About
YOU are unique and one-of-a-kind! You DESERVE jewelry that is unique and one-of-a-kind!!!
Welcome to Jewelry by Lana Marie. I am so delighted you stopped by to look at my jewelry. I hope you will find THAT unique, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry.
Let me tell you a little about me and my jewelry.
I began making jewelry because I have always loved and collected jewelry. I still have the first pair of earrings my parents gave me. My passion for jewelry lead me to buying wholesale and reselling jewelry at home parties. So in 1999, Nuggets Etc., Inc. was born and is still in existence today as the company of "Jewelry by Lana Marie".
One day I had an "aha" moment, I wanted to make jewelry. I started with stringing beads and basic wire work. Mostly self taught, but I did receive a diploma from a Professional Jewelry Design and Repair Program in 2002. That's also when I first found metal clay and fell in love with it. Unfortunately, a family illness and death took me back to my "day" job in healthcare. Fast forward to ten years later and my passion for jewelry making was resurrected when I started taking classes with metal clay. From 2013-2016, I became a Certified Artisan in Metal Clay through both PMC Connection and Art Clay World. So....after a thirty-three-year career in healthcare as a nurse, educator, and hospital administrator; I decided to pursue my passion of creating jewelry and make THIS my full time "day" job!
Being able to manipulate the clay in the wet and dry forms makes my work limited only by imagination and skills. It is the perfect medium for my creativity to flow. I welcome new ways to challenge and improve my skills. Working with metal clay is an adventurous road, sometimes mistakes become masterpieces! I am fascinated that you start with clay and transform it into silver (or other metals)...like Alchemy!
I strive to design and create jewelry that is well made and has a personal connection for the wearer. The pieces are one-of-a-kind or limited editions. My eye is always searching for something that I can adopt into a piece of jewelry; nature, shapes, textures, architect and iron work, even wall paper and fabric. My husband tells me that I wake up and go to bed thinking about making jewelry. I am always excited to show and explain my work to people and I am honored when a piece becomes part of someone's jewelry collection.
If you like handcrafted, unique, one-of-a-kind pieces, you're in luck because I don't like doing the same thing over and over. The most I can handle is maybe 10 pieces of the same thing, and that's pushing it!!!
I work from my home studio using mostly fine (.999) silver, sterling silver and gold filled metals. I also use semiprecious beads and stones. I am like a kid in a candy store with beads!!
I completed the Camp PMC Certification Course 101, 201, & 301 to become a Camp PMC Instructor & a Camp PMC Principal Instructor. I am a member of the Mississippi Craftsmen’s Guild, Louisiana Crafts Guild, the Louisiana Chapter of PMC Guild L’esprit du Metal, an Instructor for the MS School of Folk Arts, and the Alliance for Metal Clay Arts Worldwide (AMCAW). My jewelry can also be found at Rise-N-Shine Studio in Natchez, MS and online.
When I am not making jewelry, I am spending time with my husband, six horses, our blue heeler, CJ and Brin, the Dutch Shepherd that adopted us!