Meet the Maker
Hey! I'm Hannah. I am so happy you're here. I am the designer, creator, and hands behind Hannah Lynn Jewelry.
I am an outdoor enthusiast, dog mom, wife, animal lover, and health nut with a serious case of Wanderlust. When I am not working away in my studio, you can find me hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, backpacking, kayaking, and enjoying time in the backcountry with my husband and our two dogs as we travel the country in our tiny home on wheels.
Where it All Began
My journey began in 2006 when I "borrowed" a few pairs of pliers from my father, bought some silver wire from the craft store, and started wire wrapping different treasures from my gem collection. I would spend my summers traveling around to music festivals selling my jewelry in order to make enough money to get to the next concert.
I am a self taught metal smith. I actually went to school for psychology. After years of working in the field I came to the conclusion that I would not be fulfilled in my life if I was not funneling my energy into creative outlets. I had always been a creative person and I felt as though my light was being extinguished. While I was still creating jewelry, it had taken a seat on the back burner while I focused on furthering my career. I slowly started to pull away from my job in social services and focus more and more of my attention on my art. In 2017, after selling my art at my first craft show, I decided it was time to make my jewelry my career so I left my job and began to design and create full time.
The Evolution of My Business
My jewelry and my small business has evolved quite a bit over the years. When I first made the leap to pursue my art full time, I traveled around selling my work at art festivals. I continued with this model for years. While I loved interacting with customers, traveling, and meeting people, overall it was exhausting. I would travel to the location of a show, spend a day setting up, sell my work for three days, hurry home to make as much jewelry as I possibly could in the few days I had before the next show. Then I would set off on Thursday to do it all over again. In other words, I had good intentions of pursuing my passion as my career, but it became overwhelming, I became run down, and I had no life outside of work. I was often stressed and frazzled. I had shows scheduled almost every weekend and had zero spare time to spend with the people I love, or doing what I love most, spending time in the outdoors.
Time for a Change
I will never forget the look on my husbands face when I said "Babe, we should sell everything, renovate a camper, and go travel and see all the beautiful places this country has to offer". To which he responded "You're f*@%$ing crazy! I could never leave my business" Yet, five years later, here we are!
Chris and I were both running our own businesses, grinding like crazy, and making little time for things that fueled our souls. It was having a serious effect on our mental health and well being. We knew we needed a change. My wild idea didn't sound so crazy anymore. We bought a house and spent every minute we had outside of work hours gutting and remodeling for four years. We sold our home, bought a camper, and set sail.
This lifestyle is not always easy. We live completely off grid and take advantage of the plethora of free dispersed camping area our country has to offer. So those conveniences we had in a more conventional life are now every day challenges. But the reward is so worth it. You could not possibly put a value on the incredible experiences we've had living this style of life.
Working from the Road
I draw inspiration from the places we travel and the local flora and fauna in the everchanging landscapes we venture to. I love capturing the true intricacies and essence of the natural world and creating them into wearable pieces of artwork for you to enjoy and cherish.
Being in nature is very therapeutic for me in a lot of ways. Hiking through a vast beautiful landscape captivates me and instills in me a sense of child-like wonderment. If you've ever been hiking with me, you know this. You've also likely heard the never ending stream of enthusiastic, profanity-rich endearments I belt out while exploring the area. "Look at this! Can you freaking believe it?! Its so *&%$# beautiful, how is this even possible?!" I get very lost in the moment and take it all in. A good long hike is like a therapy session for me and when I am out there its like a natural high that I can't get enough of.
I am never more present than when I am in the backcountry. I take it all in, examine different shapes, textures, and naturally occurring geometry. The vast occurrence of geometric patterns and textures found within our natural world deeply inspire me. I will often collect small samples of organic plant material on my hikes, create molds, and use them in my work. These treasures from the natural world are the catalysts for my work.
Over the years I have cultivated large number of different techniques for creating my work and I am always eager to further explore the world of metal-smithing.
I am so grateful that I am able to live a life of travel, exploration, adventure and still continue to express my creative passion. I have shifted from selling my work at art shows to cultivating exclusive, one of a kind collection releases that are only available on certain dates through my website. This new way of running my business allows me more time to do the things that fuel my soul and inspire me, which greatly influences my work in a positive way. Also, the ever changing view from my bench cant be beat!
My fascination with the vibrant display of tones and colors found in gemstones, in combination with my need for an outlet for my creative expression is where Hannah Lynn Jewelry was born. Fifteen years later I am still playing with rocks and experimenting with different ways to manipulate metal. Each day is a new opportunity for evolution and growth.
Thank You