NORA & THE METALHEAD JEWELRY GENESIS
As a child growing up in Madison, WI, I filled every free moment with creative endeavors, filming short movies and TV commercials, writing and performing songs, choreographing dance routines, painting and drawing, designing brochures for imaginary businesses, and making crazy creations from a craft bucket full of things my mother couldn’t throw away. I scrapbooked, wood-burned, rock-tumbled, sewed, and painted nails for pennies on the sidewalk. I even took up knitting UW Badger scarves to sell on the street to football game-goers.
My favorite activity, however, was making jewelry! I had (still have in my parents’ basement) an extensive collection of beads and findings that I would craft into earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets on my living room floor to the background murmur of the TV. “Beading” was always the first activity offered up to friends who came over and we would spend hours on our creations. Like my scarves and nail painting, I occasionally tried to sell my jewelry on the sidewalk in front of our house—though customers were limited to kind neighbors (see my String Dolls reel on Instagram for a laugh).
It wasn’t until a summer art metal workshop in high school that I took the leap from beading on the living room floor to something that looked like real smithing. I was lucky enough to have art metal classes in high school so I took one the following year, TAing the class the next. I loved dabbling in the craft, but never thought of it as potential career path. I always dreamt of making a career out of art but could never commit to a single art form. Even if I settled on one, I thought, how would I ever make a living?
By 2020, I had moved to Chicago to be with my now husband, Andy, and taken a few metalworking courses here and there. There was a great metalsmithng program at UW-Madison (my undergrad), but again, I never thought it was something I could make a career in (full regret now…). I had graduated in Communication Arts (TV & Film) and was working graphic design/social media management/videography for a nonprofit that orchestrates art exchanges with kids around the world. I also started taking a metals class at a nearby metal studio. Once COVID hit, the studio closed and I lost my job. Now on temporary unemployment, I decided to start buying my own tools, creating a makeshift studio in my kitchen and back porch. With the world on pause around me, I dove headfirst into metalsmithing and soon realized that it was what I wanted to do every day for the rest of my days!
I started my business in 2020 as “Nora Goldie Metals”, working tirelessly every day to develop my voice, creating jewelry in all sorts of styles (even resin flower jewelry—a large departure from my current style). The name Nora Goldie Metals never felt right, though, and as my voice developed, I quickly changed the name to Metalhead Jewelry. A loud and proud listener of metal music since the fifth grade, I actually thought of the name “Metalhead” first; it just didn’t fit with the flowery stuff I started out with. As my work quickly shifted into the dark, edgy, alien, rustic, badassery that it was always meant to be, “Metalhead” ended up being a perfect fit.
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My work continues to evolve each year, but my overwhelming drive remains the same: novelty. What motivates me most is creating pieces that no one has ever made before—including myself (whenever possible). I love to deconstruct and then Frankenstein things back together, to play with balance, negative space, texture, and contrast. My pieces often feel like dark, futuristic artifacts—objects that someone might unearth on a distant planet. I also love adding in mechanical/engineered and interactive elements—hidden lockets, folding earrings, convertible necklaces, crazy front-clasps—because why shouldn’t you play with your jewelry?
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Today, I hand-fabricate every piece in my little basement studio with a lot of heart and hard labor. Each one-of-a-kind work is imagined, designed, created, photographed, and marketed by me, myself, and I. I’m still figuring out what “sustainable artist life” looks like, but I truly couldn’t see myself doing anything else. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy dreaming it up!