Posted by Lori Schmidtke
on October 05, 2026
If you saw my worktable in the middle of a creative day, you might wonder what exactly was going on.
There could be half a dozen pieces in various stages of becoming. Gemstones spread across one area. Silver headpins waiting to be cut and twisted. A necklace partly strung. Bracelets waiting to be finished.
It can look a little messy.
On social media, we often see the beautiful version of a jewelry workspace. A small, tidy area. A few pretty tools. Someone putting the finishing touches on a piece that already seems to have come together.
What you don't see is everything around it.
Making jewelry by hand means exactly that. My hands do the work.
They grip, cut and twist silver. They squeeze, loosen and tighten crimp beads. They string, shape and assemble. And because I'm not a machine, I can't do the same repetitive movement for hours at a time.
So I work differently.
I keep several pieces at different stages of assembly spread across my table. When my hands need a break from one movement, I move to something else. Different tools. Different muscles. A different part of the process.
It may look chaotic from the outside, but for me, there is a rhythm to it.
My hands are, quite literally, my most important tools. I protect them with exercises, massage and by paying attention when they tell me it's time to change what I'm doing.
Because without them, I couldn't create.
After more than 20 years of making jewelry, I still have so many ideas I want to bring to life.
So I'll happily keep the messy table.
There is still a lot more creating to do.
