I grew up in Ohio, where each weekend my father handed out our allowance. We would start with a trip to the local movie house, but my favorite stop always came afterward at the five and dime.
The materials drew me in early. Yarn, scent, small objects meant to be held. I taught myself to crochet as a child and never stopped working with my hands. More than eighty years later, that practice remains part of my daily life.
After moving to Los Angeles, I studied art history and interior design, grounding my instincts in formal training and visual discipline. I continued my education through museum work, first as a docent at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and later as shop manager at a private museum dedicated to African American art.
My introduction to beading came later, through a project and materials sent to me by my daughter. What began as a single assignment became a lifelong practice. For more than four decades, I have worked with beads as material, structure, and language.
I developed my technique through hands on mentorship, collaboration, and years of making. In the pre digital era, learning new methods required persistence, study, and community. A neighborhood bead shop became a place of exchange, and its owner a mentor. Together, we exhibited and sold work at craft fairs and curated shows.
My work has entered private collections and institutional spaces, including the Smithsonian Store. It has always been guided by curiosity and craft rather than commercial pursuit.
Over time, I created far more than I ever released. Looking back now, the collection is substantial. Many pieces remained set aside, unseen, and never formally offered.
Now, with the assistance of my family, RVJ Jewelry is reborn and brings forward these previously unseen works with the same care in which they were originally made.
Pieces will be released in small collections as they become available. A limited number of commissioned works will also be accepted in the coming months. Only a few new pieces may be created each year.
This is not trendy jewelry. It is wearable folk art.
