Sarah Swell
WHEN LOOKING AT THE FISHBONE JEWELRY CREATED BY SARAH SWELL, it’s easy to imagine the pieces are from another time or place.
The bracelets, earrings, and necklaces in the fishbone series are designed to look and move like the spine of their namesake. They have a raw, organic quality; they look like they could be found among the ruins of a Celtic castle or in the jewelry box of a San Francisco urbanite.
Swell says that the idea for the first fishbone piece was likely the result of her fascination with “moving parts and ocean creatures.” The Sausalito-based jeweler recently found a ten-year-old sketch with what is essentially a rough version of the bracelet, indicating it had been swimming around in her head long before she sat down to create it.
The ocean has a strong influence on Swell, whose last name is actually Greenberg. She adopted her “jewelry pen name,” as she calls it, because of its association with ocean waves. It also serves as a reminder of her Cape Cod roots. Greenberg says that while growing up on the Cape, she tried almost every artistic medium. After taking a metalsmithing course as an adult, something just clicked.
She next attended the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco, before starting her own business in 2009. The fishbone bracelet was one of the first pieces Greenberg created. She felt the fishbone design “had such a nice weight and fluidity that it only seemed natural to wear it on the wrist.”
Each of the pieces in the fishbone series is made either of sterling silver or pure gold, and all of Swell’s jewelry is made from nearly one-hundred percent recycled metals and entirely by hand. The “bones” are cut first from sheet silver or gold, finished, drilled, and then laid out to see how they would look; they are then finished by riveting the pieces together using a small torch. From beginning to end, a bracelet can take an entire day to make. The elegant and simple design of these pieces, and the dedication to their creation, enhance their timeless quality. These pieces are built to last.
And that timelessness captures the essence of what Swell believes jewelry is meant to do: become symbolic of a memory, and one that will hopefully be passed on. “I hope that my jewelry is gifted with love, that the wearer is reminded of the person that gave it to them . . . Jewelry is definitely about beautiful, well-made pieces, but more importantly it’s about memories, connection, and love.” sarahswell.com.
Originally published in the Winter 2016 edition of The Coastal Table.
