Jewelry Bench Overhaul, Part I
In the next 3 posts, I'll take you on a mini tour of my journey as a jeweler.
I cannot say, like many others, that “I knew I would be a jeweler all my life”. Life, in its own funny and sometimes unexpected ways, has put jewelry along the way and as soon as it came into my path, something inside me instantly clicked and felt right.
The touch of the metal, the mysterious ways it obeys heat and force. The miracle of fusing and soldering. The changes in color, texture and shine that I could accomplish at my will. Oh! It was, and still is, fascinating!
I started learning metalsmithing at Mohs Jewelry School in Bogotá
It was an incredible experience to learn from outstanding teachers and work with a great bunch of colleagues. In the photo you will see my two great teachers: William, the School Dean, who had 25 years of experience as a jeweler and Magda, who had been teaching at the school for 10 years.
Unfortunately, the School has since closed.
This is Cecilia at her bench in Bogota circa 2007 making her portfolio to apply to jewelry schools in the US.
A journey to the US
A couple of years later, I decided to pursue jewelry making professionally and did a 2-year Associate Degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology, FIT, in NYC - it was a humbling and mind-blowing experience, I cherished every second! The last photo is at the graduation ceremony with my mom and dad in 2010.
Since then, jewelry has mostly been at the center of my career, although the pull from my previous social development work never quite dimmed.
A fateful encounter re-kindled that passion. How could I combine my earlier development work with my newfound love of jewelry?
Main photo: © Cecilia Echeverri
