I have been a photographer and artist for 30 years now, but have been making jewelry for many years too. I am self-taught, and learned my craft over the years through trial and error on my own personal pieces. I have a passion for gemstones, but never had the budget to keep up with always buying new pieces. As they say, "necessity is the mother of invention" so I began to make my own jewelry. That's how I got started on this journey.

I began with simple designs and techniques, building upon them and improving as I learned. To this day, I still will try out new techniques and materials on myself first, making sure they are sound and durable. I have always made quality my number one priority, both for my own personal work and now also for the pieces I sell to the public. My jewelry has always been inspired by nature and by themes I have seen in other cultures throughout my extensive travels, but remains firmly rooted in my own aesthetic sensibility.

In 2006 after encouragement from friends and family, I started my own business which I called "The Beaded Tortoise", and opened my Etsy store in late 2009. Today, my jewelry designs can also be found in galleries and other specialty stores in New England where I now live and work.

I hope you see something you like in my little store here, and if there is something special you would like to work on together please get in touch.