Julie Jerman-Melka and Jeffrey Melka

Finding endless inspiration along the shores of Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to create what you see below and on the following pages

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Shoreline Sonata

Hand forged sterling silver, basalt beach pebbles, white topaz and freshwater pearls. Adjustable from 16" to 18".

Earrings, necklace and ring by Larry Sanders Photography

ABOUT US

We are a wife and husband team located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in a very small community in the Keweenaw Peninsula, very remote and beautiful, and inspirational for the work you see on these pages.

Julie has been a metalsmith and jewelry designer for her entire career. Many years were spent in Colorado, where the metalsmithing skills were honed and fine tuned, and where Julie also earned her M.F.A.in metalsmithing and jewelry design at Colorado State University. This allowed her to teach her love of the medium on a college level which she did for many years, while slowly building her own business: Flying Anvil Designs.

I was always the back of the house assistant, and in 2007 joined as a full time business partner, which was an easy transition as we've been life partners for approximately 35 years now.

Julie is and will always be the main design force for all of the pieces in the collection, which we call the Gentle Current Series, because it utilizes basalt beach stones that we collect on our almost daily walks along the shores of Lake Superior. All the meticulous metalwork, stone setting and finishing work are done by her.

My focus on the business is drilling and coring the stones, and mostly doing what I refer to as "the necessary evil", all back of the house business tasks that are part of running any business. Thank goodness for that often under utilized accounting degree.

We relocated back to the Upper Peninsula eight years ago and feel very fortunate to live in the area where we were both born and raised. Each day and season brings its own unique inspiration and outdoor recreation that we love: Paddleboarding and sculling in the summer, hiking in the incredible fall colors, cross country skiing in our famously long winters, and looking forward to spring and the cycle starting over, all the while creating new pieces for the line.

Julie and Jeffrey