This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Columbia Barnard chapter.
Meet Barnard Senior Shelby Layne, this week’s incredible innovator with an amazing heart and dedication to her cause!Describe your jewelry designs in three words, then describe your favorite item (or recommend something special for our readers!)-Fashionable, Chic, Charitable. I can’t say that I have one favorite piece, but I think the Amethyst, Gold, and Diamond Pin is a gorgeous piece that someone could wear as is or refashion into a beautiful amethyst ring.Have you always enjoyed jewelry-making as a hobby? What other forms of art do you appreciate most?-I learned how to make jewelry in high school, and I saw it as the perfect way to raise funds for the Solar Cooker Project (the rape-prevention initiative of the anti-genocide non-profit Jewish World Watch), so I decided to combine my newfound jewelry-making skill with my passion for the Project. I greatly appreciate dance as an art form too, as I have been dancing practically since I could walk!Who do you make your pieces for? Do any of them have especially sentimental value?-I make jewelry pieces for the women and families of Darfur who will be able to live in safety as a result of the funds that the Solar Cooker Project raises.
We heard the website for your line will go live soon. Will it mostly function as an e-commerce location or a digital showcase of your creative process?
-The website went live today, April 6! It will function as an e-commerce platform for the jewelry items.
When and where do you feel the most inspired?
-I feel most inspired when I know the work I am completing is helping make a positive impact in the world.
Be sure to visit sbljewelry.com for a firsthand look at the handpicked, homemade, exclusive collection!