"Pearls To Dream About" ...and other gems.

My jewelry career began in 1970. Following college and a tour in the Army I opened a small studio in Seattle, WA where I did jewelry repair for the public and wholesale trade. I was also taking classes with the G.I.A. studying diamonds, colored stones and gem identification.  Later, I moved to a new, Seattle location and opened a traditional jewelry store, Dick Paille Jewelry, inc. Working long hours 'at-the-bench,' in the store’s manufacturing shop, managing employees, meeting with customers and what seemed like constant sales reps that stopped by made for long hours. Six day work weeks were typical. The 70’s were demanding but rewarding years in my early career where I learned the ‘business end’ of the jewelry business as well as continued to hone my bench skills. Years later I sold the store to follow an inner call to design jewelry for a national market selling my work at trade shows, retail stores and Galleries around the country. In 1991 a new opportunity arose and I became involved in pearl farming in the Cook Islands and started the business, South Pacific Pearls International. Eventually my jewelry background merged with several non-jewelry interests. I formed a small film crew and we traveled to Australia to shoot a documentary on opal mining entitled "Fire Down Under: The Hunt For Australian Opal." This first project led to another documentary about pearl farming called "A Gift From Neptune: The Black Pearls Of Manihiki." The years I was traveling to the South Pacific were an exciting period in my career. In 2003 I started Pacific Digital Studio to continue my interest in multimedia marketing and to support the talks I give on pearls and other jewelry subjects. By 2008 I wanted to reduce my traveling and find new ways to share my career experiences with others. That desire led to starting a jewelry school: Learn2MakeJewelry which I operate today. In 2010 I formed a company: Paige Tools to manufacture various jewelry tools. Our Torch products are the first to launch. I’m also an avid fly fisherman, a life long amateur radio operator, wine lover and writer.