Slowmade: Nourishing Conversations for Jewelry Artists and Metalsmiths

Hosted by Christine Mighion

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Episodes

106

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Slowmade is a nourishing and inclusive space for independent jewelry artists and metalsmiths that supports your desire to build a more soulful, handcrafted business, and life... one that aligns with your values, your passion, and your creativity. Join jewelry artist, seasoned business owner, and the host of Slowmade, Christine Mighion in this conversational style podcast. You'll hear honest and inspiring stories from artists around the world, sharing their wins, their challenges, and the lessons they learned along the way to building financially sustainable and purpose driven business.

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August 26, 2026Episode 1071 hr 11 min

Dawna Gillespie: Perseverance, Patience, & Believing in Your Work

In this episode of Slowmade, I’m joined by jewelry artist Dawna Gillespie , whose work is rooted in personal story, persistence, and a strong sense of artistic identity. Dawna shares how she discovered metalsmithing almost by accident during her final semester at Texas Tech and immediately felt a connection to the process that she had never experienced with painting. After becoming a stay-at-home mom, she eventually found her way back to jewelry and began building a creative practice alongside family life. We talk about how Dawna developed the visual language behind her work using a small group of shapes and motifs that represent pieces of her own story, and how she continues to manipulate those forms into completely one-of-a-kind adornments. She also shares why copper and brass became such important materials in her work, particularly because of the way they naturally change and develop character over time. Dawna is wonderfully candid about the less glamorous parts of building a creative career too. She talks about being told early on that she was a “nobody,” learning to listen for the useful parts of difficult feedback, being waitlisted for exhibitions, hearing no from publications, and continuing to put herself and her work forward anyway. For Dawna, perseverance doesn’t mean forcing a particular timeline. It means continuing to grow, staying open to what can be improved, and trusting that a no today doesn’t necessarily mean no forever. We also talk about comparison, feeling behind, the importance of setting goals without becoming rigid about them, what the creative process gives back to us, and why she believes the stories and experiences we carry are worthy of being expressed through our work. Dawna’s reminder is a simple but powerful one: don’t be afraid to ask. If you never ask, the answer is already no. Follow Dawna... Instagram: @dawna_gillespie_adornments Website: dawnagillespie.com Love the Podcast? Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠ Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠ Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

August 12, 2026Episode 1061 hr 18 min

David Forshee: Opals, Small Spaces, & the Beauty of Figuring It Out

David Forshee is the jewelry and lapidary artist behind David Forshee Jewelry . In this episode, David and I talk about the early years of learning a craft and the many small decisions, experiments, tools, and mistakes that slowly shape a maker’s path. David works with mixed metals, opals, and gemstones, and much of his work begins with the stone itself. David shares how jewelry making first found him after he and his wife began looking for a handmade engagement ring, and how that experience opened his eyes to the beauty and presence of handmade jewelry. From there, he started with a simple torch and a few basic tools, learning to set rose-cut stones and slowly building his skills one piece at a time. We talk about working in a small garage studio, the reality of making jewelry without a large or perfect workspace, and the way tools slowly enter our lives as the work asks for them. David shares what led him into lapidary, from adjusting wonky cabochons to cutting opals, and we talk about the heartbreak and wonder that can come with working such delicate, beautiful stones. Our conversation also moves into family, memory, and the tools we inherit. David shares how some of the tools he uses came from his father and grandfather, and how making has become a way of carrying those connections forward. We also talk about the fullness of family life, raising a young child, and finding creative time in the in-between moments. This is a warm conversation about learning as you go, making do with the space you have, honoring the slow parts of the process, and allowing the craft to keep opening new doors. Follow David... David on Instagram: ⁠@davidforsheejewelry⁠ David’s Website: ⁠davidforsheejewelry.com⁠ Love the Podcast? Support an episode: ⁠⁠Click here to learn more!⁠⁠ Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠⁠@christinemighion⁠⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠⁠christinemighion.com⁠⁠ Slowmade: ⁠⁠slowmadepodcast.com

