About

Beth E. Coiner is bec. /bek/

I’m a modern dancer turned jeweler. I approach each design much like a piece of choreography, drawing from the inherent movement found in natural and architectural landscapes. My tiny sculptures designs are textured and intimate, creating wearable urban and rural vistas. I find specimens in the natural world and transform them into wearable art. 

I’d like to think there are similar parallels along the idea of intimacy with both my dances and jewelry collections. When choreographing a solo or duet, instead of a large group, the dance is scaled down to focus on gestures and an un-spoken narrative to tell a story. With my jewelry, the dance piece is present on a very macro scale. It reveals itself in the curvature of a tiny shell, or the repetition of shapes and textures, as well as how each piece relates to the body. In my creative process, the jewelry is the dancer and the wearer is the stage. 

When I’m not at my workbench making jewelry, I’m usually dancing. 

"My jewelry represents an intimate statement of adornment, marking the wearer’s passage in life, much like a tattoo." ~Beth Coiner

"To watch Beth Coiner dance is to understand her jewelry- elegantly restrained, fluid and funky, graceful and strong, delicate but gritty." ~ Tiffany Silverman, Domain Magazine