Designer Profile: West Byron

Desmond pendant from West Byron on Etsy.com.

Here, Chicago-based Jessie Casteel talks about her unique and personalized silver jewelry that she creates and sells in her Etsy shop, West Byron. 

Indie Style Finds: When and how did you get into making jewelry?

Jessie: I'd been making simple beaded and wire-wrapped jewelry for years just for fun, but when I was pregnant with my second child (almost 4 years ago), I noticed my obstetrician was wearing a simple, hand-stamped mother's necklace. We talked about it a bit, and I decided I wanted to find something similar for myself. I looked around for a while and concluded that nothing out there really did it for me, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I'd seen metal clay/fine silver demonstrated on TV a few years earlier, so I ordered some and started experimenting. One thing led to another, I was so inspired by the limitless possibilities of the medium, and here we are, four years later, making fine silver jewelry full time!

ISF: How long does it take you to make one item?

Jessie: There are a number of steps when working with precious metal clay, with the time required between steps for the piece to dry, fire in the kiln, tumble in the tumbler. As far as active work, my simple pieces can take 15 minutes to an hour, while my more complicated, hand-sculpted pieces can take one to three hours of active work. Though with all the time required for drying, firing, tumbling and finishing I might start a piece on Monday morning and finish it up on Thursday. With two small kids and other work obligations, I'm not able to work on jewelry every day or for more than six hours at a stretch, so it's unusual that I'm able to start and finish a batch of items in less than three days time.

ISF: What inspires you to come up with new designs?

Jessie: My best ideas are inspired by my wonderful friends and family and my desire to make them the perfect gifts. As a mom, I've also been inspired by the simple shapes, bright colors, and fun motifs of childhood.

ISF: What is one of your favorite designs that you've created?

Jessie: I love my birds and owls, but my favorites have been my flower earrings with bezel-set stones in bright, happy colors. Those are the pieces I really love to wear.