Silver Rock & Root
Handrafted jewelry, painted wood. Unique pieces inspired by nature.
Origins of Silver Rock & Root Designs
I have always loved to create. Nothing feels better than putting in time, energy, love, and then coming away with something that reflects a feeling, a mood, or an inspiration. When I was little, I loved drawing, painting, writing, clay, and making beaded or string necklaces and bracelets. I got into photography toward the end of middle school and continued it as a hobby in High School and College. I always had a fascination with woodworking but never took the leap to take a class, just admired it from afar. I got into baking as an adult and especially loved the decoration component of cupcakes and cakes. When my husband and I moved back to Colorado a few years ago, I remembered seeing metalsmithing classes being offered, so I decided to take one! I’ve always had an appreciation for unique and one-of-a-kind jewelry, so I was excited that I’d be able to actually create the things I had imagined but never seen. I fell in love with being able to manipulate metal into beautiful pieces. I loved being inspired by an idea and choosing to incorporate stones or gems into a design. My soul is most happy when I am in nature, so I tend to bring natural elements into my creations.
Before this adventure of having my own business, I walked the somewhat more typical path: go to college, get a job, go back to school for an advanced degree, get a better job, work, work, work. I did enjoy my professional growth and challenges quite a bit, but after about 9 years, I felt ready for a change. As luck would have it, I got pregnant and jumped into doing ‘the mom thing,’ which was/is a different challenge and adventure of its own! It was about a year after my first child that I started my business after posting a few pictures of some earrings on Instagram and getting questions about how/when things would be for sale. I called my business Lex Metals, which felt right at the time. I’ll describe in more detail the reason for the recent evolution and name change below. I have since returned to the business world, working as a Recruiter for an amazing firm in Boulder, CO, called Creative Alignments. I love the balance of working professionally while creating art and designs for my own business. Stay tuned for updates and more creations in the future. Thank you for visiting!
Why Silver Rock & Root?
Silver
I work primarily in Silver, but I also love creating copper and brass pieces. Someday, I will jump into working with gold too. I have always gravitated toward silver jewelry, and find that I love working with it the most. Silver represents the metal aspect of my business and creations, so I felt it should be the leader in my new business name!
Rock
Rocks, to me, represent permanence. Few things are as old, solid, or resilient as rock. I have people in my life who are like rocks to me and I know I wouldn’t be who I am without their steadiness and constant presence. We named our first child a name that means rock, and having ‘Rock’ in my business name felt right because of all these things as well as the coincidence that many of my jewelry pieces have rocks/gemstones held within them, are designs with mountains, and my wood paintings are often of mountain ranges.
Root
Roots, similar to mountains, have significance in my life. I feel a strong connection to my family, where I grew up, and where I am from. Half of my genetic roots were a mystery until fairly recently, and I have enjoyed learning more and connecting with some amazing people that are close family. My childhood roots are in New Hampshire, where I grew up and honestly never thought I would leave, however, I felt a pull to the West and to Colorado, where I coincidentally have roots from my maternal Grandfather. I feel that Colorado is where I am meant to be, where my husband and I were meant to live, and where we feel excited about providing roots for our children. We chose spelling for my second child’s name that means tree, because I loved the symbolism and that our children would be our ‘rock’ and our ‘roots'.’ It seemed extra fitting that I’ve been wanting to branch (ha, that’s punny) out into working with wood as well, so having ‘Root’ in the new business name made perfect sense!
