I was born in Rome, Italy where I spent the first half of my life. After meeting my husband I moved to San Francisco and then to Oakland, California where I have been living since.
I always had an artistic inclination, a keen desire to work with my hands. Before becoming a jewelry designer I explored the mediums of stained and fused glass but I'm now fully dedicated to the design and production of handcrafted jewelry.
I work out of my home studio in Oakland and besides raising two teenage daughters, I divide my time between material selection, production and experimentation with a variety of techniques.
I prefer to work with semiprecious gems, natural stones and freshwater pearls, using sterling and Balinese silver as the primary metal components in my creations. I also like to work with 14K gold filled and vermeil.
Some of my favorite pieces happen to be the ones most time consuming to make. They are either woven by hand using an ancient technique, or crocheted with 1mm needle. Both techniques employ very thin wire of pure silver, gold filled or 14K gold.
My sense of style is influenced by my Italian heritage and translates naturally into my collection. So far I have only made “one of a kind” pieces, more than 700 of them, creating an eclectic body of work. It is my hope that you will enjoy browsing through my collection and find something appealing to your unique personality.
©2007 Rosa Maria Zanolli. All rights reserved.