John Paul Designs In Bend, Oregon Creates A Wedding Ring Or Two

My friend John Paul is from Wisconsin and maybe that’s why we get along so well.  A silent understanding of all dealings with bubblers, beer brats and Lambeau Field.  It could be also that I’m so impressed and intrigued with what this guy can create in his jewelry studio.  We’ve talked about having me come in to shoot a ring casting for some time now and when a good friend told me she was having her and her fiance’s rings made by John Paul this seemed to tie all the pieces together.  One thing I found interesting was that these rings were going to be partly made using gold melted from a South African Krugerrand that one of the family owned.  I’ve always been interested in how things are made and this was a real treat to watch a master artist at work.  I spent about three hours shooting and learning about working with metals such as gold and in the end left with a major appreciation to the skill and creativity John Paul brings to a trade that too easily gets lost in the assembly line creations we tend to see in major stores worldwide.  Not only has he produced pieces for names such as Bruce Willis, he also doesn’t use diamond glue!  OK, according to John Paul, diamond glue doesn’t exist but I still think he keeps a big bottle of the stuff out in the open and only hides it when he knows I’m coming over.  Everyone should check out his work at:  www.johnpauldesigns.com

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7 responses to “John Paul Designs In Bend, Oregon Creates A Wedding Ring Or Two”

1. Cindy Anderson writes:
   

   Incredible photography Byron… nice bio on John Paul Designs too!

   @ September 16th, 2009 at 13:58
2. Mike writes:
   

   Even though John relies on an enormous bottle of diamond glue, he’s a very good jeweler but his older brother is the better cribbage player.

   @ September 16th, 2009 at 14:07
3. aileen writes:
   

   JP: Absolutely LOVE THIS…. LOVE the pix… Love you!

   @ September 16th, 2009 at 22:43
4. admin writes:
   

   Thanks for all the wonderful comments Cindy and Aileen!

   @ September 17th, 2009 at 19:54
5. Owen writes:
   

   Fantastic photos, nice post! Hey John Paul, I have been looking for someone to teach me the finer points of cribbage. But it sounds like maybe I need to keep looking, eh?

   @ October 22nd, 2009 at 07:00
6. Brenna Warburton writes:
   

   Hey! I recognize that ring! Nice shots Byron and great work John Paul. The ring still looks as good as it did on the day it was made and my grandmother’s diamonds are locked in tight- so is the gold from Grandpa’s coin. I love that Bill and I are able to carry a little piece of them with us throughout our journey together.

   @ February 11th, 2010 at 14:16
7. admin writes:
   

   Thanks Brenna! To document the creation of something this important was really satisfying for me and I loved learning how the ring was created.

   @ February 11th, 2010 at 14:33