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Carol Weidman is a lady of many talents and a great sense of humor. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a Master’s Degree in Microbiology. Her specialty is Electron Microscopy.
When asked about her family, she
says, "I have been married for 26 years to the
Looking for a little stress relief, Carol turned to art. "I started in a stained glass class not too long after my son was born because I needed a creative outlet to act as a type of stress therapy. I have had a successful Glass business for over 15 years now. About 5 years ago I realized the similarities between cutting stones and fitting glass, and between working the metals used in both. I had always wanted to do jewelry, and figured that this was the time to start. I bought a very old used cabbing machine and haven’t stopped since. I had two wonderful jewelry friends that would fabricate the metal to my designs and specifications. But I wanted more! And metalsmithing came next. I had always loved turquoise, but preferred the green turquoise, and I wanted to wear yellow gold. Green turquoise in yellow gold?! Hardly! So there I was. The budding ability and the end desire. I just had to fill in the middle. I am entirely self-taught. But thank goodness, whenever I ran into trouble, or melted it all to fudge, one of my jewelry friends was there to tell me how to fix it, or to laugh with me and tell me when to just give up on it and add the material to my metal casting stock."
What does the future hold for Carol
and her business? "I would like to become commercially successful. Gain
a reputation in the jewelry field as an Artist Worthy of Collecting and be
able to design and fabricate the pieces that so far I have only seen in my
head. To have a waiting list of people or galleries that would like pieces.
Not to have to weigh the price of a piece of rough, or the weight of some
gold against the possibilities of my being able to sell the finished piece.
The freedom that comes in knowing that once I finish a piece, that I won’t
possibly have to sit on it for the next few years until someone comes along
that just has to have it. Probably the same goals that any artist has that
is trying to make a living at their art. :o)"
Carol is one of our moderators on our forum and keeps the conversation lively. Stop by and chat with her! Jewelry Making HQ Forum
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same fellow, and I still adore him. We have a fantastic son, 3 pugs, and a
Tuxedo cat that rules us all. I had worked within my field, Electron Microscopy
for more than 5 years. Then we had our son and everything went out the
window. He was born with several handicapping conditions, and I needed to
be available for him. Thank goodness I had planned to stay home anyway, so
the transition was not as difficult as it could have been. We have been eternally
blessed, and our lovely boy that was supposed to be both mentally and physically
delayed is now 5th in his class at high school, he has been accepted to a
wonderful university, and we are all better people for having had the experience."
Rob, Carol's son will be graduating this year and going off to college. "We
are thrilled and sobbing, all at the same time. He is just thrilled. We have
lived in southeastern Virginia for the last 20 years, and dream someday of
retiring out west." 
Carol
needed a break from the hard work of glass, and turned to jewelry. "I had
my Stained Glass business for some time, and the jewelry seemed like a wonderful
“break”. Glass work is hard! I have been at it long enough to have developed
a good reputation and enough work to keep me busy most of the time. But it
is also very cyclical work, and there were times that I had nothing to do.
I needed something to fill in the breaks and I needed something that was creative.
I had always been interesting in making jewelry, I just needed the incentive.
I heard through the grape vine about a used cabbing machine coming up for
sale. I bought it and started cutting immediately. Not long after I started,
I purchased my first Australian opal rough, and I was hopelessly addicted.
So I had these wonderful pieces lying around, but I couldn’t possibly wear
all of them! Thus the jewelry got added to my glass business."
professional jewelers, both traditionally trained, that have been wonderful
in helping her with the jewelry making aspect of her business. "When I have
been sitting at my bench, and I can’t get that piece of metal to bond, come
floods or drought, they have always been very willing to help me figure out
why. Sometimes it has been just a matter of telling me where I went wrong,
sometimes showing me, sometimes just stepping in and doing it themselves.
And as I have watched them, I am so amazed at how easy they make it look!!!
But I have learned. And now, at least some of the steps that once looked impossible
are the easy ones. "
Carol
admits that some of her biggest mistakes in her business have been not focusing
on marketing as much as on creativity and fabrication. "But those are where
my heart is, and marketing involves networking, putting my face out there,
and that is very hard for me. I am that technician that is happiest doing
their craft rather than the person that wants to be out in front of the crowd.
I have always called my attic my cave, my place of peace and solitude. And
that is a good thing!"