Chrissy Butler

Chrissy began working with metals ten years ago. She grew up watching her mom work with silver. When her mom moved on to another medium, after 25 years as a silversmith, Chrissy inherited her tools.

Currently, the metals Chrissy works with are silver, brass, and copper. This allows her a wide range of color and texture. She uses patinas to add or enhance color, design, and texture. She also works with a large list of stones, precious and semi-precious, as well as pearls. You will not see any super shiny stuff here, that's for the mass produced jewelry stores. She is a Washington state native, with a farming/ranching background. She has worked all kinds of farm, ranch, and feedlot jobs. She spent six years in Wyoming, and worked on some ranches out there, as well as Oregon. She got a two-year degree in computer drafting, and spent quite a few years doing drafting and engineering work. She thinks that some of her designs reflect this in their geometry. Her work is also influenced by her childhood, growing up on the Yakima Indian Reservation. Although not Yakima, she is inspired by the art of the Yakimas. The silversmith work of the Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni has always taken her breath away, given her inspiration, and something to aspire to.

She loves to experiment with her designs and materials. She is not a repetitive, or mass produced, jeweler. There are some designs she makes quite a few of, due to their popularity and the enjoyment she gets from making those designs. However, most of her work is one-time. Some designs just demand to be one-of-a-kind. Often, she designs the piece as she go, and never draws it out. All of her work is stamped with her signature, or hallmark. You may not be able to see it on the jewelry, it is very small and she tries to place it so as to not distract from the design itself.