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Sunday, January 10, 2010

Artist Profile: Beth Hemmila of Hint Jewelry



I just discovered an artist who makes the most delicious jewelry, and I wanted to share her work with you. Her name is Beth Hemmila, and I found out about her when she was featured in a promotion for Moo cards. (Moo, if you didn’t know, is a company that makes artful custom business cards, calling cards and postcards that are all the rage among artists. You can order 100 MiniCards with 100 different images on them for $20.)

Beth uses Moo’s MiniCards with images of her work on the front and clear stickers on the back that tell the story of each of the charms she creates:



Here’s Beth, who works and blogs and sells her work under the name Hint Jewelry from her home in Portland, Oregon:



Note to my husband, who may or not read my blog: There’s absolutely nothing on her blog or in her Etsy shop that I wouldn’t love to own and wear. Like the little beauty below. And Valentine’s Day is coming up. Hint, hint.

Beth’s Joy necklace (above) features her Field of Flowers handmade silver charm on a 16" sterling silver chain, with two pink tourmaline gemstones.

At the core of Beth’s business are these darling little charms ($12-$22, depending on size):


One really cool product Beth offers are her Charm Necklaces, which you can design, choosing the charms and gems you want to tell your story.

To build your personalized Hint charm necklace, you go to Beth’s online Etsy shop, and purchase the charms, silver jump rings, silver chains or leather cords, and gemstones, and when you place your order, you provide any additional instructions so she can build your necklace. Cool, huh?

Or you can buy just the charms and make your own necklace. Here’s an example of a necklace that another designer created using Hint charms:


This necklace features Beth’s Flaming Heart Milagro:


This is her Stillness charm, so lovely in its simplicity:


And I have to admit that I’m a sucker for her gorgeous photography, which sells her work very well and sets a sensuous tone. Like this one:

It is a shot to illustrate her blog post about pearls. Beth has been running a series of posts where she reviews a chapter from the book Jewels: A Secret History by Victoria Finlay. “What is it about pearls that is so enticing?” writes Beth. “For me, it represents what I feel most close to in nature, like the luminosity of the moon, fluffy white clouds, secret treasures found underwater, pure falling snowflakes, and being able to appreciate the unique qualities of each living thing.”

Beth’s beautifully written and photographed blog tells the story behind her charms and her necklaces. From what I’ve read, she seems to be a very thoughtful and spiritual person, and regularly donates 10 percent of her earnings to non-profit organizations like the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Note: All photographs are copyrighted by Beth Hemmila and are used with permission.