Link to Website:

https://www.wallisreidjewelry.com

BIOGRAPHY OF WALLIS REID

I was the kid who always had a favorite rock in my pocket, and over the years, a growing collection of agates, obsidian, arrowheads, fossils and petrified wood. Later this fascination with geology and beautiful stones grew into an appreciation for gemstones and jewelry.

Traveling to Asia, the Middle East and Latin America also influenced my appreciation for ancient gemstones and jewelry. I marveled at red coral found in the Himalayas and ancient jade beads dug up by Mexican farmers. I could spent a good part of my life in the world's museum adornment sections -- awestruck by the simple beauty of the ancient's master craftsmen.

My inspirations: Natural geological forces that forged wonderful gems from humble agates to magnificent rubies and so called primitive forms of adornment.

About my process: I typically find inspiration in a raw stone. I sit with it. Let the design find me. I look for its natural characteristics and try to let that beauty come through in my designs.

Each stone tells me what it wants to be and I try to enhance the stone's inherent beauty. Druzy, light flashes, prismatic effect, inclusions, and other natural characteristics are left intact to reveal a stone's geological origins. It can take me many hours to create a jewelry piece, and each piece is wildly different from the next, although, a common thread through out my collection is reverence for the earth and nature's elegance. I cut and carve the stones myself. Along with my original metalsmithing, doing my own lapidary work allows me to create jewelry far outside of the usual. It is truly an organic effort from start to finish.

While I studied fine art and metalsmithing at university many years ago, my professional career took me elsewhere and I didn't start selling my own jewelry until 2006. I opened an online store in 2014 and though this website is my main storefront, I will continue to also offer my full line on Etsy.

I have also developed a strong and growing following of my Engagement/Wedding Line: http://www.wallisreidjewelry.com/collections/engagement-wedding-rings-bands

I really love working with couples to design and craft a set of rings that is an exact match with their particular vision.