Michele Scholnick

"I try to capture the essence of organic matter by extracting an element, whether beautiful or unsightly, familiar or peculiar, that I can adapt and refine and turn into something that feels luxurious and special."

Michele is inspired by the many stages of nature, from the pristine to the decayed, and her pieces are characterized by contrasts – matte crevices and polished peaks, smooth surfaces interrupted by jagged negative space, a soft minimalism punctuated by the sparkle of diamonds.

Michele sees her pieces as small sculptures, with tiny stones serving as accents. She also recently began exploring the pairing of her gold designs with larger pearls that she chooses carefully for knurls and knots. Most of the design work is done in wax before being cast in gold and silver, and for her newest, most delicately textured work, Michele fine-tunes her pieces using a laser welder.

While in grad school at UCLA for things decidedly non-jewelry, Michele took advantage of a break in the program and enrolled in several metalsmithing and wax-carving classes. Convinced she had lost her mind, Michele remained in grad school for another year before leaving it behind to pursue a new path in jewelry. Now she can usually be found carving and creating in her Venice Beach studio.