Jeweler brings cosmopolitan touch

"We're a little worried about having enough in stock for Round-Up," he said in August.

The Round-Up pendants are the latest expansion of Day's business, which she carefully has been tending for the past four years. She began making jewelry while living in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and sold her first pieces at a Christmas bazaar. When she returned to Pendleton, what had been a hobby became a full-time business.

"My friends and family encouraged me to develop this business and keep it going, and thank God for them," she said.

Day brings a cosmopolitan sensibility to her creations, mixing unexpected colors and textures. Chunky and bold, her jewelry is made to make a statement, but in an elegant, artistic way. Day is also mindful of her customers and what they want to wear.

"You have to balance your creative flow with reality and what people will buy and what they want," she said.

Day creates distinctive looks for each of the locations where she sells her jewelry, which include Marla June's, the Pendleton Underground Gift Shop, the Pendleton Center for the Arts and boutiques in Walla Walla, Joseph and Portland.

For her western line, Day uses earthy touches such as hand-tooled leather and American Indian colors and textures. Her contemporary pieces are more urban, with, for example, Swarovski crystals, onyx and silver. One of Day's favorite creations is a bracelet made of wavy silver discs divided by pink shell pearls. Like many of her pieces, it is an unlikely combination that turned out perfectly.

Turning out new and inspired works of art every day is a challenge in jewelry-making, she said.

"When I run out of ideas, I clean." she said. "Then, in the process of organizing, sometimes it comes."

Sometimes her works are the result of happy accidents, as well. While she works, Day scatters stones and beads around her work table. From that scatter, interesting new combinations often emerge.

"I try to do things that are a little different," she said. "The things I've noticed that really sell well are more unusual."

Day's work for the Round-Up Association gift shop also came about because of a happy accident. The gift shop managers were having difficulty photographing some of the merchandise and asked to use Day's photography studio. While they were there, they took a close look at Day's necklaces and decided they would go well with the Round-Up pendants.

"I made up a few and they liked them, and I made up a few more," Day said. "One sold the day I brought them to the gift shop, so that was nice."

The best thing about her work, she said, is seeing someone wearing her jewelry around town.

"It's a great feeling," she said. "I usually go up and thank them."