All of the jewelry on this website has been handcrafted with pride and great care to create pieces of distinction. Quality components have been incorporated into each piece. The wire used is 14 kt gold filled, sterling silver, and tarnish resistant Argentium™ sterling silver so that each piece made is designed to endure for a long time. All pieces have been priced as reasonably as possible.
About the Artist
After I (Bess Ellis) retired from teaching in a St. Louis, MO, suburb several years ago, my husband and I moved to a rural site about 80 miles south of St. Louis near Belgrade, MO. While adjusting to retirement, we took a number of classes at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. One of the classes that I took was taught by Judy Peppers. It was a class titled “Innovative Wire Art Jewelry.” I absolutely loved making jewelry using the techniques taught in the class. It amazed me to see that elegant pieces of jewelry could be created without heat or solder. When I returned home from the class, I stocked up on wire and other supplies and began creating unique pieces of jewelry. In order to add some wire sculpting in addition to wire wrapping into some of my jewelry pieces, I purchased an instructional DVD from Preston Reuther (http://wire-sculpture.com) from which I learned wire sculpting techniques. One other class that I took at John C. Campbell Folk School was “Woodburning Possibilities” with Orchid Davis. This was another extremely enjoyable class. I have incorporated woodburning into some of my pieces of jewelry.
Since learning to make wire-wrapped jewelry, I have handcrafted many, many pieces of jewelry and in addition have been privileged to teach several other people to make jewelry. I enjoy utilizing both wire-wrapping and wire sculpting techniques in my jewelry designs, so it has been a pleasure to make each and every piece that appears on my website. Lots of pride is taken when I design unique one-of-a-kind jewelry, elegant creations, or fancy pieces as well as when I make the more simple ones. All are sure to be admired by the wearer and those who see them.
Other Information
Physical Address:
Bess & Maurice Ellis
12486 Sutton Road
Belgrade, MO 63622
Phone Number:
573-766-5346
E-mail Addresses:
mbellis@centurytel.net
jochi45@yahoo.com