I never planned to make jewelry. I kept the books for a plumbing company for eleven years. Then a Golden followed me out of a shelter parking lot and I spent that whole winter making him a name tag, because nothing in the pet store was worth putting on him.

That was Max. Bella came two years later and sat on the table while I worked, which is where most of these designs were argued out. Friends started asking for one, then their friends did, and eventually there were more orders than my dining room could hold — so I rented a small studio two blocks from the house and made it my job.

Every design here is named after an animal — Max, Bella, Rufus, Nell, the ones who came before them. It's still just me, one bench and a studio that's gone quiet since spring. These are the last of them, and I'd rather they went to people who'll wear them every day than sit in a box in my closet.