July 29, 2026Episode 1051 hr 5 min

Tzipora Hoynik - Beautiful Excess and a Lifetime of Creating in Color

In this episode of Slowmade, I’m talking with Los Angeles jewelry artist Tzipora Hoynik . Tzipora has been making and selling jewelry for around forty years, but her creative life began long before that. As a little girl, she told her father she wanted to be an artist, even though she didn’t yet know exactly what that meant. Over the years, that pull toward making has taken many forms, from drawing and painting to glass blowing, ceramics, weaving, beads, metalsmithing, and eventually the bold, colorful, deeply textured jewelry she creates today. Tzipora’s work begins with stones. Color is her starting point, and her pieces often feel layered with pattern, texture, movement, and embellishment. In our conversation, she shares how gemstones guide her designs, why she doesn’t like to leave a surface blank, and how her love of color continues to keep the work exciting after so many years. We also talk about the evolution of a long creative career, including her early years making beaded jewelry, her time doing wholesale shows, and the moment production work started to feel more like work than play. Tzipora now focuses mostly on one-of-a-kind pieces, allowing the stones, the process, and her own instincts to lead. Along the way, we talk about her Los Angeles studio, her very practical relationship with tools, her longtime connection to Burning Man, the special jewelry pieces she has made for that community, and her Warrior Women series, a design she returned to after many years and reimagined with more detail, strength, and meaning. This conversation is also about what it means to keep creating over the long arc of a life. Tzipora talks about the need to make things as something deeply innate, something that feeds her and feels woven into who she is. Even after decades of working as an artist, she still finds joy in coming into the studio, playing with stones, and seeing what wants to become. We talk about creative devotion, staying true to your own voice, selling work through Instagram and shows, working with collectors, the reality of pricing handmade jewelry, and why the value of a piece is never only about the materials. It also carries the years of experience, the choices, the eye, the hands, and the voice of the artist who made it. If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to build a life around making, not for a season, but for decades, I think you’ll love this conversation with Tzipora. Follow Tzipora... Tzipora on Instagram: @opalgirl Tzipora’s Website: spiraljewelry.etsy.com Love the Podcast? Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠ Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠ Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

July 15, 2026Episode 1041 hr 11 min

Marie Kappenman: Making Art, Making Money & Letting Go of the Starving Artist Story

Marie Kappenman is the artist behind Notions of Lovely Jewelry, and she has built a creative business by gathering skills wherever she could find them, trusting her instincts, and refusing to accept the old idea that artists are somehow destined to struggle. In this conversation, Marie shares how she first discovered metalsmithing as a teenager, what she learned from working throughout the jewelry industry, and why so much of her real business education happened outside the classroom. We talk about pricing, custom work, social media, motherhood, creative burnout, and the sometimes messy reality of building a business while continuing to make work that feels like your own. Marie also speaks candidly about the fear of stepping away from a steady job, the moment she realized her jewelry could truly support her, and the importance of letting go of the belief that making art and making money are somehow at odds. This is a thoughtful, funny, and deeply practical conversation about faith, risk, creative ambition, and building a life around the work you feel called to make. Follow Marie... Marie on Instagram: @notionsoflovely Marie’s Website: notionsoflovely.com Love the Podcast? Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠ Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠ Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

