News / smithsonian craft 2 wear

  • Charms & Chains

    Charms & Chains

    You can be a jewelry designer! Do you like the sound of that? I created my Chains and Charms collection so that the wearer could become the designer. With just the right hand-selected components and a little creative inspiration, you can create several different looks and styles using just a few pieces.


    There’s a Chain and Charm to Match YOUR Style! 

    Chains

    My collection includes several different chain options to inspire and suit your style and taste, including:

    • Long chains and short chains 
    • Delicate chains and chunky chains 
    • Hand-crafted chains and manufactured chains
    • Mixed metal chains and sterling silver chains

    Charms

    I LOVE making charms and there’s always a wide variety of options available in charms: 

    • Big charms and little charms
    • Long charms and short ones
    • Mixed metal charms and sterling silver charms 
    • Varying shapes and sizes using gorgeous gemstones 

    Designing your Chain and Charm Necklace is EASY and FUN!

    Remember, you’re the designer, so you design to your heart’s content! 

    There is no wrong way to style your piece. It’s YOURS! 

    Here’s my favorite way to style a Chain and Charm necklace, and it’s a great way to dip your toe into designing, and to get started: 

    1. Select your chain - Long, short, delicate, or chunky. It’s up to you!
    2. Choose one long charm - Gemstone charms are available in many options like opal, aquamarine, turquoise, citrine; you name it, I probably have it.
    3. Choose one short charm - Pearls are great for the short option. They add beautiful dimensionality and a touch of soft color. 

    You’ll see just how easy it is. With just these three components, the possibilities are endless, creative, and perfectly adjustable to suit your mood. 

    I love to pair a longer gemstone with a pearl and cluster them together. Or sometimes I’ll hook one charm higher and the other lower to give the illusion of long and short, all in one fantastic necklace. 


    Want to show your wrists some love? 

    Chains and Charms are for bracelets too! Add a few smaller charms to a bracelet chain for a beautiful one-of-a-kind look. If you have several charms, you can attach more than one, wear them together, or swap them out depending on your outfit or mood.

     

    Chains and Charms are fully customizable to suit your mood or outfit!

    The possibilities are endless! I have collectors who have created unique and distinctive looks with their Chain and Charm collections. 

    My friend and model, Julie, selects stones that feel good to her on any given day. She’s entirely in tune with the metaphysical and healing properties of the stones. She has that superpower and puts together some beautiful pieces using her intuition as her guide. 

    Find your Inspiration!

    Are you ready to test your jewelry designer skills?  It’s easy, fun and SO satisfying! Get started today with a chain and one charm. When you're ready for more, add to your collection. I’m regularly adding new charms to my website every couple of weeks, so there’s always something new and beautiful to add to your collection.

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  • Behind the Scenes

    Behind the Scenes

    To say this is my happy place, is a total understatement. Imagine a lush birch forest with a little wetland bog, deer happily frolicking everywhere, raccoons, wild turkeys and sometimes pesky mosquitoes. Just steps away from home, my studio is literally 2 doors down from my house.

    Inside it's quiet and super cozy, with a little pot belly stove burning in the corner for warmth. It’s practically a cliche, except it’s very real, and exactly what you’d expect for a little rural Montana art studio. 

    There is no need for a shop front, with only occasional visits from a customer here and there, who comes in to pick something up.

    I share the space with Tammy, a friend and fellow maker, and also Les, my step dad, who is a retired goldsmith. Often, you’ll find him inside, forging beautiful little copper vessels, but usually when Tammy and I aren’t working, because he makes a ton of noise. 

    The coffee is hot, strong and plentiful. The snacks are naughty and decadent, but necessary. Most days you’ll find music, or a juicy audio book playing in the background. It’s comfy, and it feels like home, but without distraction. So much creativity bubbles out of this space, too big to be fully contained.

    Some days I go there, by myself, to sit and just be. Quietly replenishing my mind, my body and my creative flow.

    On any given day, you’ll find Tammy, Les and me, gathered around a bench, solving huge design challenges together. Pencils, sketchbooks and stones strewn everywhere, as we work through a design hurdle for one of us. An outsider might see chaos, but this is our happy place.

    Sometimes I'm in there using loud equipment with my headphones on, listening to an epic fantasy fiction novel, like the Queen of the Tearling trilogy. Time flies in my happy place. At times, you’ll find me sprawled on the floor, doing the stretches prescribed by my physical therapist, to keep me safe and comfortable during my long hours at the bench. This work takes a toll on my body.

    My studio. My happy place. But it’s so much more than that. I never know what will consume me there each day. Some days I have a clear plan, and I carry it out seamlessly. Other days the plan unfolds before me, sprinkling in a few surprises and challenges here and there. More than just a happy place, my studio is a place of peace, healing, creativity, excitement, problem solving and, of course, endless snacking.





