bess blakey designs

Written by Terri Schmidt, Co-op volunteer writer

Bess Blakey’s beautiful jewelry would make a lovely Christmas gift for your friends and family.

Bess has been attracted to making jewelry since she was a little girl, making friendship bracelets and doing beadwork. When she started experimenting with metal nine years ago, her passion became a business. Bess’ dad was a physician and her mom an artist. She said, “I fell in love with both of those worlds. No one told me I had to pick between science and creativity, so I get to do both. I was blessed with such quality encouragement in my young life to explore my many interests.”

Bess works as a Registered Nurse at Palouse Mobile IV. Along with creating jewelry to express her creativity, she also enjoys baking, cooking, making music, her Christian faith, among other interests.

In 2017, a friend encouraged Bess to consider selling her creative jewelry at the Moscow Food Co-op. At first she dismissed that thought, but later she contacted the Co-op. Bess said, “It turned into an amazing opportunity.” The Co-op is now the number one point of sale for Bess; she has sold hundreds of pieces of jewelry at the Co-op since she began selling her creations here eight years ago.

Bess is completely self-taught as a jewelry maker. She learned from trial and error, tutorial videos, and lots of practice. She also sells her jewelry on Etsy and at local markets like the Moscow Farmers Market, the Winter Market at the Moscow 1912 Center, and S’Wheat Farm Life’s Vintage Holiday Market at the Latah County Fairgrounds. The farthest she travels to sell her jewelry is Pullman, so she is truly local.

Bess has a remarkable variety of unique earrings and necklaces. She said an idea will come to her, and she will trace it with her finger in the air or on a surface to see what it might look like. She will create pieces of materials and arrange and rearrange them on her jewelry bench in her basement until she likes what she sees. Then she puts the parts together to make the creative pieces she sells. Some weeks Bess makes no jewelry and other weeks she puts in 30 hours of work. Christmas season is busy, and she spends hours making jewelry during slow months to stock up for when sales increase.

Bess gets some of her gems at Gem State Crystals in Moscow and also orders gems and metals online. She uses brass, sterling silver, and gold fill to make her jewelry. Gold fill is made by pressure bonding 14k gold onto brass. It is more expensive, but also more durable.

Bess makes some seasonal jewelry pieces, such as red and green items around Christmas time and star shapes for Fourth-of-July. She also has had the pleasure of collaborating with many photographers, including one in Utah to create a bridal collection. She mostly sticks with standard items that people can wear anytime. Bess said, “One of the fun things for me is that different people like different things. Some appreciate funky pieces; others are drawn to more classic styles.” She said pearls are currently making a come-back.

Bess said one thing she likes about jewelry is that it always fits. When she was pregnant, there were clothes she couldn’t wear, but she could always wear her jewelry. That’s why she doesn’t make rings, because they have to be sized. Bess said, “My jewelry fits any body type in any season and can be worn year-round.”

Bess and her husband have four girls, ages 9, 11, 13, and 15. Their family loves outdoor adventures, especially in summer—activities like camping, hiking, and rafting, and snowboarding and skiing in the winter, enjoying the beauty around them. They go on lots of road trips around the Pacific Northwest. Bess makes good use of car travel, taking pre-prepped pieces and putting them together while her husband drives.

To see Bess Blakey’s pretty and imaginative jewelry in person, look for the end cap near the health and wellness kiosk at the Co-op or check out her Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BessBlakeyDesign.