Clarity, Cut, and Culture: Nicole King on a Decade of Jewelry in Reno

Johanna Guerrero speaks with Nicole King, a local jeweler who shifted to working full time on her business (Instagram: @AdornmentbyNicole) during the pandemic, about challenges to the business and the changing culture of Reno over the past 10 years.

Listen to the full interview here: https://soundcloud.com/johanna-guerrero-894387373/clarity-cut-and-culture-nicole-king-on-a-decade-of-jewelry-in-reno (Originally posted on April 6, 2021).

Nicole King with the screen printed logo of her business, Adornment by Nicole, on a tapestry in her studio. King is originally from the Bay area. She started her business in Tahoe and has since been expanding it for the last ten years in Reno. Photo taken by Johanna Guerrero.

Over a Decade of Jewels and Reno Culture

Local Reno jeweler Nicole King, of the brand on Instagram @AdornmentbyNicole, has been making jewelry for over 15+ years. King is originally from the Bay area, having moved to Tahoe in her 20’s where she first began learning about making jewelry at the store Beads Etc.. She has since moved to Reno, now 37-years-old, she has lived in the area for at least a decade focusing on growing her business and family. For the last 10 years, King has seen Reno culture, local business and the arts change with her initial impressions in casino culture and the show “Reno 911”, she has since found a meaningful community.

King has also had over 15+ years of experience working with jewelry. She is mostly self-taught in the tools of her trade, continuously building on her skills as she designs custom pieces for her clients. The pandemic has changed the business as well, though she hasn’t been able to attend any gem shows, King has decided to dive in and dedicate herself full time to her business in the last year. King and her husband both work full time on their respective businesses, her husband’s business being Tahoe Trail Bar, while raising two young children. Although the pandemic has given King some anxiety about their family’s financial security, she feels grateful to be able to support her family and stays determined to make the most of the time at home to continue building her business.

Nicole King has three tables in her home studio with this one being where she does much of the shaping and shaving of different pieces. King shapes pieces with pliers and other tools as well as shave them with a jeweler’s saw. Towards the back of her desk, King has stone setting burs (the tools with balls on top) that she can use to hammer metal into domed shapes. Photo taken by Johanna Guerrero.

King uses a jeweler’s saw to shave a piece of metal to be used for the backing on a gem. The metal shavings fall below into the bottom drawer where she collects them for future use. King also has a multitude of tools used for engraving kept on top of this desk. Photo taken by Johanna Guerrero.

On the wall of one of three stations King works at in her home studio, she keeps a vast collection of beads. At this desk King often works on her computer to communicate with clients on custom pieces. King has been collecting beads since her days working in the Tahoe bead shop Beads Etc. in her 20’s. Photo taken by Johanna Guerrero.

At one of the other three stations, King keeps an area for welding where she solders metal pieces to create rings and earrings with the use of a blowtorch. King uses melted silver solder to join together metal pieces, cleaning off any excess on the soldering iron pen onto the block next to her. Photo taken by Johanna Guerrero.

King’s main area for welding with a pickling pot that she uses to clean pieces of excess solder. King began making jewelry with bead and wire, later expanding her skills into more fine jewelry techniques and metalsmithing. Photo taken by Johanna Guerrero.

Reporting by Johanna Guerrero