Inspired by historic ornament and architecture, ancient cultures, myths and symbols, and the celestial… I strive to create jewelry full of sentimental and historical meaning and emotion. Precious little treasures to hold your most important memories, loves, hopes and dreams, to keep close and carry with you along your journey. Future heirlooms to cherish and pass down for generations to come.
About Joy and how A Thousand Joys was born
Hey there! My name is Joy and I grew up in a small town in Michigan, where I received a degree in Fine Arts. A few years after college I decided to go back to school to further my art studies so I went back to talk to an old professor to get ideas and that’s where destiny found me. While walking down the hall I noticed a poster for a school in Florence Italy and it was like the clouds parted and the sun shown down in that very spot, and I just knew I had to go there. After just a week in Florence I met a certain man, and I sat at a jewelers bench for the first time. And from here my fate was set; I found the two loves of my life.
My studio and atelier is in a corridor along side a little collection of jewelers I like to think of as a little family, in the artisans district of the Oltrarno in Florence, where I craft jewelry using the same ancient jewelry making techniques they’ve been using here for centuries. In a world where most things are made with machines and computers, I strive to create pieces that are made the slow way, with my hands and heart.