NEWS — women who kick ass

A common problem for most artists (most creative people in general I'm sure!!) is that we have more ideas in our head than we ever have time to execute. 

For years now, I've been playing around with the idea of creating a line of "message" jewelry. With the current political climate, now more than ever I think it's important to be loud and proud about not just the things we enjoy, but the ideals we care about deeply. 

With that in mind, I finally began working on a line of message jewelry.

I wanted the line to contain messages that motivate, that bring peace and that make you smile. 

To make these pieces, first, I sketched out each design: experimenting with fonts and playing with layouts. Then I worked with a graphic designer to turn my chicken scratch into something legible. With the help of my ridiculously gifted friend Amber, we etched out the final designs onto sheets of brass. Once the design was etched, I used a disc cutter to cut out each piece. From there, the piece gets cleaned, blackened (to make the design pop) and lightly polished.

I'll be making these new designs available for purchase on my website soon. To find out when they will be released, join our email list (link in the footer of this page) 

And keep checking the website for more of these sassy, smart ass, fearless message jewelry -- because my brain isn't slowing down anytime soon! 

We believe that jewelry should empower and make the wearer feel strong and beautiful. So we're pausing today to celebrate a Queens Metal inspiration -a strong, beautiful female who kicked ass and did things her way.

Have you ever heard of Babe Didrikson Zaharias? At a time when female athletes were considered an oddity, Babe excelled at baseball, golf, tennis, track, baseball, and numerous other sports. She won two gold medals in track and field, was inducted in to the World Golf Hall of Fame, and pitched in major league baseball games. 

Born in 1911, Babe's life as an athlete first began as a high school basketball player in Beaumont, Texas. Her skills were so impressive that, while still in high school, she was recruited to play on a local amateur team and eventually became an All-American player. 

She then began to focus on track and field. At the National Women's AAU Track Meet in 1931, she won first place in eight events and was second in a ninth. At the 1932 Olympics games, Babe competed in three events - the maximum amount of events women were allowed to compete in at the time - winning two gold medals and a silver, and breaking four world records. 

Eventually Babe turned her sights to golf, the sport that would define the rest of her life. In the 1930's and 40's, she dominated the sport, winning 31 tournaments including three US Women's Opens. She was a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

In addition to these numerous and impressive achievements, Babe also excelled in baseball, where she pitched several times in major league baseball games and still to this day holds the world record for farthest baseball throw by a woman. She also was a notable swimmer, diver, bowler and volleyball athlete. 

Babe's personal life was dominated by athletics. She married professional wrestler George Zaharias, who she met while playing golf. Though they reportedly sought to adopt, they were denied and never had children. Babe also had a long term, purported romantic relationship with the golfer Betty Dodd, who lived with Babe and her husband for the last six years of Babe's life. Babe died of cancer in 1956 at the age of 45.