Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Schlossberg.
Hi melanie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in upstate NY in a family of SCUBA divers and Home Economics teachers – cooking, sewing, and making crafty things out of old wet suits were a big part of my upbringing. One day in 1986, my mother took me out of high school for a day to take the train into NYC and see art at the MET. There was a small exhibit titled The Costumes of Royal India full of chunky emeralds and golden metals. It was there I decided that I would become a jeweler. Fortunately, I attended a high school that had a metals/jewelry studio, so I was able to explore and fall in love with metal before going on to Syracuse University where I studied metalsmithing.
After university, I maintained an art practice focused on small sculpture, painting and drawing. A little jewelry work, but the majority of my projects were non-functional. Fast forward to 2014 (skipping over 20 years) I met my partner in life and business, Blake Smith. When metalsmiths get together jewelry happens. And Dirigible Designs was born.
His education and practice was different than mine. Blake learned lapidary and jewelry skills from his father, a self-taught highly-skilled jeweler who ran wildlife refuges in the southwest and Texas. His childhood was a combination of rescuing vulnerable animals in national parks, fossil hunting on large ranches, and skateboarding in abandoned swimming pools. After earning a somewhat unrelated liberal arts degree, Blake went on to start a bronze foundry business in the Texas Hill Country, casting life sized sculptures for artists and local entities, but always continued silversmithing and making custom jewelry.
We have taken our personal styles, different artistic backgrounds, and blended them together, resulting in a unique body of work that neither one of us would have been able to create on our own.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am not unique in that from the time I graduated college until recently I held a day-job to support myself and my art. It is always a struggle for artists in any discipline to balance life as a full-time artist, full-time employee, and a full-time human. In my view, it is especially hard for women, who are often asked to make sacrifices in their careers for families. In that regard, I choose to focus on my career and my artwork.
Even so, in 2018 I was laid off from a day-job that I truly felt was a career, a calling. I was there for nearly 10 years and was devastated and burnt out when I left. I also realized that I had put my identity as an artist second to that job. At that point there was nothing holding Dirigible Designs back, so my partner and I decided to expand our reach outside of Houston and Texas. We now travel to shows all over the country, have expanded our studio, and work hard to maintain wholesale relationships in addition to online sales.
The skills I have learned from my day-jobs, which ranged from retail galleries to non-profit organizations to the architecture and design industry, are invaluable and have greatly influenced my approach and knowledge of the business side of being an artist. Still, I remember that wistful time before said job and hope that I can nurture my artistic practice back to those times — but maybe this is just part of getting older.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Blake and I create hand-fabricated silver jewelry with refined technique that is applied to a minimalist, architectural aesthetic. Each piece is thoughtfully designed, emphasizing unique forms, rich finishes like matte black patina and 24k gilding, and custom-cut stones. We do our own lapidary work to support our exploration of asymmetry, scale, and texture. Our process is grounded in craftsmanship and sustainability; we recycle silver whenever possible, casting it into new forms and reusing material from the scrap pile. The result is one-of-a-kind jewelry that reflects both our creative vision and respect for materials. Our pieces are bold and striking — like the people who chose to wear them. The highest compliment is when our patrons tell us that our work, as a whole, is unlike any other they have seen.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Don’t let your day job become your entire identity. The skills you learn are important but keep your artistic practice alive and intentional. When the right moment comes, whether that’s an opportunity or a crisis, you’ll be ready.
Find people who push your work (and your business) in directions you couldn’t reach alone. Blake and I have completely different backgrounds and approaches, and that’s made all the difference. You don’t have to do everything alone.
It’s the long haul, but be intentional about what that means. What does success actually look like? For us, it’s not about volume it’s about maintaining our standards, our partnership, and our respect for materials.
And for the jewelers out there: Get professional photography of your work. Worth it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dirigibledesigns.com/
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/dirigibledesigns
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DirigibleDesigns/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-schlossberg/
- Other: https://bsky.app/profile/dirigibledesigns.bsky.social
