Amy Draper –
By Melissa Maynard


In the past year jewelry designer Amy Draper has graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in metalsmithing and jewelry design, moved to Chicago, found a design studio where she can create eye-popping pieces of jewelry and began exhibiting her work in art galleries and hip boutiques. Let’s just say, it’s been a busy year for the successful designer.

Her love for the arts began when she was around three, as she began painting and drawing. At about five, she began making jewelry, sculpting rings, bracelets and necklaces from a favorite childhood concoction of playdough and clay. Today, her talents are all in the details, as the articulateness of metalsmithing gives each piece of her jewelry its unique edge.

“I wanted to combine my love for designing and drawing with my love for creating and sculpting to make something that people could wear that would hopefully take on a deeper meaning for them as it did for me,” says Draper.

Factio Magazine: What is it like to own your own design studio?
It has been a wonderful experience owning my own jewelry studio. The most exciting part is that I have total freedom and independence to be creative. It has always been my dream and goal to be able to express myself through my art and be able to support myself doing it. I also enjoy being able to do all of the aspects of the business myself, from the designing of new pieces, ordering materials, marketing, advertising, accounting, to actually making every single last detail of every one of my pieces by hand.

Factio Magazine: What makes it worth it when you finish a piece of jewelry?
When I see someone's face when they put on one of my pieces of jewelry. That is what is worth all of the work for me. It is so exciting for me to have an idea for a piece and go through the process from beginning to end, from the initial idea, to the designing, problem solving, getting the right materials, making and finishing it how I envisioned it.

Factio Magazine: Your designs are very unique, mixing function and sometimes non-function with creativity, creating designs that look like a piece of art. What is it about your designs that separate you from other jewelry designers?
I try to mix function and non-fuction in a way that is unexpected. I want all of my pieces to be wearable, some are more everyday wearable and others are designed to be worn on special occasions. I am very interested in how my pieces move on and with the body, in surface textures and finishes, but mostly in unexpected and random patterns. I am very interested in patterns in nature and how they are placed so randomly, yet they look so natural. I always focus on the details that make something interesting. That is what keeps me going. The smaller the better. I can work on a section of a piece that is three millimeters for 12 straight hours and that is probably the most exciting part of my day. I think that is what sets me apart from other artists, the details.

When people on the street see my jewelry they sometimes… immediately approach the consumer to see where the artist sells her designs and where the thought behind her jewelry comes from.

I'm inspired by... unusual, but subtle textures on metal, repetition, and the details that make something interesting.

My next move is.... continue to grow my business by developing more unique collections to my line that consumers can't find in an everyday store.

My future plan is to....continue to grow as an artist and further my education of consumers interest in jewelry design.

I have to buy....unique gemstones and precious metals on a day-to-day basis to continue the growth of my private jewelry line.

Amy can be cantacted at 317. 946.8830.