I love rings and necklaces. They are my main pieces of jewelry. I wear earrings but keep those simple so when I want to put on rings and necklaces I want them to make a statement. I ran across Mica Bones on Instagram and it was love at first sight. Mica makes unique, one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry and they are beautiful and bold and definitely make a statement. For the purposes of this post, one-of-a-kind means not mass-produced. She may make more than one piece the same or as a custom order, but you can be assured she isn't creating hundreds of a particular piece. I was lucky enough to get an interview with this talented silversmith and wanted to feature her work. She's created 2 custom pieces for me – a ring and a necklace – and I couldn't be happier with the quality and look of them.
Her jewelry is for the bold and I wanted to give you a sense of what the artist is behind the art. And, I wanted to highlight her work before Valentine's Day so you can order your pieces in time or have them for really any occasion. Wear them any time.
Love your logo and tagline “Badass Jewels for Badass Babes” and “Dark, unique jewelry for the Bold.” A customer can really be anyone who likes your jewelry, but who were you thinking of when you created your logo? What makes a badass babe?
Well honestly… ME!! Haha. I love unique, dark, bold jewelry. I got into making jewelry basically because I love it so much and I wanted to make myself cool stuff! But really anyone can wear what I make. And I hope that they feel a little bit more bold and badass while doing so.
How long have you been a silversmith? Were you formally trained or did you teach yourself?
I started smithing in June of 2016 so I’ve been doing this for a little over 5 years. I pretty much taught myself. Initially, my husband started with me… I asked him to join me because he’s so smart and naturally talented that he can figure out anything and be great at it! So I wanted him there to help me learn. He didn’t last very long at all though. I mostly learned by asking smithing friends questions and by trial and error…. basically melting lots of stuff!
What are your preferred/favorite materials to work with (stones, silver, etc.)?
I love it all! I’m a bit ADHD and very eclectic and if you pay close attention to me I think you can see that. I really do collect all types of jewels from all types of eras and in different mediums. I can’t stick to just one thing. Sometimes I’ll feel bold and badass and sometimes I’ll feel like I need to be a little sweet and romantic. I make what makes me happy. This is my art and therapy. So I love to silversmith (I use gemstones and sterling and copper), I also copper electrofrom, and when I’m done “working” I unwind by making little beaded jewelry like earrings or bracelets. I love all the metals and all the stones.
What would you say are your main sources of inspiration?
Art in all forms and jewelry. I’ve been collecting and making jewelry for as long as I can remember… I like to make mementos… and I pull inspiration from so many things….like I said… I’m eclectic… I’ve covered myself in art (tattoos) and it’s kinda like the same thing… they’re little reminders of where I’ve been or what I love or even just something cool that catches my eye. I just love anything that is unique and beautiful and really that could be anything.
You are the founder of @grrrlgangapproved on Instagram – a group of 9 maker friends who raise money through jewelry auctions. What causes have you supported?
So I and a few other ladies founded the girl gang about 6 years ago… many members have come and gone and only I and my friend Kim are from the original lineup. In 6 years we’ve done so many amazing auctions! We’ve supported so many important causes… large and small. We did move over our Instagram account to a different page a few years ago so you wouldn’t be able to see our older auctions. Most recently we did an auction for a maker friend of ours who’s battling cancer and she needed help with medical bills. We raised $3,160 for her and her family. I think our most successful auction has been our Black Lives Matter auction… we raised over $21,000 and we donated it to a bunch of organizations… like Justice for all action fund, Black Lives Matter Global Network, National Bailout… just to name a few but there were many more.
How often do the auctions run?
We have monthly auctions and most of them are just for our members to share art that they’ve made but every few months we will do a charity auction for whoever or whatever needs our help.
You and your husband Chris of Benson Tattoos just completed your fabulous new space. What’s it like to work together?
Yeah! My husband Chris and I just opened our private studio Benson Tattoos… he’s my very best friend… I think most couples like a bit of time apart (at least during working hours) but not us! Haha. Working together has been so awesome. I just like having him near. We have our own rooms and we’re very respectful of our spaces… while he tattoos I do my best not to hammer or sing (I have to jam while I work) too loudly… I try not to interact with his clients too much… we both take our work very seriously so I don’t want to distract him. But sometimes I’ll chat up his lady clients for a few minutes if they catch me wandering around. I can read people well so I can tell when they need a smile and a little chit chat… tattoos aren’t always the most fun to get.
But really I love having my own space to create art in. I’ve been very inspired to get down to work and make some badass jewels for badass babes.
Thank you so much for asking me to do this.
You can see her jewelry for sale in her highlights section on her Instagram page and also order custom pieces. If you see a piece you like on her page, DM her to see if it’s for sale or ask for a custom make. She’s fantastic to work with and very responsive to all your questions. I cannot emphasize how beautiful her work is. She also posts the group auctions whenever they host them. We're grateful she shared her inspiration and time with us and we hope you enjoyed learning about her work.
Instagram: Mica.Bones.Jewelry
