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Growing up in Chapel Hill, NC, Claire had many hobbies. After school in her younger years you’d typically find her at dance class, or in the backyard searching for “fool’s gold” in the gravel. In the summers, you’d find her at Camp Greystone, deep in the North Carolina mountains. It was at camp where she was first introduced to jewelry making. She took her very first jewelry class with Mrs. Marilyn where she made a silver twist bracelet that she still wears to this day.

When it came to applying to college, Claire’s mother, who was an interior designer by trade, encouraged her to check out the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), knowing she’d want to do something artistic with her career. Being essentially the only Avery in the family who did not attend UNC Chapel Hill, made her feel a bit like the odd duck, but she went and gave SCAD a tour. She was instantly hooked. Savannah, GA was a gorgeous little historic town, and SCAD had every artistic major she could dream of, so she applied right away. She was accepted in early admission, and never even applied to another college.

Deciding between majoring in interior design and architecture, painting, and even illustration, she always had jewelry as a minor, remembering how much she enjoyed it at camp. She finally decided to take Intro to Jewelry, and was instantly hooked. She graduated from SCAD with a BFA in Jewelry, Summa Cum Laude, on the Dean’s List, and received an Outstanding Achievement Award. In her last months at SCAD, she was also a peer tutor in jewelry for both undergrad and grad students.

After graduation, she returned to a custom jewelry store where she had done an internship two summers prior. She has since worked for a total of four custom jewelry stores in two different states, and has done jewelry photography and jewelry Computer Aided Design (CAD) for multiple other jewelry stores. Additionally, she gained manufacturing and 3D printing knowledge in her time at two graduation and championship ring companies, one of which she still works for remotely today. She started her own company, LoVo Jewelry on the side where she created jewelry for both retail and wholesale clients.

In addition to her education at SCAD where she learned everything from fabrication, sketching and rendering, casting, forming, polishing, laser-welding, and much more, she also attended the New Approach School for Jewelers where she took a comprehensive stone setting course. Through the years she has been working on completing her Graduate Gemology (GG) degree through the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). At GIA, she has already completed her Graduate Diamonds (GD) degree, Applied Jewelry Professional (AJP) certification, and will soon complete her Graduate Colored Stones (GCS) degree, in turn completing her GG.

Nowadays, in her free time, you’ll find her taking pictures of flowers or her pets, Huckle“Berry” and Toulouse, kickboxing, or soaking up the sun on a Tennessee mountain hike. Her passion for rock collection remains, but she’s upgraded to more precious gems than pyrite. Claire now has over ten years of experience working in the jewelry industry, and over seven years of doing jewelry CAD professionally. She loves designing and creating jewelry, and would love to create something special for you!