What does it really mean to live a creative life that’s true — not tidy, not performative, but real?

In this conversation, jewelry artist Susan Wachler shares her journey from a multi-generational family of jewelers to her own late-in-life return to the bench after decades as a psychotherapist. Her work carries the weight of both lineage and lived experience — raw, textural, and deeply human.

We talk about redefining success, creating without proof, and how honesty — both emotional and artistic — can become a kind of freedom. Susan also reflects on what it means to make art in uncertain times, to let intuition lead, and to find joy in the alchemy of the studio.

It’s a conversation about resilience, honesty, and the quiet courage it takes to keep showing up for your craft simply because you love it.

Follow Susan...

Instagram: @susanwachlerjewelry

Website: susanwachlerjewelry.com

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Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠

Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠

Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com

If you’ve ever felt that tug-of-war between creativity and business, or struggled with the balance of freedom and financial pressure, you’re going to feel so seen in this episode.

Julianne is a maker in the truest sense—her work is soulful, organic, and deeply connected to the natural world. We talk about her journey from teacher to metalsmith, the unexpected start she got thanks to her husband’s old silversmithing tools, and how her creative voice found its way through texture, form, and layers that reflect the landscapes of her life.

We also dive into the challenges of building a jewelry business in a rural setting, navigating the rollercoaster of sales, and the ever-present feeling of not doing it ‘right’—even when your heart knows it’s exactly what you’re meant to be doing. Julianne shares how she’s embraced the imperfections of her craft and found freedom in letting go of comparison and self-doubt.

If you’ve ever felt the pull to create simply for the joy of it, or if you’ve ever wrestled with the tension between art and livelihood, this conversation will resonate. You’ll walk away with a deeper appreciation for the slow, mindful process of making, and for the ways we can infuse care and intention into not just our work, but our lives.

Follow along with Julianne...

Instagram: @silverstruckstudio

Website: etsy.com/shop/silverstruckstudio

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Support an episode: Click here to learn more!

Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much!

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Instagram: @christinemighion

Jewelry website: christinemighion.com

Slowmade website: slowmadepodcast.com

In this episode of Slowmade, I’m talking with Los Angeles jewelry artist Tzipora Hoynik.

Tzipora has been making and selling jewelry for around forty years, but her creative life began long before that. As a little girl, she told her father she wanted to be an artist, even though she didn’t yet know exactly what that meant. Over the years, that pull toward making has taken many forms, from drawing and painting to glass blowing, ceramics, weaving, beads, metalsmithing, and eventually the bold, colorful, deeply textured jewelry she creates today.

Tzipora’s work begins with stones. Color is her starting point, and her pieces often feel layered with pattern, texture, movement, and embellishment. In our conversation, she shares how gemstones guide her designs, why she doesn’t like to leave a surface blank, and how her love of color continues to keep the work exciting after so many years.

We also talk about the evolution of a long creative career, including her early years making beaded jewelry, her time doing wholesale shows, and the moment production work started to feel more like work than play. Tzipora now focuses mostly on one-of-a-kind pieces, allowing the stones, the process, and her own instincts to lead.

Along the way, we talk about her Los Angeles studio, her very practical relationship with tools, her longtime connection to Burning Man, the special jewelry pieces she has made for that community, and her Warrior Women series, a design she returned to after many years and reimagined with more detail, strength, and meaning.

This conversation is also about what it means to keep creating over the long arc of a life. Tzipora talks about the need to make things as something deeply innate, something that feeds her and feels woven into who she is. Even after decades of working as an artist, she still finds joy in coming into the studio, playing with stones, and seeing what wants to become.

We talk about creative devotion, staying true to your own voice, selling work through Instagram and shows, working with collectors, the reality of pricing handmade jewelry, and why the value of a piece is never only about the materials. It also carries the years of experience, the choices, the eye, the hands, and the voice of the artist who made it.

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to build a life around making, not for a season, but for decades, I think you’ll love this conversation with Tzipora.

Follow Tzipora...

Tzipora on Instagram: @opalgirl

Tzipora’s Website: spiraljewelry.etsy.com

Love the Podcast?

Support an episode: ⁠Click here to learn more!⁠

Without your support I couldn’t continue the Slowmade Podcast. Thank you so much!

Follow Christine and Slowmade...

Instagram: ⁠@christinemighion⁠

Jewelry Website: ⁠christinemighion.com⁠

Slowmade: ⁠slowmadepodcast.com