Birds and Bangles: Karen Mitchell

Karen Mitchell uses nature as inspiration for her jewelry

When Karen Mitchell holds a stone in the palm of her hand, she sees a bird. This Mont Vernon jeweler finds the color and shape of semi-precious stones as inspiration for a starting point for her sterling silver jewelry.

Mitchell, after 25 years as a dental lab technician, followed the career path of her mother, Eleanor Tinsley Bacon, who still contributes to the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen by sponsoring the E. Tin Bacon Award for silver jewelry each year. Her daughter has now been a League member for more than twenty years.

The crowns and bridgework were not for naught. Mitchell uses those skills in creating her nature-inspired necklaces, bracelets and brooches. "Much of the preparation work is the same," she says.

In another direction she adds a fine jewelers' saw to her toolkit. Details of line drawings are pierced through the metal. Presently she has a line of pooches, where she captures the likeness of individual dogs in silver brooches.