July 1, 2026Episode 1031 hr 13 min

Kathleen Wille - High Five Lemon and the Gift of Almost Perfect

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Kathleen Wille, the artist behind High Five Lemon, for a warm and honest conversation about stones, perfectionism, custom work, and the deeply personal nature of making things by hand. Kathleen shares the story behind the name High Five Lemon, which began with her beloved pug, Lemon, and grew into a meaningful reflection on imperfection, handmade work, and the beauty of loving what others might overlook. From there, we talk about Kathleen’s path to metalsmithing, which began with a class many years ago, paused while she built a career in advertising, and returned at exactly the right time in her life. As a creative director by day and a metalsmith on nights and weekends, Kathleen speaks honestly about what jewelry gives her that her other creative work does not. Her work is rooted in stones, often simple and intentional so the stone can lead the design. We talk about trusting your eye, learning your own voice, and the insecurity that can come from comparing a more minimal style to the ornate work of other makers. We also talk about the realities of custom work, including the joy of working with customers who trust the process, the emotional energy of long back-and-forth conversations, and the importance of learning where to set boundaries. We discuss pricing, the pressure of rising material costs, the pieces that don’t immediately find their person, and the vulnerability of sharing work that feels deeply tied to your heart. This conversation is about almost-perfect things, creative trust, honoring the stones that call to us, and the way handmade work asks us to keep listening to what feels true. Follow Kathleen... Instagram: @high5lemon Love the Podcast? Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠ Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠ Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

June 17, 2026Episode 10259 min

Beth Judge - When It's Finally Your Turn to Come Home to Your Creative Self

In this episode, I’m joined by jewelry artist Beth Judge for a conversation about the long and winding creative path, the seasons of life when our own dreams get placed on hold, and what it means to finally come back to the artist within. Beth’s love of jewelry began in high school, where she was lucky enough to have access to a metalsmithing program that introduced her to soldering, sawing, stone setting, and even casting. She went on to study metalsmithing at Tyler School of Art and later became a graduate gemologist through GIA before spending many years working as a bench jeweler. Her path also includes teaching, motherhood, supporting a family restaurant business, opening a brick-and-mortar studio space in Hopewell, New Jersey, and finding her way back to her own creative voice in a deeper and more intentional way. We talk about the pressure so many women feel to put everyone else first, and how easy it can be to move our own creative longings to the side while we take care of children, partners, work, finances, and all the responsibilities of life. Beth shares honestly about what it has meant to finally give herself more permission to play, experiment, and enjoy the process rather than always creating from a place of pressure or practicality. Beth also shares about her beautiful shared studio space, her work as a full-time art teacher, her love of stones, her growing interest in enamel, and the way working in other mediums like fiber and ceramics has begun to cross-pollinate with her jewelry practice. We talk about slowmade as an invitation to enjoy the process, the courage it can take to call yourself an artist, and why making time for the work that feeds your soul matters at every stage of life. This is a warm and honest conversation about creativity, identity, timing, and the part of us that never really disappears, even when life gets full. Follow Beth... Beth on Instagram: ⁠ @bethanndesigns Beth’s website: bethannjudge.com Love the Podcast? Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠ Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠ Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

June 3, 2026Episode 10149 min

Leora Coronel - Cutting River Stones & Making Jewelry with a Sense of Place

In this episode of the Slowmade Podcast, I’m talking with jewelry and lapidary artist Leora Coronel. Leora lives in Northern California, where her work is deeply connected to the Yuba River. She collects stones from the river, cuts them herself, and transforms them into jewelry that carries a strong sense of place. Our conversation begins with the long and winding path that led Leora into jewelry. From collecting rocks as a child, to making feather earrings while working at a yoga studio in Los Angeles, to slowly learning metalwork and eventually finding her way into lapidary, Leora shares how working with her hands has always filled a deep need to create. We talk about what it means to work with materials from your own surroundings, and how powerful it can feel to turn something ordinary and often overlooked into something wearable and meaningful. Leora shares how learning to cut her own river stones opened up a whole new world in her work and became one of the most defining parts of her creative path. We also talk about the push and pull so many independent artists feel between making what lights us up and making what sells. Leora speaks honestly about depending on her jewelry for income, the pressure that can put on the work, and the gratitude she feels that much of what she loves to make also connects with her customers. This conversation also moves into teaching, imposter syndrome, and creative confidence. Leora shares how she slowly began offering private lessons and workshops, including lapidary classes, and how rewarding it has been to help other artists experience the excitement of cutting their own stones for the first time. We also get into the current realities of being a working jewelry artist, including slow sales, rising silver prices, shifting away from depending solely on Instagram, and finding ways to diversify income while staying connected to the work. What I loved most about this conversation is Leora’s honesty. She doesn’t make the creative path sound perfectly clear or easy. Instead, she speaks about following one step, then another, staying open to what the materials offer, and continuing to make because the work brings satisfaction, joy, and meaning. Follow along... Leora on Instagram: ⁠ @leoracoroneljewelry Leora’s website: leoracoronel.com Love the Podcast? Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠ Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠ Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

