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 As a stonemason and jewelry maker, Janine turns hard, unbending materials into gentle landscapes and one-of-a-kind ornaments. “Stone and metal are difficult objects to work,” she says. But “I love making a piece of jewelry that will be handed down, or to build a set of stairs that will transform a space into something useful for generations to come.”
Her philosophy about work has as much to do with her success as the actual sweat equity she puts into it. “Choose something you feel passionate about,” she advises. “Work represents almost a third of our lives – it will set the course for the people we meet, the things we do, the places we go. I believe if we are interested in what we are doing, we enjoy it more.”
Growing up in Colorado, Janine discovered her artistic side early, selling homemade clay pots filled with handpicked dried flowers to the neighbors. “I remember art classes in elementary school – making a turkey from noodles left quite an impression, and since then, art in many forms has been a great source of personal joy and expression,” she says. |
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 While traveling in Indonesia during college, Janine met another jewelry maker who would eventually become her first business partner. (Before moving to Berkeley, California to open their jewelry design business, Janine had run her own construction-site cleaning company – which she started at age 17!) Though Nina Designs was successful, its headquarters was destroyed during the 1991 Oakland fires. Janine decided to focus on a long-term plan. She began taking metal- and goldsmithing classes, eventually developing her own production method.
As for masonry, Janine dipped a toe in the trade by tagging along with a boyfriend on job sites more than 15 years ago. “As I learned more, I really started to like it,” she says. Now, she owns a masonry business and has worked on stonescapes from Portland, Oregon to Barre, Vermont – and even abroad in Mallorca, Spain. “MOST exciting,” Janine says, is that she just completed entry-level testing for membership in the Dry Stone Conservancy, an organization that works with the National Park Service on restoration projects across the U.S.
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 It’s hard to imagine Janine being afraid of anything. For over a decade, she’s made her way in a male-dominated field that requires a serious amount of physical strength. “Here is my rule,” she says. “Don’t give away your power. When confronted with negativity, simply let it roll off: it’s their problem.” Generally, she’s found acceptance among the ranks of male masons, “after passing the ‘inspection gauntlet,’ of course,” she says good-naturedly. In the end, “I am not there to prove my worth or self-value, I’m there to create a piece of artwork that is a lasting legacy.”
One look at her stunning hardscapes and heirloom jewelry proves she’s doing just that. “My work is a gift,” she says. “I have found great pleasure in creating things that will last out of metal and stone. A trinket that makes one feel beautiful, a piece of art that shares a thought or feeling, a garden transformed into a place people wish to go. It is my way of sharing, creating for myself and others.”
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