<\/p>\n
Silver Sparrow Designs has opened a new gallery and studio in Dolores.<\/p>\n
Owner and silversmith Kristi Smith has spent decades perfecting her custom jewelry designs. She recently renovated the back of her home at 105 N. Seventh St. into an inviting gallery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a space where people can come and shop, and learn about the process of making silver jewelry,\u201d Smith said. \u201cPeople have always been asking for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silver Sparrow Designs have a \u201crustic, sturdy\u201d quality that customers love, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach piece is unique, I don\u2019t do castings where you make 100 of the same style,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
The necklaces, earnings, rings and bracelets are made free-hand from sterling silver and incorporate semi-precious stones and nature themes. The pendants have artistic carvings, and some have an engraving of a literary saying or song lyric. Smith makes custom wedding rings too.<\/p>\n
Her latest silver obsession is working with precious metal clay, fine silver that is molded by hand, then fired into a kiln to burn off impurities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tricky medium, with a lot of creative opportunities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Smith\u2019s work has been displayed in art shows, local farmers markets and in galleries, including in Durango and San Francisco.<\/p>\n
Her husband, Glenn, and three girls help out with the business, organizing displays, packaging orders and cheering Mom on.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has books filled with sketches of new designs. I help with the packaging,\u201d says daughter Hazel.<\/p>\n
The studio has become a refuge as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a full-time job \u2013 they know when the door is locked I\u2019m working on jewelry,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s therapeutic. I love everything about making jewelry and have so many ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
She credits the community for encouraging her silver muse, including advice from well-known Dolores blacksmith Iron Maegan, and \u201cArkie,\u201d a snowbird local who donated his silversmithing equipment when she committed to the craft.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is so cool is that the studio and gallery are in the same space. It\u2019s inspiring and gives the customer a connection to the jewelry-making process,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Smith is hosting two gallery grand openings just in time for the holidays. The first is on Dec. 9 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and the second is Dec. 16 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Refreshments will be served.<\/p>\n
Silver Sparrow Designs is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and by appointment by calling 970-739-4271. Visit her website at silversparrowdesigns.etsy.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
features rustic, natural styles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[363,338,21,44,13,28,4156,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-76029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arts","tag-business-enterprises","tag-cortez","tag-dolores","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-headlines","tag-jewelry","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76029"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=76029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}