Junior Delaney Johnson sits down in her room with her craft box, opens it and gets to work. She starts with wire and stretchy string cord as the base and designs her jewelry as her mind gives her ideas and inspiration. Her finished product is unique, a little funky and when she looks at it, she sees herself. Molded in the colors and shapes is a distinctness that is solely Delaney and right then and there, she thinks that no one will ever come across a piece like this. 

Delaney’s jewelry is fully her own creation and ideas, which makes her jewelry one-of-a-kind. Her work can be described in many ways because of how intricate and detailed it is.

“I would describe her jewelry as complex. I would say there is a sense of unity because there is repetition in terms of size and shape. And the wire I would describe as being lyrical,” art teacher Peter Koltun said.

When Delaney began making jewelry, she started small with earrings. As she progressed she tried other types and added variety. 

“I started off making just earrings but I make bracelets, earrings, rings and just anything you can think of,” Johnson said. 

Ever since Delaney was a little kid, she has loved fashion and has always had an eye for it. However, she did not realize how much she likes to make jewelry until Koltun’s Metals and Jewelry class. 

“I started that this year and I love to know how to make my own things and I love having things that nobody else can find. Just my unique look,” Johnson said. 

Although her jewelry has no theme, Delaney’s style of creating jewelry makes it go together. She designs uncommon pieces, full of colors and different shapes and sizes, and makes it all fit. 

“If you like the color and you like unique pieces and statement pieces, [that] definitely would be my jewelry, for sure,” Johnson said. 

Delaney makes all of her jewelry by hand, wherever she can bring her craft box. Once she has inspiration and an idea in mind, she will get to work. 

“It is just pretty much freehand. The only thing I really use a stencil for is just to make the rings, otherwise, it is all just whatever comes into my head,” Johnson said. 

Even though Delaney makes her jewelry with mainly beads, wire and materials like that, that is not only what she uses. She has experimented with other materials, like sheet metal and learned new skills.

“Now she has been able to use some sheet metal and when you do that, they get to decide the shape of that sheet metal and how that might interact with the pieces,” Koltun said.

The idea of jewelry making came to her one day when Delaney and her sister decided that they wanted to create something. While her sister decided to try out crocheting, Delaney picked jewelry. After Delaney started to make her jewelry, people would see it and comment on it, which gave her the motivation to make more.

Delaney’s motivation is the that more people see her jewelry and talk to her about it, “the more I realize ‘oh, this could go somewhere.”

The pieces Delaney makes are very detailed and descriptive and to make each one Delaney puts in a lot of effort and hard work. She makes her jewelry unique, expressive and something that she likes and others might also like. 

Senior Cate Rogers sees that Delaney spends a lot of time and puts a lot of effort into her jewelry and makes sure it is something that she likes and other might like, as well.

Delaney has many qualities that reflect in her jewelry. The pieces show her as a person. Her dedication, love for art and so much more. 

“I think her hard work is reflected in it and her love for art. And for fashion. Just seeing other people excited about her jewelry when I know she has been working hard on it and it is something she cares about,” Rogers said. 

Something Delaney has been thinking about is her future and the possibility of building her own business. She has always been interested in fashion and to have her own business is a dream of hers.

“I really need to do this because I have always drawn little outfits or little things. And I obviously want to expand, I mean start off with jewelry, of course, but then definitely clothes,” Johnson said.

Delaney is not selling her jewelry yet, but has recently started showcasing her jewelry on Instagram. To view her jewelry, her Instagram handle is looleery.jewelry. 

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