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My name is Carrie, and before anything else I am a collector.

From the time I was a child, I've had the compulsion to combine different materials with the intention of making these separate materials somehow better within their new context...somehow more intriguing and provocative. I believed from a very young age that within each collection there truly was the the opportunity to create a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts, and I was always on a path to find that whole.

In art class I quietly broke the rules and used tools and materials in any way I imagined might lead me to a new discovery. I began collecting the most unusual objects and materials...anything that appealed to my sense of wonder, and I was always in search of a proper way to show the world just how precious these finds were.

My need to create (and need to do something productive with my ever-growing collection) eventually led me to study sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I finally found metalsmithing. I knew I was in love.

In my studies, I learned that the word "jewel" has its origins in the Latin word "jocale", meaning plaything, and in all of my work I strive to bring jewelry back to this idea. I truly believe that each piece I produce must be a plaything on one level or another.

I currently work out of my studio in Chicago (where there are no rules). There I have drawers, baskets, boxes and jars overflowing with my found "treasures". In addition to all of that, somewhere in that studio can be found 2 cats, and at times my very supportive husband Martin, always doing his best to be most understanding about my enduring need to collect.