Josie Schimdt

Honor the integrity of the stone is the ethos of Artist and jeweler Josie Hannah Schmidt , I believe in honoring the essence of the stone, the soul of the stone by working with its natural properties and respecting its form, rather than forcing it into a ready template. Similar to my role as a Naturopathic physician, I see myself as a facilitator in the creative process of transforming raw gems into jewelry.

Her grandmother was a world traveler and avid stone collector whose wooded property was sprinkled with geodes, many still unopened and hinting at the mysteries within. Her godfather, an internationally renowned gem dealer, often permitted her to view his private collection, a stunning array of canary diamonds and other vividly colored precious stones. Josie holds a B.A. in Eastern Religions from Columbia University and a Doctorate from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine. She came to an appreciation of the various energetic and healing properties of rocks. Later, John Paulas introduced her to the lapidary world which became a creative outlet and counterpart to her medical education soon took on a life of its own. In 2003, Josie began to collaborate with Jerry Dale Campbell, a metal smith who creates and hand-textures Tulas custom-alloyed 20- and 24-karat yellow gold and 12-karat butter white gold (created of equal parts fine gold and fine silver).

An ever-increasing demand for her jewelry led to the creation of a studio and, in her words, allowed me to rationalize a serious devotion to the craft.  After several years of dividing her time between creating jewelry and practicing Naturopathy, Josie realized that jewelry was her real passion and a full-time calling.