On September 16, senior, Emmanuelle Beaurpere, went live with her own line of handmade jewelry. All of her jewelry is available on her website: http://francoisethelabel.bigcartel.com.

How did you first become interested in jewelry making? How did you learn about this and how to create jewelry?

I first became interested in jewelry making when I lived in Morocco and met a lot of Touareg silver artisans. Watching them etch tiny detailed patterns into silver was really incredible. This inspired my love of silver jewelry which is my main medium in my own jewelry today. I also drew inspiration from exploring markets and thrift stores all around the world. I think just having the opportunity to see how jewelry is literally everywhere no matter where you are was a really important factor that played into the start of my business. I love that I’d see a silver ring in Tunisia and find one in Malaysia that was completely different even though, ultimately it’s a piece silver. There’s so much creative freedom in jewelry making and I’m really enjoying this creative outlet. At first I had no idea how a piece of silver came to be a perfectly smooth and round ring, and the learning process was no easy feat. I spent a lot of time hunched over books in the library and spent even more going through tutorials online and jewelry forums. I started sketching, buying materials, and at first I had no intent of making a business out of this hobby. However, seeing as silver is not a cheap material I realized that if I wanted to keep creating, I would have to find a source of income. I also had always wanted to start my own business, of course I always imagined it would come after college but here I am now dealing with custom made orders and trying to figure out a shipping rate so I guess I just went with it.

What is the actual process (from start to finish) of making a piece? What materials or machinery do you use?

It really depends on the piece but my favorite thing to make is a ring. Basically I’ll take a certain gauge metal (thickness), usually 16g and I’ll start to wrap it around my ring mandrel according to the desired size. I then mark the wire and slip it off the mandrel. I clamp it on my bench pin and I’ll use my saw to cut the metal where I marked it and if the edges are rough I’ll sand them down. It’s really important that the ends are flush and smooth otherwise it’ll be really obvious that that’s where you joined them. I then coat the joint with flux and put it on my soldering block. Next I’ll place a small piece of solder on the joint and light my torch. Because silver’s melting point isn’t very high I have to be careful not to concentrate too much heat on the ring, but heat it enough for the solder to flow. When the solder flows I quench the ring and dry it off. Next I pickle it in an acid for a few hours to get rid of the fire stain from my torch (oxidation). After pickling, I’ll brush it off to make sure all the fire stain is gone and I’ll start to use different grits of polishing paper down to my finest one to make the ring smooth and shiny. That’s it!

What were/are your inspirations for your store?

Again my motive for starting the store was mostly so that I could keep making jewelry but also so that I could share my hobby with others. I am always incredibly delighted to see my friends wearing my pieces, it makes me so proud. My greatest inspiration is my Bonne-maman, Françoise Beaurpere. She is the most extraordinary and elegant woman I have had the pleasure of knowing.  Her personal style has always influenced mine and every time I visit her she lets me marvel at her collection of jewelry. To put it simply, she’s a classic, and that’s exactly what I want to embody in my store, hence the name: francoise.thelabel.

What is your “style” ? What do you want to achieve with your jewelry pieces?

I would say that my style, at least for jewelry, is minimalistic. . Most of my pieces are geometric. Circles, ovals, and squares are prevalent in my current pieces.I love simple shapes because they go with everything, but simple doesn’t mean subtle. I like to experiment with size and how the different components of a piece lay on the skin. Recently I made my first pieces that had little gems worked into them. Im so excited!

What do you envision as the future of your store? What items or pieces do you plan to create and feature in the future?

It’s difficult to tell where my store is going, especially since I’ll be starting college soon. I want to further this venture because ultimately it’s my baby. When it grows and succeeds I get so proud and happy and when it isn’t doing so great I give it more attention. I definitely want to work with a variety of precious stones in the future, they’re getting a lot of attention! My dream is opal settings and maybe doing a pop-up shop. If it doesn’t work in college, it doesn’t work. I’m not too worried though, I’ve been low-key teaching my little brother how to wield a torch. So, if nothing else, I’ll pick up where I left off after college. It’s incredible being completely in control of everything. This is something I started and I’m the only one keeping it going and it’s so satisfying to watch it grow.