The year was 1995 and up until this point I was just another woman adding to her collection of rubber stamps on a daily basis. One day on the way home from work I stopped in a bead shop and noticed polymer clay beads with a beautiful embedded sunflower design. The shop owner told me the work was done by a local artist named Mary and gave me her contact info. I brought her one of my wooden rubber s
tamps and the next week she gave me a cane which I then sliced into beautiful rubber stamp beads. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pins all filled a shoebox and off to a rubber stamp show in Torrance CA I went. That was the beginning of Penny Michelle Jewelry. For years I traveled participating in shows throughout the United States, from Milwaukee to Portland, Dallas to Cleveland and every town that hosted a fun filled weekend for those of us with the bug. Bead and Button, The Tucson Best Bead Show, Carson Rubber Stamp Show (Yes 33 times – Oh my) and being able to meet all the people who enjoyed my products was so much fun. Over these years I branched into using other beads, collaborating with other artists and expanding my offerings to sterling charms, bracelets, pendants and the like. Rubber stampers, Scrap Bookers, Knitters, Quilters, Pet Themed Pieces and Seasonal offerings for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas all had a special place in the Whimsical World that became my home. "Bring your beads to life" was coined to describe one of my most successful lines called Bead Critters™. They essentially are bead caps, a head and a tail, that when assembled transform your bead into the critter of your choice (Bunny, Kitty, Frog, Hippo etc). Other favorites include some of my Halloween themed items as well as my original bead wraps and spinners. As I roll through the second decade in the business, I have had the pleasure to ship my products across the globe and enjoyed building relationships with many very talented artists. I look forward to continuing working and offering unique items to those who have followed me for years as well as those new to my product line.
2014 ..... Over time interests have grown and changed but a constant has always been my fascination with the beautiful jewelry produced by using mixed metals for hand crafting rings, pendants, earrings and the like. Sawing, stamping, hammering, soldering, antiquing, polishing/finishing. So the summer of 2014 I got down and dirty with this stuff by taking classes in metalsmithing. Rings started to come alive, earrings emerged from my studio work table, pendants soon followed ... enter "Big Rings and other Fine Things" the next generation of jewelry products offered by Penny Michelle Jewelry.
