Born in New York City and now based near San Francisco, California, Barbara Berk’s journey has been circuitous:  a childhood love of fabric and sewing; a Master’s Degree in Russian History; 15 years in magazine publishing.  Her introduction to antique jewelry led to studies in gemology and bench techniques – and the discovery that her true passion is working with the metal itself.  She learned that metal can be worked like fiber, that sheet and wire can be woven.  Most exciting for Berk was the realization that jewelry can be fashioned from the precious metal “fabric”.  She founded Barbara Berk Designs in 1992 to create her signature handwoven high karat gold and platinum jewelry.

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Among Berk’s honors are a 2004 American Gem Trade Association Spectrum Award, the 2002 Award for Excellence in Design from the Women’s Jewelry Association, and a 2001 Saul Bell Design Award for jewelry design.  

 

Barbara Berk’s work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Museum of the Gemological Institute of America. Her jewels have been exhibited in museums and shows across the US including LOOT! 2011:  Mad About Jewelry  (Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY); New West Coast Design:  Jewelry + Metalwork (Velvet daVinci Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2008); Wearable Expressions 2005 – 2006  (Palos Verdes Art Center, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA); The Art of Gold, a traveling exhibit of contemporary American studio goldsmithing organized by the Society of North American Goldsmiths (2003 – 2006).