I was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and grew up all over the country. Always creative as a child, I concentrated on portraiture and fibers as a youth.  After college my career life in San Antonio, Houston and Albuquerque was devoted to a marketing and advertising path within the Bell System, both pre and post divestiture.  

After 15 years with the company, I took early retirement to marry Charlie, move to a dairy farm and raise our family.  As our children, Julie and Chuck, were growing up, I began to re-involve myself in fashion, textiles and fiber arts, concentrating on garment design, wearable art and construction, eventually being lucky enough to travel extensively and take couture specific classes from California to London for years.  This led me to founding a chapter of The American Sewing Guild, Inc. in Albuquerque, which grew to a healthy membership that thrives today.  After serving as the chapter's first President, I was elected to the National Board of Directors of ASG.  This job involved more travel and developed into my teaching newsletter, sewing and couture details classes around the U.S.  

After retiring from the guild and returning to college, this time in Santa Fe, to learn the art of silversmithing, I discovered a new love!  Almost three years of study, yet still a beginner; have convinced me to allow room for a workshop in my garage.  Are there any other silversmiths out there who want to get together and create?

During this time, I was gaining experience and practical knowledge in home design and building, remodeling and interior design.  After being asked to help friends and family with their own interiors, I began extensive studies that lead to my beginning my own interior design consulting business.  All my previous interests and talents have lead me to this second (third, fourth?) career from which I'm now semi-retired since moving to Pagosa four years ago, but I still make myself available for interesting jobs.  I've even been a featured designer with my work shown on HGTV.

We built our home here a few years ago and it was a full-on creative outlet to ‘do’ the whole thing at once; design the home from the ground up, learn CAD to accomplish this, get the home constructed, detail and spec everything in the home and see it to the final product.  Exhausting at times, but worth it in the end.

Anyway, back to the silversmithing/jewelry thing––I love making sterling silver fabricated pieces of my own design, but find that it's labor intensive, which makes it very expensive, so I concentrate on jewelry making with semi-precious stones and beads and unusual findings.  This lead to further studies and now my work is known for its unique look and unusual color stories.  It's statement jewelry.  My strength in my work has been the visual impact, the colors, whether in interior design, clothing construction, quilting, knitting, felting, beading, etc.  I never make the same piece twice - all my work is one of a kind in every sense.  I love to add sterling silver shapes and hand worked elements, which combines the two skills and makes the piece more interesting and allowing me to stay involved with silver work.  Jacobi Designs 970-903-7100.