Alexis Pavlantos grew up in the mineral heartlands of Tijeras, New Mexico. The daughter of a gemologist and goldsmith, at a young age she was immersed in jewelry and rock culture. With this acquired and hereditary passion for creating, she continued her studies at University of New Mexico, where she obtained her BFA in sculpture. After graduation she moved to the Bay Area to  pursue a career in the arts. With limited space to create and a background of metalsmithing attained by childhood knowledge of her mothers practice, Alexis decided to combine the two worlds making wearable-art.

 

Alexis spent a decade in the Bay Area, and now makes all of her jewelry by hand in her two studios located in Albuquerque, NM and Athens, Greece. She considers her process to be a transmogrification of her inexplicable depth of feeling into concrete material forms. She hand carves her pieces in wax to give shape to her feeling-forms and solidifies them by casting them into metal.These forms resemble those found in nature, tying her inner world to the outer efflorescence she feels resonating in her core while immersed outdoors. She creates jewelry to collaborate with the human body. These embellishments interact as an extension of the body, thus nature is not something we set out to find, but is something we are apart of.

 

Alexis is committed toward using ethical and sustainable practices in her studio and in her work. She recycles all materials (from wax to metal). In her work she uses recycled stones sourced and inspected by her amazing Mother (a gemologist). We use conflict-free diamonds and work with certified dealers who share the same values. A large portion of stones used in her work are found locally on rock hounding expeditions being able to trace the material authentically and ethically.