This is Deirdre Bialo-Padin of Bialo Padin Designs. I am a Brooklyn based metalsmith. I design and make hand fabricated jewelry and accessories, using silver, gemstones and other materials. I also do custom work, designing and making fine jewelry , using gold and gemstones for special occasions. Because I am also an avid knitter, I also make accessories and tools for the fiber community, including shawl pins and handmade cable needles.

This web site contains a gallery of my work; a link to my Etsy shop; events I am participating in; and a journal documenting what I’m working on. Commissions are welcome. They can be based upon my work, or we can create something new, together.

SHOP: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BialoPadinDesigns

SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram (@bialopadindesigns) and on Facebook (bialopadindesigns)

CONTACT: bialopadindesigns@gmail.com) 

VIDEO: I recently produced a video about what inspires my jewelry designs: https://youtu.be/RCEeBuJgS6s

My work is inspired by nature, textiles, the fluidity of metal, and memories of my family. As a kid, I collected rocks; now the shapes, color and patterns of the gemstones I collect inspire my designs. As a metalsmith, I love the process of heating metal and feeling the metal move beneath my hammer, and the undulations of the metal surfaces echo the mountainous landscapes and rough terrain I am drawn to.

My grandmother was a teacher and a theatrical costume designer. I spent hours draping and pinning fabric in her apartment, and poured through her collection of books on art and historical fashion. My mother obtained a degree in mechanical engineering. She collected tools and made most of the repairs around the house. She also made all of our clothing when we were kids.  

All of the women in our family love and collect jewelry.  My father, who was an electrical engineer, had an eye for unusual jewelry, and would buy us gifts of jewelry. I absorbed their aesthetics and their appreciation for color, texture and shape, and I think their influence is reflected in my jewelry.

I use some of the fabric my mother and grandmother collected in my display. I use my parent’s tools in my studio. My logo incorporates Morse code, in honor of my father, who was in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during WWII.  

With these memories, it really is no wonder that I am drawn to metalworking, stone-setting, and the problem-solving associated with designing and creating hand-fabricated jewelry, accessories and tools.