Marya Dabrowski discovered early in life that transforming shapeless bits of metal into tiny pieces of art would be her life’s passion. At the age of twelve, she was the youngest person in a jewelry-making class designed for and filled with adults looking for fun and relaxation. Working with the sheets of copper and copper wire and colorful stones, Marya was utterly captivated.

She immersed herself in the class—“I made myself the teacher’s pet,” she remembers, “asking questions, always pushing to know more”—and put endless hours into practicing new techniques. Every day, her bike carried her up the spiral, winding road to the DeCordova Museum’s classroom buildings and into the new world she was just beginning to build.

From that first effort of copper and colored stone, Marya quickly honed her skills. She began working with silver in high school and small amounts of gold as the budget allowed. Today, she and her husband Tom work almost exclusively with high-karat gold. With her innate sense of color and natural affinity for shape and symmetry, and his gift with mathematics and the mechanics of movement, they make an incredibly synergetic design team.

Particularly inspired by the brilliant color of new and little-known gemstones such as salmonite, prehnite and apatite, Marya works to create bright, signature jewelry in her own unique style—pieces that are un-traditional, but flexible, durable and supremely wearable. Skillfully blending her own techniques with those handed down from smiths who centuries ago crafted armor and weaponry, Marya discreetly tucks tell-tale signs of her techniques out of immediate view. In this way, her designs discourage casual reproduction and maintain their distinctiveness.

To see more of Marya’s designs or to acquire a one-of-a-kind for yourself, visit maryadabrowski.com today.