, Siberia, and South-East Asia both for work and for pleasure. Moore attended Alberta College of Art and Design in the early eighties.

In 2003 Moore began working with kiln formed glass and taking classes at the Art Glass Fusing Center as well as learning jewelry fabrication techniques. Moore purchased a small kiln and became completely absorbed in learning about glass and experimenting with kiln formed glass. She began to sell her glass jewelry through local gift shops and while exhibiting at art shows and fairs around central Texas. Recently Moore has been exploring metalsmithing and has been designing her future work to include the new techniques.

Ben and Kate Gatski

Ben and Kate Gatski, possess an uncommon vision—to honor agriculture through art. They established Gatski Metal to design and fabricate unique metal works that express their universal connection to art. Ben and Kate use remnants of agricultural machinery found on local farms. The process often involves tearing apart very large (car size or bigger) pieces of equipment to get smaller, unique parts for the sculptures. Both Ben and Kate participate in the design process, always aiming for simplicity and uniqueness in form.

Henry Levine

Born and raised in Bethesda Maryland, Henry Levine has designed and created vessels since 1973. During school at Walt Whitman High, Henry would skip out of his algebra II classes to work in the ceramics lab. After receiving a B.A. in economics and English at The University of Rochester, he worked at a bank for a couple of years, found it very dry and longed for a creative outlet. So, in 1984, Henry returned to school to fulfill his dream of becoming a production potter. At Alfred University, he got bit by the glass bug and did not make any clay pots. Instead, he attended classes in ceramic sculpture, glass blowing and neon art.

Henry owned and operated the neon shop for ten years before moving to southeast Ohio and opening Thorn Ridge Studios in 1999. Henry is married, has three children and lives on a beautiful farm in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. His continued mission is to provide well-designed vessels that are functional, beautiful and affordable.

Robert McCandless

Robert McCandless, began 26 years ago with a background in illustration, layout, and architectural drafting. Robert has won awards for his work in drawing and several national awards for excellence in American crafts. His work can be seen in over 100 fine craft galleries around the United States.

Robert is also the author of "Dear Mr. Madison" a collection of letters honoring teachers as well as a collection of short stories and articles.

Doug Latta and Tina Ellis

Doug Latta began fusing glass as a hobby in the mid-90's. Originally Doug made only clear vases. With time and experimentation, the line has expanded to include colorful pieces in a wide range of styles from whimsical to sophisticated. We take pride in creating a fine hand crafted product. Because our fused glass is hand crafted, no two items are ever completely identical.

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Don and Cheryl Olney

Cheryl named her fledgling business "Louise's Daughter", she was paying homage to her Mom, the source of much of who she is as a person and an artist. The question is often asked - "Was Louise an artist too?" or "Did Louise start your business?" The answer is always something along the lines of "No, but she took me to the library, and the art museum, and other cultural events, giving me an appreciation of life, people, and art that is my foundation."

Don grew up on a farm, far from art museums and cultural events, but his parents also gave him a foundation. This other foundation is in the "engineering" part of our business. Don learned to fix things, and to think about how things go together and stay together, along with what looks good.

Artists in our lives, from some ancient ancestor who scratched an image on the wall of her cave, to the folks we hang out with most weekends at art and craft shows, have also brought us to where we are.

Mark Porter

Architecture was my first choice as a career, but I moved easily into graphic design at the College of Design, Art and Architecture at the University of Cincinnati.

After a 25-year career as a graphic designer and art director, including a stint as a partner in my own design firm in Kansas City, in 2005 I decided to follow an emerging dream and devote myself exclusively to creating things of beauty and light.

The lamps are constructed from fine woods and rich, textured papers from around the world, and are available in pre-selected combinations, semi-custom, limited edition, and one-of-a-kind art lamps.

I continue as a freelance designer in Madison, Wisconsin. My lamp studio is a cluttered but inspirational space in my basement.
As is the nature of fusion, the ideas
keep coming, evolving, surprising.

Lisa Richey

I stepped-out of a long banking career, due to the adventures of multiple sclerosis, I decided to start making cards and journals to donate to places where I'd once donated money. To my surprise, people started contacting me to actually buy my stuff.

Even though my handcrafted paper art is now in galleries and shops across the US, Caribbean and UK, I still consider this a very small business. Because of the way my body limits my energy, I work hard at finding and maintaining a healthy balance. I create each piece of my paper art at my kitchen counter. I love to imagine who'll end up with each one. I hope you'll be one of those people soon.

Luis Abreux

Luis was born in Havana, Cuba in 1971, and relocated to the United States in July of 2005 to continue creating and to continue living.