Are you looking for special gift ideas for the holidays? I recently sat down with Maxine Schwartz, a jewelry designer right here in Westfield. Her MAS Designs jewelry is unique and one of a kind, but what I also learned is that it is not only her jewelry that is so special; it is also Maxine, herself.
Maxine, a mother of three boys, began her career in jewelry design in 2011, when she received an art class as a birthday gift. She took the class, was hooked, and hasn’t stopped making jewelry ever since.
When you look at her work, you can just tell it comes from the heart. She makes her pure silver and 24k gold vermeil charms, and fires them in her studio at home. The silver charms are made from precious metal clay (pmc), a derivative of the automotive industry, and are 99.9% pure silver. The gold pieces are 24k gold vermeil dipped.
The finished jewelry is made from all kinds of materials; semi precious stones, carved bones, Thai silver beads, hand blown glass beads, African sea glass, silk, wood, gold, and pure silver. Maxine mixes and matches until she feels, as she says, “ she has created a piece of specialness that looks and feels if it were meant to always exist.”
Through Maxine’s distinctive and unique jewelry design she is able to create a sense of community and bring people together. Sitting in her home as people come in and out to see her work, you find people talking and sharing about themselves. She often finds that this creates connections among people. She mentioned that a woman looking for a necklace for her daughter who was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and there was another woman there who is a nutritionist who specialized in diabetics, and was able to give her advice.
Additionally, philanthropy is close to Maxine’s heart. She works with various charities and uses her talents to raise money for various causes. She has donated over thousands of dollars by selling fundraising jewelry for the Israel Emergency Campaign, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 22q Deletion Syndrome, and Nepal Relief Fund, among others.
Click here check out mas designs website, to order jewelry and learn more about her work.
Additionally, here is a list of some upcoming trunk shows mas designs will be at just in time for some holiday shopping.
If you would ever be interested in holding a trunk show in your home, Maxine would donate 15% of her proceeds to the charity of your choice.
-Natalie Golub, Tips From Town, 11/22/16
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