Jane Burns
John and Christine Strobel.
For John Strobel, the jewelry pieces he makes are all about balance. The same theme runs through John/Christine Designs, the business he owns with his wife, Christine.
They live life on the road at art shows, but always return to their gallery in Paoli. They please the customer while pursuing an artistic vision. They find so much good from people, even when life has thrown them terrible curve balls.
John is the artist, Christine runs the business and also helps with design and gem selection. Beyond the retail of art shows and their gallery, John also custom-designs jewelry for a growing base of clients.
“We’ve both been in the mainstream jewelry business, and there it’s about numbers and you can’t take your time,” he says. “To me it’s about the journey. It has to be done right or I’m not going to put my name on it.”
His pieces include gold, silver and a range of gems from diamonds, pearls, rubies and two of his favorites, opal and tourmaline. Gems are sourced from dealers throughout the U.S. and world as well as Burnie’s Rock Shop in Madison. John Strobel estimates he spends, on average, 10 to 12 hours on his pieces but he has worked as long as 100 or more hours on one.
Strobel’s yellow gold works include (from left) a custom-cut aquamarine ring, opal fish pendant and hand-carved ring.
“Thankfully people get that I’m making all of this by hand and I’ve been able to keep it rolling,” he says. “I get anxious when I know the cases aren’t full of things.”
John/Christine Designs was launched in 1988, the year the Strobels got married. They began by selling through other jewelers, then made the leap to juried art shows in 2002. It was a good stretch for the business; the year before, a brooch John created earned an award from the American Gem Trade Association, one of the top design honors in the U.S. The design was a martini glass, originally conceived as a celebration of the new millennium, made from Tahitian pearl, ruby, tourmaline and black jade.
The business moved to Paoli in 2004 when studio space became available in the former creamery along the Sugar River building that houses Abel Contemporary Gallery. In 2014, when the Creamery Café closed, the Strobels opened a gallery in the space. It’s open on the weekends in the fall, as the couple is on the road much of the rest of the year.
Life on the road has come with challenges. In 2013, while at a show in Sarasota, Fla., the Strobels were robbed. They lost their entire inventory and gems John had yet to work with. Insurance did not cover the loss due to technicalities, and it was financially devastating.
Nine days later, they went to the annual Tucson gem show, and it was clear the network there knew what had happened.
“People were coming out of their booths, putting a stone in my hand and saying, ‘Do something special with this,’” John Strobel says. “What they did for us really got us back on board.”
The “what now?” feeling of the robbery has fueled a creative period for John Strobel.
“I realized I am not just going to put my square peg in a square hole and fit in with everything,” he says. “I’ve let my imagination just go wherever it wants and it’s going to places it had never been before.”
On Nov. 10, John/Christine Designs is hosting an open house that is also a fundraiser for Shelter from the Storm Animal Rescue from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. There is also an opening reception at Abel Contemporary Gallery featuring work by Michael Schwegmann, Ernest Miller and Aedric Donovan, as well as a group show.
John/Christine Designs
6858 Paoli Road, Paoli, 608-848-7477, johnchristinedesigns.com