May 20, 2026Episode 10057 min

Francesca Kennedy - Making Without Rules: Following Instinct & Creative Curiosity

On this episode of the Slowmade Podcast, I’m joined by artist and jeweler Francesca Kennedy for a deeply thoughtful conversation about creativity, instinct, imagination, and making without rigid rules. Francesca has spent decades creating, first in clothing design in the Bay Area and later in jewelry, and one of the things I loved most about this conversation was her willingness to stay open creatively. Rather than forcing herself into a formula or “brand,” she follows curiosity, experimentation, feeling, and play — allowing the work to evolve naturally over time. Together we talk about growing up “semi-feral,” the importance of imagination and solitude in a creative life, the changing landscape of art and business, one-of-a-kind work, travel, beauty, community, and the freedom that comes from creating work that feels true to who you are. This conversation felt especially meaningful to me because it also marks the 100th episode of the podcast. I walked away feeling inspired, creatively recharged, and reminded that some of the most interesting artists are the ones willing to keep exploring. You can find Francesca’s work and follow along here: Instagram: @flkjewelry Love the Podcast? Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠ Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠ Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

May 6, 2026Episode 991 hr 6 min

Norah Payne - Following What Feels Like You & Rebuilding a Life Through Metalsmithing

Norah Payne first found her way to metalsmithing years ago before stepping away from it for over a decade. When she returned, it wasn’t with a clear plan, but as something to hold onto during a deeply isolated time—something that slowly became the work she couldn’t imagine letting go of. In this episode, we talk about building a body of work over time, following what feels right, and designing intuitively—often letting the stone lead. We also get into the realities many independent jewelry artists are facing right now, from slower sales to rising material costs and staying visible online. Norah also shares about losing her home and studio in a wildfire, what it meant to begin again, and the support she received from the jewelry community as she rebuilt. This is a conversation about returning to what you love, trusting your instincts, and continuing to make… even when the path isn’t clear. Follow Along: Norah on Instagram: ⁠ @norahpaynemetals Norah’s Website: norahpaynemetals.com Love the Podcast? Consider supporting an episode! Learn more at https://www.slowmadepodcast.com/support-the-podcast Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠ Slowmade: ⁠ slowmadepodcast.com

April 22, 2026Episode 981 hr 15 min

Cole Rodger - When Is It Time for Professional Jewelry Photography? Why Your Jewelry Photos Might Be Holding You Back.

If you’ve ever struggled with photographing your jewelry—or wondered if it might be time to invest in professional images—this conversation is going to give you a lot to think about. Today I’m joined by jewelry photographer Cole Rodger, whose work many artists in our industry trust to bring their pieces to life. Cole didn’t start out planning to photograph jewelry, but through years of experience in both photography and running her own product-based business, she’s developed a deep understanding of what it takes to create images that not only look beautiful… but actually help sell the work. In this conversation, Cole shares what goes into creating strong, impactful images—and why photography is often one of the most overlooked (and misunderstood) parts of an artist’s business. We talk about when it makes sense to invest in professional photography, how different types of images serve different purposes, and what artists can do right now to improve their own photos at home. This is one of those episodes that can shift how you see your work—and how you present it to the world. Follow Along: Cole on Instagram: ⁠ @coleimage & @colerodgerimage Cole’s Website: coleimage.com Love the Podcast? Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠ Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much! Follow Christine and Slowmade... Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠ Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠ Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com