A Flower by Any Other Name

With a surname that literally translates to “beautiful flower,” could Jenifer Bellefleur do anything but create delicate, fetching pieces of jewelry from choice natural elements? 

Working in a decidedly pared down fashion with silver, gold and real gemstones, Bellefleur uses her hands, an instinctual design process informed by a lifetime of making art, and not much else. 

“I’m always amazed by the amount of stuff that other people own to make jewelry,” Bellefleur said. “I have one pair of pliers and that’s it; everything else I do with my hands. I do my wire work with my hands; I even cut things with household scissors.” 

It's a process that serves her art well.

“I wouldn’t want to own a piece of jewelry that I wouldn’t want to give to my daughter,” Bellefleur said.

After dabbling in painting and pursuing photography–which she still does–Bellefleur decided 10 years ago to try her hand at jewelry making. Her artist’s eye and nimble hand proved the perfect combination for creating one of a kind pieces from beautiful, natural selections–setting amethysts against citrine and silver, pairing transparent rose quartz with peridot, crafting unique necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

Bellefleur said she starts with the stones, letting them speak to her and not constructing a piece until she’s confident how the beauty of the stone will be realized in the piece. 

While some as some believe the agates she works with can really provide protection or a citrine bring luck, Bellefleur said she doesn't share their faith. Still, the daughter of a former antique seller is intrigued by the indisputable history each stone carries. 

“They were formed before you or I; they’ll be here long after we’re gone,” she said.  

This is a difficult economy in which to try to make a living solely as a jewelry artist and, while Bellefleur said that lifestyle would be ideal, it’s simply not sustainable. Instead, she does what she needs to in order to be able to do what she loves, working part time at Bryant Hardware to make ends meet. 

“I’d love to be able to make anything that brings me joy be economically sustaining so that I wouldn’t have to work at a hardware store, but that’s just not the way it is,” Bellefleur said. 

You can find Bellefleur’s work locally at Design Collective or online at her Etsy shop, appropriately named A Flower Grows.