We are very excited for an influx of new studios due to our Virtual Trade show. We wanted to share them with you so we asked them all a specific set of questions to get to know them better. We’re starting it off with Rebekah Jaramillo of Rebekah J. Designs - she’s not only an amazing jeweler but she’s recently become one of the managing partners of JOIN Design. We are so glad to have her and her organization skills!

STUDIO NAME

Rebekah J. Designs

Your Name

Rebekah Jaramillo

When/how/why was your studio founded?

I founded this business in 2005 after graduating from the University of Washington with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Metals.

Who or what inspires your process?

I use my craft like a journal. So naturally my life and how/what/who I'm processing with in it inspires what I make. All of my collections stem from a point in my life where I was transitioning, adjusting, or simply trying to understand. It's not often until the end of creating these bodies of work that I understand what I was working out, but it reveals it's self at the end. Our last collection for example, The CHOSEN Collection, is all about making a chosen change in life (quitting my day job and choosing to do my craft full time). Picking something for myself and chipping away at it as long as it takes to make this dream happen. Each one of the pieces addresses thoughts and feelings I felt prior to making this transition.

Daily ritual?

Snuggles with kid & cat followed by coffee.

Favorite item in your studio?

Right now it's the whole new studio space! We just remodeled it, and it's so much more functional. I love being in here. If I had to pick one item.... maybe the cozy chair that I'm working in, or my half round pliers. They're perfect.

Favorite nerd hobby or interest?

Ohhhh, well hummm, during quarantine I created my own sourdough start! It was a super fun experiment and I shared starts with several friends! I love carving the designs on top and seeing what comes out at the end the most.

Describe your studio+work in 3 words:

Inspired, organic, relatable

Biggest hurdle you've overcome thus far?

Hands down it was quitting my day job. It took me 23 years before I (and my husband) were ready.

Book, movie, song, or meal that describes your studio ethos?

Ready Player One (book). I love the visual of "the stacks" where all the mobile homes are stacked one on top of eachother. I feel it represents my ethos in that I'm building as I go along.

Are you launching any new products? Or have something exciting you want us to share?

We just launched a collection in February - the CHOSEN Collection, right before Covid19. It still feels so new to me, and ready to be seen.

GETTING TO KNOW OUR STUDIOS: EP1 - REBEKAH J. DESIGNS