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  • Slip into your fuzzy slippers, flip flops or cozy socks.

    Slip into your fuzzy slippers, flip flops or cozy socks.

    Slip into your fuzzy slippers, flip flops or cozy socks. We’re about to get really comfy and intimate with one another.  

    Up until recently, (literally like 3 or 4 ish weeks ago) Allison Kallaway Jewelry was primarily a road show. I traveled far and wide to my live events, where you and I would meet in person… some for the first time, and others year-after-year. This where we connected and shared a laugh. This is where I helped you style your jewelry, answered questions about stones, how to safely store your new pieces or how to care for your investments. Well friends, life has thrown us all a curve ball.   

    Do. Not. Panic. We can figure this out. Either we dodge the ball and hope for the best, or we grab it and run! I’ll promise you one thing, I’m not going to leave you hanging, all alone at home plate. This is an opportunity for growth, and a chance to regroup, reset and move in a new direction. Maybe we’ll call this the Allison Kallaway Jewelry 2020 Shakeup! Everything I once did in person, I’ll now be doing in my private Facebook Group. Trust me, this is gonna be FUN!

    I’ll have even more behind-the-scenes footage and opportunities to connect with you in the Facebook Group…

    • Every week, (sometimes daily) I will take you inside my studio for exclusive sneak peeks of what I’m working on.
    • From time-to-time I’ll go LIVE so you can look over my shoulder in real time, and watch a piece in progress. 
    • I'll talk with you about stones, fabrication and the artistic process. The vibe will be light, funny (hopefully) and entertaining, or at the very least, informative. (Sorry, you'll have to go elsewhere for doom and gloom) 
    • I will create videos about how to care for your jewelry, the metal, the stones, and how to store your pieces.
    • The group will be an intimate space, chock full of value for you, and where we can interact and become better friends. 
    • We will get to know one another and help to build a special Facebook community.
    • The action starts right away, so JOIN the private Facebook Group right this minute! You don’t want to miss any juicy goodness. 

    It's super easy to join! Go to my Facebook business page, Allison Kallaway Jewelry, click "like", then send a message to me, letting me know you would like to be added to the group...and Boom! You're in!

    One crucial step in pivoting my business to full-service online is to get to know you better. This will help me to bring YOU more of what you LOVE and to serve you better. Please help me out, and take this brief survey so you and I can become better acquainted. Click HERE to start the survey now. 

    I’m putting the “personal” back into Personal Shopping! 

    The one thing you feel may be missing is that one-on-one time we used to share at shows. No worries, I am not going into hiding. Quite the opposite. I am available by appointment to meet with you for a video shopping call. You can schedule a private shopping experience with me right HERE on Calendly. Just answer a couple questions when booking the appointment so I can prepare for our call. It’s really that easy.

    One day, VIP, I think we’ll all look back on these uncertain times and marvel at how we powered through. We’ll realize we are stronger than we gave ourselves credit for. We are smart, savvy, problem solvers. We’re in this together VIP, you and me against the world. Together we’ll figure it out!

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  • Pink? Not a fan

    Pink? Not a fan
    Jewelry for Valentine’s Day might be as cliche as it gets. So instead of following the traditional heart shaped jewelry and feminine pink charm bracelets, what if you went a little badass this Valentine’s Day?
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  • The Rise of the Industrial Elf Queen

    The Rise of the Industrial Elf Queen

    Maybe magical lands and legendary stories aren’t fiction afterall? What if the worlds filled with elves, wizards, witches, goblins, and (yes) hobbits were in our blood?

    Sometimes I wonder if they aren’t just as much part of our ancient history as the founding fathers, Louis XVI, and Alexander the Great.

    When I traveled through Europe and lived in Africa, these design elements from folklore and legends were everywhere.

    They’re not fiction in Africa, they’re history.

    That’s where my design inspiration comes from.

    My designs turn these epic legends into present day magical pieces of adornment. I believe quality technique and design aren’t contained to the runway.

    High fashion doesn’t always equal quality of workmanship.

    The pieces I make are suitable for the fantasy queens who live in worlds designed by Tolkien or Lewis. I craft pieces meant to be worn by women looking to adorn themselves with magic stones carved into earthy metals.

    I believe there’s something magical about wearing jewelry that’s not for the every day. There’s a reverence in my work that doesn’t translate into high fashion or simple aesthetic appeal.

    The claw settings give a rough royal element to otherwise technically perfect piece.

    When I’m in my studio, I imagine myself kindling the fire in the elven forgery in Rivendell. I listen to the soundtrack to The Lord of the Rings while I craft my pieces.

    It helps me add magic and fantasy to the design and reminds me the slower travels are often the most rewarding.

    So this is me, raising my hammer in a salute to what I like to call, my industrial elf queen. May adorning yourself with these talismans add strength to your spirit and power to your rule.

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