JEWELERS CONCOCT RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
By Joseph Piccoli, Jackson Hole Guide, October 11, 1989

Ask Dan and Shelley Harrison what things influence their work as artists and they will give you a whole list of ingredients that go into the stew they call Danshelley Jewelry What's New.

Samples of the concoction, which include elk ivory set in gold rings, necklaces and pendants, unadorned gold and silver jewelry and settings of faceted precious and semi-precious stones in both gold and silver, are featured in a Fall Arts Festival show at the Harrison's retail store in Gaslight Alley through Oct. 31.

"It all goes back to our love of nature," Shelley said, listing the first ingredient. " We really started out as rockhounds finding things in nature that we liked finding rough gems and bringing their beauty out in jewelry."

Today, the pair take continued inspiration both from the stones and ivory they set in jewelry and from their very surroundings in Jackson Hole.

"It's a continual challenge," Shelley said. "Are we worthy of the Tetons? It's a challenge to meet that standard."

Next, toss in a dash of art and design study at Utah State University for both.

Finally, add a third ingredient, the most important: Collaboration. As vital as it is, it is an ingredient the two say they did not know was in the recipe.

"It takes two people to create our jewelry," Dan explained. "There is an energy we didn't realize existed at first, an energy that creates a whole that is greater than the sum of the two parts."

One more thing, throw in a healthy measure of disregard for the distinction between art and business. Without it, Dan and Shelley agree, you still do not have Danshelley jewelry.

"Most artists lack the business sense needed to market their work," Dan said. "They seem to feel that just be creating their work they've done enough. At most, they'll look for someone to market what they've done."

Not so the Harrisons, They said they have paid as much attention to their business as the their art.

"We have many friends, artists, who cannot seem to cross the line," Shelley said. "But you can't just sit in a corner and say to people, 'If you don't like what I do, then I don't care about you'".

In fact, she said, artists can expand their horizons if they will only listen to potential customers. "It has really opened my mind as an artist, knowing what my customers want."

"I know artists who wonder why they're not more successful," Dan said. "It's because they don't key on what the public wants."

Still, Dan and Shelley said they what the public wants does not drive every artistic decision they make.

For example, they will not make a "custom" piece of jewelry for anyone who has in mind a piece being produced in quantity by a jewelry manufacturer.

"If what they want is already available, we tell them so, and tell them where to get it," Dan said.