Making Metal Magic

San Francisco jewelry designer Shana Astrachan shares her perspective on the business and talks about her love for all things crafty.

By: Stephanie Cafano

Tools and Books. It may not be what your average 15-year-old girl finds interesting, but for Shana Astrachan it was everything. Finding tools in her childhood home in New Hampshire led to curiosity and experimenting, and later will explain her passion for her career in jewelry making.

Just a few blocks off the 24^th street BART stop, in the Mission District, lies the artist’s pop-up shop. She notes proudly that she extended her time at the Urban Interstice Gallery. Don’t be fooled by the tiny space where Astrachan has been showcasing her work since November 2010. Astrachan’s designs are carefully decorated throughout the gallery as well as little gadgets and trinkets that show off the artist’s creative personality. From tiny, simple metal stud earrings to shiny bright-pink sequined necklaces, there’s no denying that the artist possesses a unique and edgy style that can draw any lover of jewelry into her shop.

“You came at a good time,” Astrachan says, as she fiddles behind a set of curtains to find a chair.  The door to the shop is left wide open, allowing a nice breeze to filter in. Wearing a dark navy blue dress with a blue cardigan, with her own complimentary jewelry pieces—a very Anthropologie look—the petite artist gets situated behind her very clean, organized desk.

“I was always around jewelry,” Astrachan says with a smile. The artist adds that her
aunt owned a jewelry gallery on Newbury Street, Boston’s fashion haven.

After studying under the prestigious metal maker, Timothy McCreight, who Astrachan describes as “the god of jewelry education” at the Maine College of Art in Portland, the young artist packed up her life to move across the country.  “I wanted to be in a city with other artists. San Francisco has a really rich history of early jewelry studio work,” she says.

After moving to San Francisco in 1996, the artist, then 21 years old, joined the Bay Area’s Metal Arts Guild, and a year later would join a Metal Art’s Critique group. Throughout the years, Astrachan has served as the exhibition coordinator and guild librarian for the group. The guild has been around since the early '50s, and has between 200-300 members.

Being a young artist at the time, the guild and critique group were a great foundation for Astrachan’s career. Her active involvement not only allowed her to meet several other artists, but also provided her with feedback as well as inspiration. “I tend to get my influences from other designers,” she says. “I’m always looking at others' work.” Amongst her greatest influences are Alexander Caulder, Mary Rank, and Wendy Ramshaw.  “My aesthetic influences are very simple and early modern,” Astrachan notes.

Like many other types of artists, making a career out of your passion isn’t always an easy start. The young designer had to work several part time jobs when she first moved to the Bay Area. However, she was determined to make a living out of her dream. “There were a few times over the years where I have gotten in over my head,” Astrachan says. “I did get a business license right away, so I could start selling my work to stores.”

Since her move to San Francisco, she has been featured in several jewelry education books as well as exhibitions in museum galleries around the world.  “I just had one of these pieces come back from the National Metals Museum in Tennessee. That was kind of an honor to show in the museum. It was a major exhibition,” she adds. 

“I also have pieces coming back to me from a gallery in Florida, for a show that was sponsored by Ikea. It focused on jewelry pieces made from recycled materials,” Astrachan says. “It was great because I already had pieces I made from a few years back that were made out of parts from Ikea.”

Besides her love for metal, Astrachan loves experimenting with all sorts of materials. When asked what three materials she couldn’t live without, she sighs and says “I feel like there are a million.” Being open with new materials is what draws the artists to her unique designs.  The jewelry maker adds that she loves the flexibility of mohair silk and the playfulness/fun of sequins.

While running the pop-up shop, the artist still finds time to make it to her studio, which is also conveniently located in the Mission. “My studio days are long,” Astrachan says with a laugh. “Right now I’m doing almost everything on my own, from the book-keeping to the marketing to the invoicing to the ordering materials to actually making the work."

The artist adds that she did just hire her first intern. “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” she giggles. “Hopefully it will help me be more productive, and someday lead to actually having an employee.”

In the midst of an economic recession, young artists may worry about not being able to continue a career out of their passion.  Although it may have crossed her mind, Astrachan never second-guesses her career choice. “I would definitely like to have a few more accounts and selling more places. I would like the opportunity to work with other materials,” she says. “I’m open to all possibilities.”

(IMAGE from www.shanaastrachan.com/bio.html)