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John Paul Designs
"I create jewelry that is crafted with intention, shaped by experience, and rooted in contrast. My work is inspired by the rugged textures of the natural world and the precision of fine design. I'm drawn to the unexpected beauty that comes from combining raw textures in gold, silver, and copper with refined elements like brilliant diamonds and sapphires. The art of making jewelry is personal. Each piece I make is meant to carry meaning—whether it is a life event, reflects a relationship, or simply speaks to someone’s sense of identity. I've spent almost three decades working with metal, and I am still fascinated by its strength, versatility, and the quiet permanence it provides."
John Paul's Signature Series is defined by contrast. There is a deliberate juxtaposition between rough and smooth, heavy and delicate, ancient and modern. John Paul's work doesn't chase trends. It honors craft, utility, and identity, appealing to collectors and wearers who value jewelry as personal armor and expressive art. It is a fusion of raw and refined lines that juxtapose clean, modern design with rough, textured elements. His designs are original, finely balanced experimentations using an array of metals, techniques, and precious gemstones.
With a lifelong appreciation for vintage and antique tools, John Paul combines a technical foundation rooted in fine jewelry with traditional blacksmithing techniques. In his studio, he uses an array of tools ranging from power hammers, hydraulic presses, manual screw presses, anvils, a large array of hammers, and texturing tools, some of which are over 100 years old. The final product is the result of embracing old-world techniques and processes that cannot be synthesized by modern technologies. John Paul is making analog jewelry in a digital world.
After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Stout, he spent several years apprenticing with master metalsmiths, jewelers, diamond setters, and lapidarists in Wisconsin and Colorado. John Paul set up his first studio and gallery in Bend, Oregon. There he befriended a local blacksmith, which had a profound effect upon his early works. Nearly thirty years later, he is still forging and designing at his atelier and showroom in downtown Bend. He is renowned locally and regionally for his modern heirloom fine jewelry commissions and his trademark Signature Series.
John Paul's Signature Series is defined by contrast. There is a deliberate juxtaposition between rough and smooth, heavy and delicate, ancient and modern. John Paul's work doesn't chase trends. It honors craft, utility, and identity, appealing to collectors and wearers who value jewelry as personal armor and expressive art. It is a fusion of raw and refined lines that juxtapose clean, modern design with rough, textured elements. His designs are original, finely balanced experimentations using an array of metals, techniques, and precious gemstones.
With a lifelong appreciation for vintage and antique tools, John Paul combines a technical foundation rooted in fine jewelry with traditional blacksmithing techniques. In his studio, he uses an array of tools ranging from power hammers, hydraulic presses, manual screw presses, anvils, a large array of hammers, and texturing tools, some of which are over 100 years old. The final product is the result of embracing old-world techniques and processes that cannot be synthesized by modern technologies. John Paul is making analog jewelry in a digital world.
After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Stout, he spent several years apprenticing with master metalsmiths, jewelers, diamond setters, and lapidarists in Wisconsin and Colorado. John Paul set up his first studio and gallery in Bend, Oregon. There he befriended a local blacksmith, which had a profound effect upon his early works. Nearly thirty years later, he is still forging and designing at his atelier and showroom in downtown Bend. He is renowned locally and regionally for his modern heirloom fine jewelry commissions and his trademark Signature Series.
