WHEN ART IS A GEM
By Deb Gruver, Jackson Hole News, September 28, 1993

Dan and Shelley Harrison consider themselves artists.

But their studio adjacent to their South Park Loop home isn't filled with easels, canvasses or paints.

Instead, the Harrisons are surrounded by gold, diamonds, rubies and pearls. Owners of DanShelley' Jewelers, the Harrisons view their rings, pendants, bracelets and other pieces of jewelry as art.

"Jewelry is the number-one-selling art form in the work," Dan Harrison said. "It's a pretty exact art form where sloppy work is evident."

You're working with raw materials that have intrinsic value," Shelley Harrison said.

Making one-of-a-kind jewelry in Jackson sine 1976, the year they were married, the Harrisons say they enjoy the creative process immensely.

The Harrisons make the jewelry they sell from start to finish. It begins with picking out stones and designing the jewelry and ends with polishing the pieces.

"The designing and the coordination of the stones is the most creative process," Shelley Harrison said, adding that executing a design is very difficult. "The creative process is the most rewarding part."

The Harrisons said they try to make their jewelry different and unique because they can't compete with mass-produced pieces.

Unlike the Harrisons and other valley jewelers, some designers stop at the design process. After coming up with a design, they ship it off and subcontract the actual work. That compromises the quality of a piece the Harrisons believe.