They Told Me In Art School to write a new artist statement regularly. here's a new one

Altar metals have thrown their stake in the ground and said NO to fast fashion and the speed at which capitalism would have businesses move. When business gets too big or too fast, important ethical and aesthetic details get bulldozed in favor of streamlining.

 Think of the intricate beauty of a beloved tended trail in the woods with a well worn footpath, and a hand hewn creek crossing here and there, wild and varied herbaceous plants abundantly dotting the near views, and big old trees holding sacred space overhead… versus a pale concrete path making a wide arc through a public lawn, bright green non-native cultivars of grass mown short and sprayed with chemicals to keep any herbs out.

Altar metals are like the wild path through the woods, tended carefully with human heart-hands, inviting you to remember your self, your humanity. We are not meant for mass production, homogeneity, and chemical lives.

Altar Metals are made with our precious ecosystems at heart, which includes the health of the maker too. No artificial chemicals are used in production, disposables are kept to a bare minimum, and recycled metals are prioritized. These ethics are not absolutely perfect yet but they are the ground on which this tiny but passionate business was built.

Altar Metals are all intentionally designed with some quality or strength built in, to empower you on your journey through this life. Humans have been adorning themselves as far back in time as we can see; beads made from shells were discovered dating back around 100,000 years ago. Our bodies are a site for adding beauty that reminds us of our connection to the world around us, signifies a rite of passage, signals a social standing or group, or communicates our value to ourselves and to our communities. Jewelry is not just adornment, it is meaning making.

So Altar Metals invites you to see your body as an altar. Which meaningful pieces do you want to place on this sacred site? Which offerings do you want to leave under the grandmother Oak by the side of your favorite trail, the one that brings you home to yourself every time you visit?

(& hey, a reminder if you didnt know! Offerings are not limited to what you see on the site, or on instagram, or at a market. Altar Metals can be completely unique to you, and even made with your own silver or gold. Inquire about custom work when you are ready to have something really special made.)