ONLINE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Abrasha, Jewelry Artist
by Bernadette Finnerty

Abrasha Earrings with Spirit Sun Tourmalines and Diamonds. Kiddush Cup with Five Legs. Machined Ring #2. "Roof" Cufflinks with Diamonds. U-shaped Pendant with Spirit Sun Tourmaline and Diamonds.

San Francisco-based jewelry artist Abrasha (who stopped using his last name long ago) says he became a goldsmith the moment he walked into a jeweler's workshop for the first time. It was a chance meeting in Amsterdam in the early 1970s. Abrasha was studying to be a dentist when a friend brought him along on a visit to his girlfriend's goldsmithing workshop. One look at the goldsmith's shop and Abrasha knew immediately what he would do for the rest of his life.

He set about learning the jewelry trade and acquiring tools. He attended school in Pforzheim, Germany. While there, he apprenticed with some of Germany's most influential masters before moving to the United States, where he set up a studio in San Francisco in 1979. Abrasha started his business doing "trade" work for jewelers, such as ring sizing, repairs, chain repairs and stone setting. It took several years for him to become successful with his own designs.

TCR: How did you first become interested in and get involved in metalsmithing and jewelry making?

A: I was living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and studying to become a dentist. My best friend at the time, Benjamin, introduced me to his girlfriend [Victoria], who was a goldsmith. The moment I walked into her workshop, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. It was that instantaneous. From that moment on I just took all the necessary steps to get tools and training.

TCR: How did you pursue it?

A: Following the visit to that workshop, I started researching schools. In Holland, where I am from, there are some good schools. With some additional research, I also found the "Goldschmiedeschule" (School for Goldsmithing) in Pforzheim, Germany, that seemed an excellent choice to get the training I wanted. Pforzheim is to the jewelry industry what Detroit is to the automotive industry. With the support of my family, I moved to Germany in September of 1973 to start my formal training.

After completing a two-year program, and being trained in every facet of the jewelry industry, I was pleased to graduate with honors (cum laude). To become a certified goldsmith, I needed to complete my training by working in a firm as an apprentice for a year. I did this by apprenticing for Günther Krauss, one of Germany's leading jewelry designers and four-time winner of the prestigious Diamond International Award and many other German jewelry awards. After [that] I took a state exam, which certified me as a journeyman goldsmith.

Next I worked as a bench jeweler for Klaus Ullrich, one of Germany's most important and influential post-war jewelry artists and innovators. In 1977, the Chief Essayer of Amsterdam granted me a Master Sign after proven ability in the field of jewelry making. I still use this Master Sign (hallmark) to sign my work today. Also in 1977, I had an opportunity to come to the United States. I was here a few months later.

TCR: When did you begin selling your work, and through what venues?

A: I started selling my work when I set up a trade shop in a professional building in downtown San Francisco in1979. I was mostly doing trade work at the time, like ring sizing and repairs, chain repairs, stone setting, etc., as well as custom work for the local jewelry trade. I was also making my own pieces of jewelry, and did not quite know what to do with these pieces. I approached Elaine Potter, who operated the Contemporary Artisans Gallery in downtown San Francisco at the time, only a few blocks from my shop. She took my work on consignment -- only a few pieces in the beginning.

I did my first wholesale and retail craft show in 1982. It was the annual American Craft Council (ACC) craft show, then called the Pacific States Craft Fair at Fort Mason in San Francisco. I bombed miserably. I went back to doing trade work and selling my work through the Elaine Potter Gallery (same owner, new name, new location) and did not do another craft show until the ACC Baltimore craft show in February of 1990. That same year I also did the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show for the first time. Both shows were very successful. I also did the San Francisco show again that year.

Between 1982 and 1990 I continued to sell my work through the Elaine Potter Gallery in San Francisco, Del Mano Gallery in Los Angeles, and the Quadrum Gallery in Newton, Mass. In 1988, I was invited by the Ministry of Culture of Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany to be an artist-in-residence in Edenkoben. I was supplied with a place to live, a completely outfitted studio and a stipend. At the end of my stay, I had an exhibition there, and later that year I was invited by Bernd Munsteiner to show my work at his gallery in Stipshausen, Germany. (Bernd is a world-renowned cutter of gemstones.)

After the 1990 ACC show in Baltimore, where I had received a fair amount of wholesale orders, I applied to the show again, and got promptly wait listed. For a while I could not get into the shows, and was therefore not able to build on the success I had had the previous year. This was very frustrating.

DETAILS

TCR: Do you have health and/or studio insurance? Who is your provider? A: I have a family health plan. Blue Shield of California. As far as studio insurance is concerned, I have liability insurance, and studio insurance which covers inventory and equipment, through a local insurance agent. TCR: Where do you get your materials? A: I buy my raw materials from a variety of sources. I get alloyed gold from a precious metals supplier in California. Fine gold for a from a local bullion dealer. I get my solder and tubing from Germany and certain chain and beads from Germany. I get certain clasps from Switzerland. Diamonds and precious stones come from local diamond and precious stone dealers. Synthetic ruby balls come from an industrial supplier. Certain machined parts I have machined by a variety of machine shops in the area. TCR: What other resources have been helpful to your career? A: The Internet. The support of my family. Over the years I have had a number of apprentices and assistants who have made a great difference. For the last year and a half, I have been working with my personal/professional coach Rich Fettke (www.fettke.com), who has been very effective in keeping me focused on the tasks at hand, and my own goals.

