I am Barbara Smith McLaughlin
but you can call me
​Babs

I am an Art Jewelry Designer
on the  Seacoast of NH
 

More back history and some of the minor details of how I arrived here today!

This is my third career, you see my Dad wanted me to go to college and earn a degree where by I could support myself if need be. After flunking out of a pre-med program, and finding out I have dyslexia. No wonder I would ace the lab exam, but the written exam in Organic Chem... got a D everytime. So, back home I go, was enrolled in the local community College,  graduated with a BBA, with dual majors, Economics and Business.

Got a job on the Hubble Space Telescope program while working at Perkin-Elmer in Danbury CT.  After we delivered that and the cold war ended.   No jobs, got laid off.

Fast forward, moved to NH, couldn't find a job, so I began my second career learning how to repair mechanical clocks.  

​After 7-8 years I told my husband I wanted to design jewelry.  OK, he said with the following stipulation, you can't do anything good in 5 years I'm selling your tools.  20 years and counting I am still here and have no plans to go anywhere soon.
Jewelry Artist Barbara McLaughlin defines her work as “Rich Textures ~ Gorgeous Gems”. I am often torn as to which is more important; the rich textures or the gorgeous gems, as both play an important role in how and what I create.  Studio space is shared with her husband Robert, a lapidary artist on the seacoast of New Hampshire.  

McLaughlin is inspired by natural textures / patterns found in nature.  Textural inspirations are interpreted thru techniques such as stamping, roller printing and the forging of metal with rusty old hammers.  

Robert is my other half, the lapidary artist who cuts the many gems used in my one-of-a-kind designs!.... opals being my favorite! 

​Barbara McLaughlin is a self-taught metalsmith with a thirst for knowledge. Armed with her MBA, books become her friend. Experimentation in the studio was substituted for formal training, allowing her to explore techniques freely. She can be heard telling patrons that each piece of jewelry has captured a moment of my life in metal and stone. 

Here is a  peek into my creative nest (aka MY bench).

I  love new projects!
​Just a few gem stones to occupy my mind when I need a distraction.
Let's get started.