Midtown Bazaar: Vendor of the Week: Jewelry by North

Sharon & North Marques are the creative team of Jewelry by North

"I started making jewelry a little over 4 years ago, after my wife Sharon and I decided to move my mom in with us; she was ailing from cancer," explains North Marques, the jewelry artist behind Jewelry by North on how she started her craft. "It was my mother who introduced me to making earrings, using beads and finds, and I was hooked." After her mother passed away, Marques took a jewelry-making class at Sac City College. The technique was Lost Wax Casting, and she fell in love with the process. North along with her wife and partner, Sharon Marques, set up shop and in the fall of 2009 started selling her silver jewelry at various craft fairs and events around California.

Her creative process is organic, typically starting from a sketch which becomes the design she then proceeds to carve out of wax. The mold created from the wax is then prepared for the sterling silver casting, which she heats with a torch and carefully pours into the mold. Once cooled, Marques then hand-finishes the piece, creating a unique ring/bracelet/necklace of sterling silver jewelry, reflecting a range of interests including the natural world and global culture.

THE RIGHT TO BE YOURSELF.
In September of 2010, North designed a piece of jewelry
in response to the overwhelming number of young people who were turning to suicide due to unchecked bullying, harassment and intolerance directed at them. Wanting to help raise awareness to this issue, Sharon and North made the decision to raise funds for the Trevor Project- a crisis intervention & suicide prevention organization that offers a Lifeline for lesbian, gay, transgendered and questioning youth. They created the "Right to Be Yourself- Don't Give Up-Trevor Project" available as a bracelet or necklace. $5 of each piece sold goes towards the Trevor Project.

Right to Be Yourself-Don't Give Up-Trevor Project can be ordered online at Jewelry By North.com

Jewelry by North is often commissioned for custom work, which Marques loves doing. Her pieces are listed on Etsy and Artfire as well as sold at various marketplaces. One place Sharon and North love to sell is at the Midtown Bazaar where they can be found every Saturday at their booth. You can also find them at the Telegraph Street Holiday Fair in Berkeley, December 12, 19, 23rd and 24th.