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 When I was a little girl, I ran errands for my dad, Bud Cohan, a talented maker of fine jewelry on Philadelphia's Jewelers' Row. Everyone knew him and they called me - then and now - Buddy's Kid. I wanted to follow him into the business but he said it was "no job for a girl," so, more than 30 years ago, I went to law school and became a prosecutor. When my dad retired, I once again ran his errands on Jewelers' Row (a block from my law  office), and the jewelrymaking bug hit. My childhood dream became a grownup passion. No one was more surprised - and pleased - than my dad, who gave me pride, encouragement, and even his tools. Sadly, he is gone now, and every piece I make is an enduring tribute to him as my jewelrymaking provides welcome respite from the day job.
In the last few years, I've been making my own glass beads, melting glass rods in the flame of a torch, winding the glass onto steel mandrels, and then decorating the beads with fine silver or gold leaf, with thin strands of colored glass, or with special paints that - once heated - become part of the glass. The beads are shaped by manipulating the still-molten glass using gravity and tools of brass, steel, graphite, tungsten or stone. It's a mesmerizing process.
As time goes on, and as I use up the many MANY beads that I had purchased from other artists before beginning to make my own, you will see more jewelry on this site incorporating my own beads. I hope you enjoy browsing through the galleries of my available work and the vault, my archive of pieces already in private collections. Soon, I will begin offering my own beads on this site for those of you who want to make your own jewelry.
In addition to practicing law, making beads and designing and making jewelry, I also run, with my husband - a brilliantly gifted chef - Paloma, one of Philadelphia's most highly acclaimed restaurants, where I make all the desserts, keep the books, hostess on weekends, and - of course! - show off my jewelry. Do stop by and visit us when you're in Philadelphia! You will find our website at http://www.palomafinedining.com.
Thanks for visiting!
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