About me

I grew up in North Carolina, and after college went to work for the Student Conservation Association at Colville National Forest in Washington.  Later I moved to Chicago and received a Master’s of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University.  I worked as a psychotherapist at a Community Mental Health Center on the South Side of Chicago with children who had been abused or neglected and subsequently placed in foster care.  Seven years ago, I moved to Zurich, Switzerland, and had two daughters.

I started making necklaces when a store had a necklace I loved, but not in the right colors, for my mom’s Christmas present.  I enjoyed it so much that I made necklaces for all my friends using their favorite colors.  My friends placed a few special orders for their friends and family, and I decided to sell my jewelry and make monthly donations to a child-abuse prevention organization.  I researched several, and chose Childhelp, which directly provides services in communities for both prevention and treatment of child abuse.

I welcome special orders, and I especially love to create jewelry using a person’s favorite colors or stones.  I am inspired by a love of nature and pretty sparkly things, and the hopeful belief in the healing power of the earth and the materials I use.  Granola Jen is the nickname my husband and his brothers gave me back in my vegetarian hippie days.

Jen

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