yum.....gold!

Besides getting ready to meet the crafty gift needs of the masses in SF and Chicago at the Renegade Handmade fairs this month, I am working hard on expanding my custom commitment ring business.

I love working with couples to create modern, handmade rings that are made of 100% recycled gold, and can also include heirloom gold and stones. Here are some very simple engagement bands that I have made in the past few months. I am working on a full display of ring styles, so you won't have to wait long to see a larger range.

I want to give a big thanks to my Small Business Dept instructors at City College San Francisco, which is also where my training as a metalsmith began, in 2001. (...full disclosure, it is now where my wife teaches, as well...fantastic institution, we love you!)

More on gold soon, but please contact me with any questions you have about my ethically sourced materials for these special rings, or see my links for more information.

paper, y'all!

Here are some of the new paper earrings that are now available on my etsy shop!

They are made from discarded paper & artist-grade mat board, and coated with several layers of nontoxic sealer. The handmade earwires are 100% recycled sterling, and are forged with a tiny goldsmith's hammer, my favorite!
Contrasting colors never looked so cute!

to be : (determined) – an exhibition of the first five.

I am so excited to be a part of this show at Colorado State University, juried by Sarah Turner & Maria Phillips, which goes from October 26th to November 20th. Head out to Fort Collins to see it, y'all! Here is a bit of what they had to say about tb(d), along with my work that is in the show:

"...If you keep making (and making strides) in the first years of an art career, you are likely to succeed and commit to a life of sustained practice.
This exhibition showcases artists within the ‘first five years’: it...offers a moment to encourage momentum, and is an occasion to recognize new developments in the field of jewelry and metalsmithing."

These new 'quad' and 'grid' pieces are made of discarded artist's board, paint, and 100% recycled sterling, which I have fabricated.

new, new, new!

hey, all! Thanks for checking out what is going on with Cynthia Rohrer's latest project, paper & gold. Besides getting my new etsy site together, I have been fast at work preparing for a crafty handmade fair at the Lesher Art Center in Walnut Creek (just across the bay and through a tunnel from SF.) On the esty note, if any of you San Franciscans wants to buy something off the site and save on shipping, let me know and I'll post a special listing of the item(s) you'd like to buy, without shipping charges.

If any of you are in the area next week-end, come on by and check out the wares. Admission is free, and enables you to see a great exhibition of posters from the SF Arts Commission. I am offering 15% off of any item of jewelry to any and all friends and family who mention the offer at the fair.


I will be participating in some other fairs next month in Asheville, Chicago, and SF, and I'll keep you updated as they approach. I am lucky enough to be sharing a space with the radical belt buckles of Asheville's own, Buncombe Buckles.

The idea behind paper & gold is that I can make exciting, wearable jewelry with a small environmental footprint. I have been gathering discarded artist-grade paper, and board, and I am combining it with 100% recycled fine metals, refined right here in the U.S. of A. Here are some little wooden painted earrings, prior to shaping and paint. Poor little naked fellows! The colorful and lightweight paper items will be posted on etsy (which is a great big site of handmade items for sale, including mine!) asap. I am in the process of getting them just right....many of them are dipped in beeswax just like an encaustic painting! More soon.