For Jeannette Mullarkey, the path to becoming an artisan and successful fine jewelry designer started at an early age – with lots of encouragement and positive reinforcement from her mother, Lois, who was also an artist.
As a child and teen, Jeannette enjoyed visiting museums, art centers, fine crafts, and art shows with her family. Her artistic talent was encouraged as she expressed her creativity in drawing, painting, and sculpture and went on to study art in college. “I’d never made jewelry before,” said Jeannette, thinking she would major in illustration or painting. However, after taking an elective jewelry course in her foundation year, she discovered she had a knack for the medium, and her professors agreed.
Jeannette would ultimately major in jewelry/metalsmithing, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with distinction in the humanities from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. And then, there was the real world.
After graduation, Jeannette started reaching out to connect with companies that made jewelry to continue in her chosen profession. For a decade, Jeannette worked for several retail and wholesale jewelry companies, learning the ins and outs of the business and attending major jewelry trade shows such as JA, JCK, and Couture. “It was like a paid apprenticeship,” says Jeannette, hinting at the business acumen she developed to serve her well later. Eventually, it became clear that it was time for me to take my talent for design, create my original pieces, and make the things I loved in a business of my own.
In 1999, Jeannette launched Finestra Designs and started selling her work at fine juried craft shows. She designs and handcrafts exciting, wearable, architecturally inspired jewelry that she shows and sells to a loyal following of art enthusiasts and jewelry collectors.
Finestra means window in Italian; in jewelry, it translates into dynamic design. Many of Jeannette’s designs combine the logic and grace of classical architecture with a crisp modern aesthetic. The shapes of the specially cut gems flow with the structure of the mountings, enhancing and integrating metal and stone. “I design many architecturally inspired pieces with detailed openwork and piercing,” Jeannette explains. “You can look at or through them like a window.”
Jeannette takes great pride in creating everything by hand, including her wax carvings, which is how she makes the original models for her jewelry creations. She was introduced to wax carving and the ancient technique of lost wax casting at art school. It’s a low-tech, old-school approach that she really enjoys. “I hand-carve all my designs in wax, using files, burs, and carving knives to achieve my designs,” Jeannette says. “Working in this way is like making a small sculpture and allows me to carve designs that are visually exciting from all angles. “
Her creative process begins with a piece of paper and some quick sketches of an idea. Drawings fill the page, and when one feels worthy, Jeannette starts to carve. “I figure out much of the design in the carving process, working my way around the whole form, responding to how a design looks in three dimensions,” she says.
While carving is her love, Jeannette also enjoys fabricating, soldering, polishing, and setting her jewelry designs, all of which she makes in her studio. Many designs incorporate detailed openwork and piercings to accentuate the forms and add lightness and elegance to the finished work. Mythological themes are also present – a Pegasus ring, for example, combines winged horses, topped by a classical architectural motif into which a lovely stone is set. In fact, rings are one of Jeannette’s favorite things to make. “I love the form,” Jeannette says. “When you wear a ring, you can enjoy seeing it on your hand, and others can appreciate the sparkle, too!”
Jeannette also enjoys teaching and finds it rewarding to assist other artists in learning how to create jewelry. In addition to making and selling her jewelry designs full-time, she teaches jewelry, wax carving classes, and workshops at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey and other art programs. “I love being around people who make wonderful artworks using their creative talents, their minds, and their hands,” she explains.
Jeannette’s husband, Stephen, also an artist, has been very supportive of her work over the years. He even used his woodworking skills to design and create the custom display cases Jeannette uses at her shows. The couple’s son, Thomson, has accompanied his parents to the shows since he was a baby. Now a teenager, he often helps set up her booth at the shows.
Look for Jeannette and family at one of her favorite summer shows, The Chase Center on the Riverfront Art Show in Wilmington, Delaware, later this month. It takes place in the Chase Center’s indoor, air-conditioned event space July 27-28 from 10am to 5pm both days. Visit Jeannette’s online storefront at http://www.finestradesigns.com.
