Twist Jewelry: More Than Just Eye Candy

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Tuesday, December 07, 2010

GoLocalProv Lifestyle Editor Andrea E. McHugh

Armed with a law degree and enviable resume that includes product development experience at Macy's, Lisa Baillargeon of North Smithfield was on the corporate fast track until a devastating car accident put her life on hold. Tapping into her creative side during her recovery, Baillargeon discovered her talent and passion for jewelry design. “This is what I did to keep me sane,” she explains. Baillargeon says her grandmother Gilberte was an artist, painter and master seamstress, who passed her skill along to her mother, and finally her. “Playing in my grandmother’s jewelry drawer as a child was just amazing.”

New Beginnings

Soon, crafting necklaces, earrings and bracelets featuring semi-precious stones including amethyst, citrine, lapis, rose quartz and more, plus luxurious stones like sapphires, rubies and fresh water pearls, became a part of her life, and Twist Jewelry Design was off and running. So was her family, which had grown exponentially. “Three without fur, two with,” is how she describes her brood (the ones without are 8, 4½ and 9 months).Back at her crafting studio,a.k.a. the kitchen table, Baillargeon designs predominantly one-of-a-kind pieces (save for bridal party orders where she often designs matching pieces or sets). “I’m the anti-Silpada,” she laughs. “I make something once and I’m done.”

Big, Bold and Beautiful

“It is the year of the statement necklace,” she declares, adding that there’s nothing quite like a black dress, red lipstick and an eye-catching necklace. One such piece is made from sterling silver and faceted rainbow moonstone "kites;" a piece her brother-in-law call the “rock candy necklace.” Price point, she explains, is all dependent on the disciplines used, but start at around $85. “My goal is always be less than Ross Simons, but the same quality.”

Twist Jewelry Design made a name for itself at juried art shows, artisan fairs and trunk shows, but has grown be carried at Homestyle in Providence, With Heart & Soul in Cumberland and Victorian Rose in Woonsocket, plus the Newport Flower Show. “People really need to touch and hold and feel it to appreciate the value,” she says. Fortunately, Baillargeon is continually inspired to keep creating. “I’m not making anything I’m chomping at bit,” she concedes. “I love it.”
 

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