Shoot past your goal

My dad tells a story of when some kids came upon him at the edge of the forest at a campsite. They asked how he kept picking up a ball and hitting the same tree, so far away, every time. He didn’t miss once. Ah, “I haven’t succeeded once, I’m trying to ricochet off that tree and hit the one to the right,” he said.

I moved to Los Angeles to be a part of the dot com energy in the late 90’s. After five years, I learned many lessons about the power of software and how a lot of what you sold was made up. There was no precedent in those days, so you just came up with something. I grew tired of the lack of substance, and searched for something new. I found a night school class in metalsmithing at a Los Angeles high school. Brad was a talented teacher as were all my classmates. You could visit any desk and learn something from someone.

I knew right away that I wanted to make it into a profession. But, I wasn’t interested in going to jewelry school and working my way up. Fabricating jewelry, I quickly realized that my design ideas were far beyond my technical ability. Leaning in on my software days, I figured there had to be some way for me to make my designs on a computer. It was 2001, and the early days of 3d printing jewelry. There was one school in Connecticut. I was on a plane that week and came home with enough knowledge to teach myself Rhino, the 3D design software.

Some of the elders in my metalsmithing class talked about the JCK jewelry show in Vegas as the show where the real jewelry was shown, but students were not allowed in. They had a strict vetting policy to make sure you worked in the industry in order to get a badge. I really wanted to go.

I found out there was a design competition sponsored by the International Titanium Council, the winner was awarded at the show! All I had to do was win.

I read the directions carefully. The piece did not have to be made, a rendering was ok. Judging was in five categories. My mission was straight forward, make something with a perfect score in each category. I could design something in CAD and make a realistic rendering. I designed a ring that showcased the benefits of titanium, drew on the leading edge of jewelry design, and pushed the boundaries of physics. I sent in a glossy photograph glued to thick cardboard. People thought it was a real photo.

I got the call five weeks before the show. I wasn’t allowed to talk to the press, but they were booking a flight, a hotel, and had a badge for me to get in the show! Check.

So, I pushed my goal further down the line. I had five weeks to prepare. I set out to get my dream job designing for David Yurman, in New York.

I didn’t have any designs to show, my first and only ‘real jewelry’ design to date was the titanium ring. Everything else were crude handmade crafts that I made in night school. From my experience in software, I knew that I needed a PR Kit, a portfolio, the works. With five weeks, I had to focus on design. I leaned on dear friends who stepped in to do the rest. Jessica set out to write the press kit, James came in to take head shots, Eric, a stylist, bought me a wardrobe. Cat, worked at an advertising agency and made my renderings into a spiral bound padded portfolio. I created my first three collections.

Five weeks later, I was ready. I learned from the Titanium Council that the VP of Design at Yurman, was a past judge. This was my in! About eight months later, I moved to New York as David Yurman’s first CAD Designer.