Jacob Albee
Jacob Albee Designs
P.O.Box 1213
Burlington, VT 05407
t. 802-540-0401
e.
info@jacobalbee.com
w. www.jacobalbee.com
Jewelry
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Jacob Albee
Jacob Albee Designs Burlington, VT 05407
t. 802-540-0401 Jewelry |
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The plan was to chase wildlife in Africa. Jewelry was a hobby, an interest, not a career. I took a job for the summer between my undergrad at UVM and my planned graduate program at McGill in Raptor biology. That summer job lasted seven years and changed my life. I never showed up to grad school, completely entrenched in the world of designer jewelry. I worked for the Grannis Gallery, under the tutelage of Timothy Grannis, from 1999 to 2006. It was an amazing time to be a part of an amazing shop. I was exposed to work, and the artists who make it, from all over this country and beyond. I started pursuing my interests in the fine metals in high school. Like so many, it provided an interesting distraction from the burdens of adolescence. I started UVM as an Art Major, and graduated with a BA. My second year of school I realized that artists don’t have jobs when school is over, so I followed my other lifelong passion for animals into the (lucrative) field of Wildlife Biology. I loved my new classes, but was unwilling to give up the Art Major, since that meant no more art classes, and did a double degree program and graduated with my BS in Wildlife Biology as well. I had three shows of my work at Grannis Gallery in 2005-2006, and they really were the starting point. I applied to my first national shows the fall of 2006, and the new career was off. My wife and business partner, Kristin, and I have enjoyed acceptance in some of the country’s most prestigious craft shows, as well as various publications and awards. My work has been featured in American Style and Jewelry Artist and Niche magazines, as well as the most recent edition of the book Art Jewelry Today. I received a Niche Award in 2008, and was a finalist for two more in 2009. At the ACC Baltimore show this spring I received an Award of Excellence. The work has evolved over the past few years, but themes and materials have persisted. I have a love for interesting materials such as meteorite and rubber, but always in conjunction with high-carat gold and precious stones. I like pieces to be elegant yet high-impact, serious but fun. Technical skill is of great importance, as well as composition. Both are required for a piece to sing. Presently I work in 14k, 18k, 22k and 24k gold, meteoric iron, sterling silver, rubber, and a wide array of precious and semi-precious stones. Pieces may be forged, fabricated, cast, carved, etched and inlayed. I see expansion in the future into other materials, such as wood, mica, jade, carbon fiber, and other metals. Time will tell.
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