We hammer out our own stories to find our true selves. Sometimes it just takes us a while to get there...

Back in high school, my career assessment test spit out three unexpected words: Stained Glass Artist. Weren’t those tests supposed to say doctor, lawyer, or dental hygienist?

If I had told my dad I wanted to be an artist, he probably would have choked on his pizza. The message was clear: becoming an artist would leave me penniless, with bills for him to pay.

So I did the practical thing. I earned two degrees, worked in seven states, and built a respectable career with a paycheck and benefits.

Then, two decades after that career test, I was engaged and trying to save money, and thought, "Why not make my own wedding rings?" Funny how you can come full circle while literally making circles.

That was it. I was hooked on goldsmithing.

I also learned that artists don’t simply float around exposed-brick lofts living flighty lives. We work our asses off, pay bills, solve problems, and make beautiful things despite it all.

It took me 22 years to call myself an artist. I founded Martini Metal Craft in 2011, and today I’m a goldsmith in Bellingham, Washington. I design and hand-fabricate every piece using traditional techniques, creating clean, textural jewelry meant to be worn often and made part of someone else’s story.

In 2024, I opened Martini Mercantile in a repurposed 1929 Tudor in Bellingham’s Sunnyland neighborhood. It gave Martini Metal Craft a permanent home and allowed me to surround my work with independent art, useful objects, and other things worth owning.

Martini Metal Craft remains at the heart of it all: jewelry for people hammering out their own stories, because interesting lives are rarely built by following a perfectly straight line.

Apparently, mine required two degrees, seven states, a pair of wedding rings and one career test I should have listened to sooner.

And yes, my last name really is Martini. My first name is Marijo. It sounds like Mary Jo.