About Us
Orin Designs is a small, very small, business located in Washington State, in the shadow of the cascades. The goal behind Orin Designs is to share high quality, handmade jewelry that embodies a love of history, nature, and intricate detail
Our founder is Ciara Hogan…that’s me! I’m also the designer, jeweler, administrator, and shipping team….like I said, it’s a very small business.
A little bit about me; I’ve been in the US for 13years, moving here from Ireland. I didn’t study to become a jeweler originally, but I have always loved making things. I have a degree in Model Making and Special Effects for Film and Theatre and I was always more interested in the practical aspect than the CGI side. I loved working in tiny detail! I started taking classes in silversmithing about 9 years ago and since then I have always wanted to have my own business. In the interim I have worked for several Washington jewelers as well as big companies like Blue Nile, and high-end custom stores. Circumstances aligned this year and I decided to really throw myself into my business dream.
About my jewelry: I have so many ideas for different lines, and I am so excited to bring those to life in the future but for now I’ll mainly be offering chainmaille designs. My love of chainmaille jewelry was influenced by my parents. My mother was gifted a silver Byzantine bracelet by my father for her 21st birthday when they were dating in college. This bracelet was very rarely off her wrist and weathered everyday life easily, through graduating college, having 3 daughters who loved to play dress up, gardening, her work as a teacher, and so on. This bracelet was a constant. My first ever attempt at working with silver was to make my Mam a matching necklace for her 50th, which was passable but I’m happy to say I have improved a lot from that first foray.
Once I have everything up and running I want to offer jewelry that incorporates my love of nature, Irish history and mythology, and my fascination with interesting gemstones. I hope you’ll stick with me through Orin Designs’ growing pains and keep an eye out for all the new things I hope to offer in the coming future.