TCR: Who is the market for your work?

A: Professionals like architects, graphic designers, industrial designers and other people who work in contemporary design fields. People who appreciate a very clean aesthetic and people who appreciate and understand fine craftsmanship. People who want a minimal, understated and not flashy look in their jewelry.

TCR: How do you currently reach them?

A: I do two ACC craft shows -- Baltimore and San Francisco. I also have done the Evanston Craft Show in Evanston, Ill., the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, D.C., and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show regularly. I currently sell through a number of galleries, as well as privately in my studio and through my Web site.

TCR: How did you get your work into the galleries where it is currently sold?

A: The first gallery I approached was Elaine Potter's, and in the beginning, as I was still unknown, a few others. Since then galleries have approached me, and have either requested work on consignment or have bought work from me. They usually see my work at a craft show, and now on my Web site.

TCR: Have there been major turning points in your business?

A: Turning points for me have usually come with getting new tools. For me this has been two-fold. First, getting computer software that helps me in the design process has been very helpful; it has helped me enormously to get my ideas across to clients, which is very important for private commissions, but is also important to develop new ideas for myself. And second, getting a lathe and a milling machine has helped me tremendously in being able to create work that previously was impossible to execute without these tools.

Museum exhibitions have been turning points. The first prestigious exhibition my work was a part of was "Jewelry USA" in 1984, which traveled to many museums nationally. Having my work bought by Kenneth Trapp [current curator for the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery] for the Oakland Museum in California was another important turning point. His encouragement in 1995 made me accept an invitation to participate in a Hanukah Menorah invitational exhibition at The Jewish Museum San Francisco. The menorah I made for that exhibition is now in the permanent collection of the Renwick Gallery. Since this first Judaica invitational, I have participated in many others. Some of my Judaica is currently in an exhibition at the Hebrew Union College in New York City.

My Web site has been a turning point, as it has proven to be very helpful as a tool in making sales. In 2000, I had a very successful Baltimore [ACC] show. My booth was very busy during both the wholesale and retail days. During the wholesale days, buyers came by the booth several times, and often found me busy talking to other people. Buyers often cannot wait and stand around for people to finish, because they themselves are on a tight schedule. So several had to leave the show without having been able to talk to me. Several gallery owners contacted me after the show, and with the help of the Web site, we were able to sit in different locations with my Web site in front of us and put a few large orders together that would most likely not have been placed without the site.

The support of my wife Maria has been an enormous turning point. Her skills and ability to listen to both gallery owners and retail clients and find out their needs have been invaluable to the growth of my business.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Abrasha Box 640283 San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 296-7655 E-mail: abrasha@abrasha.com Web site: http://www.abrasha.com

TCR: What has been the most difficult thing you have encountered in your work?

A: Being a one-person-business there are many "most difficult" things. Often, I feel overwhelmed by all the things that I have to do.

Often I cannot produce my work fast enough, which works against me in terms of delivery times and the number of galleries I am able to work with. If I were able to produce the work faster to meet the demand, I would get paid faster, and my galleries could sell it faster. This would allow me to use time and money to fill orders more efficiently. I would be able to develop new limited-edition designs and new one-of-a-kind work more often. My money is often tied up for too long, which creates a challenge on cash flow.

It is very difficult to get well-trained, qualified assistants. I get regular requests from young people who graduate from "art schools" from all over the country as "metalsmiths" or "jewelers" who want to work for me. Most all of these graduates have very limited skills. When I wanted to improve my own skills, I saw the value of apprenticing under a master. Today, I see young people not being willing to enter into such a relationship, but at the same time being unable to perform the most basic tasks required in the process of making jewelry. Yet they demand compensation equal to that of a master goldsmith. I would be delighted to train someone in the highest skills of making jewelry, if I would find someone who was committed and passionate.

TCR: What, in terms of business insight, have you learned to do or not to do over the years?

A: I do not get all that excited anymore about galleries who come to the shows and say they like my work, and "Would you please send us this, that and that on consignment?" I tell them that if they want to do business, fine. But I do not consider straight consignment doing business. I do not get excited about supplying galleries with free inventory anymore. I say "anymore," because when I was a beginner, I often did get excited that anyone would even want my work, so I was willing to take all the risk. Thankfully, this is no longer the case. Today, if a gallery wants my work, they have to be willing to buy it. Time and resources permitting, I am willing to supplement this with some consigned work.

TCR: What kind of marketing do you do to enhance your online presence and sales?

A: I mention my Web site in all invitations to people who are on my mailing list. I have offered my work through e-Bay, which has generated a considerable increase in traffic to my site. My work has also been offered on Guild.com [now called Guild Artists at Ashford.com], a site dedicated to selling work by craft artists in all media. Guild.com has been doing a terrific job in the national press as far as promoting their site is concerned. I do not have an advertising budget.

Bernadette Finnerty is a contributing editor for The Crafts Report.

Copyright© 2001

MAY 2001: TABLE OF CONTENTS