Renee Ford - Profile of a Maker

Renee Busdiecker of Renee Ford Metals is a full-time studio jeweler, metalsmith, instructor and mentor living in Nashville, Tennessee. She has shown her work at fine craft galleries, jewelry stores and online for over 20 years. She also sells her work traveling to various fine craft shows throughout the US.

She graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1991 with a BA in 2-D Studio Art (concentrations in Painting and Drawing). Her journey with metals began as an undergrad at EIU when she landed in her first metals class. She went on to graduate studies at Eastern Illinois University in metalsmithing under the guidance of David Griffin. Granted a full scholarship and a teaching apprenticeship at EIU, she first began teaching.

In 1994, she opened Blue Moon Jewelry Designs, a fine jewelry store in Eugene, Oregon. She was head designer, jeweler and proprietor until the store closed in 2010. While owning a retail business, she also developed a wholesale production line of jewelry that was sold nation wide at fine galleries and jewelry stores. After closing Blue Moon, she developed courses in marketing and business management for the artist and also taught beginning and intermediate metalsmithing.

Further expanding her techniques and skills, she completed the Graduate Bench Program at New Approach School for Jewelers, Jewelry Rendering with Rémy Rotenier, Ornamental Hand Engraving with Jason Marchiafava and Decorative Setting and Engraving with Todd Daniels at GRS Training Center.

She currently makes her own hand fabricated, hand-engraved and cast jewelry line, travels and teaches a variety of metalsmithing and jewelry techniques world wide and has created high end fine jewelry contract work for several Nashville designers and other jewelers across the country.

In 2018, she developed a fully integrated online learning jewelry making experience. The Hammer and Anvil creates project-based learning workshops that are complete workshops in a fully supplied kit and material box with support of an illustrated step-by-step booklet. Video on-demand accompanies the boxes with group video meeting support.

She spends every chance she can with her musician husband, Paul, in nature and traveling. Learning and growing from other instructors is always part of her yearly plans.

Learn more about Renee Busdiecker (Ford) at https://www.reneefordmetals.com/