Congratulations to Kathryn Richardson, the winner of the Cool Tools Random Review Contest. Kathryn has won a $100 gift certificate for reviewing the Slik she purchased. Kathryn gave our Slik a top 5-Star rating.
Kathryn was excited and told us a little about herself:
“Wow! I really won something?! Perhaps now I can start prowling the Cool Tools pages for new goodies.”
Kathryn Richardson is a jewelry designer currently based in the Kansas City area. She designs jewelry with the stone in mind, enhancing the natural beauty of gemstones and pearls instead of hiding them under a tangle of coils and seed beads. Her pieces are made with solid metals – sterling silver, fine silver, and copper – or with vermeil and gold-filled components. Her designs often incorporate handcrafted accents in wire or metal clay. To add more sparkle, she adds Swarovski crystals to white topaz and faceted rock crystal to make original holiday jewelry.
She is fascinated by “the metamorphosis that changes a plain stone into a dazzling gem then into a radiant piece of jewelry. It takes the right combination of color, form, metal, and design.” A life long artist, she is familiar with the magical potential of color and contrast. She also has a passion for colored stones (her father always checked her pockets before heading home from vacation). She only began designing jewelry 15 years ago, selling her pieces in several galleries in the Midwest. She also created pieces inspired by the collection in the Nelson-Atkins Museum that were available only in the gift shop.
She teaches classes in basic stringing and simple wirework (“I teach students to wrap natural gemstones so the inherent beauty of the stone comes through.”). She also holds stringing sessions for a local women’s group. Out of the studio, she is an avid photographer, inquisitive explorer, experienced gardener, and scuba diver.
After every purchase, you have the opportunity to review your products. Your reviews help fellow jewelry artists better understand the products we offer. You can review any product by simply going to the product page and clicking “write a review”. Each review gives you an entry into our review contest. Help us congratulate Kathryn!