About the Artist

Natalie Reed grew up on Vinalhaven, a lobstering island off the midcoast of Maine. As a child, she spent many afternoons beach combing and adventuring on Vinalhaven’s rocky coast, and began collecting sea glass, unusual rocks, urchins, and shells. She has always had a deep love for the ocean; it’s power and mystery always drawing her back. At the age of five she discovered her love for jewelry in a small room full of sunlight and walls lined with jars of colorful beads while visiting her aunt in Portland, a graduate of Portland School of Art. She was greatly influenced by her artistic family, but mostly by her two aunts, who are not only Portland School of Art graduates but have a great love for jewelry. Her father also has a graduate degree in sculpture. In 2009 Natalie began her degree at Maine College of Art in Portland (formerly Portland School of Art) where she quickly discovered she could combine her two passions: jewelry and the ocean.

Working her way through college doing construction and lobstering she majored in metalsmithing and jewelry, and graduated in 2013.

Natalie is based in Minot, Maine where she has her home studio and lives with two cats, a rescue lab/pit and her guitar building fiancé. While keeping several stores and galleries stocked with her work she also does some fine craft shows each year. She is anxious to get back to the ocean, and visits the beach and her home island as much as possible. These visits always inspire ideas for new jewelry designs, which constantly push her in new directions. In her spare time Natalie enjoys snowboarding in the winter, gardening in the summer and of course visiting the ocean whenever possible.