Mario Stefanovic – Wire Jewelry Artisan
Thank you for you interest in me and how I create my wire art! I always welcome personal e-mail, so if you’d like to drop a note, send it to jewelry@wirename.com.
How I Got Started Creating Wire Jewelry Names
I am a self-taught artist. For the first time, 36 years ago, I saw a wire name that my friend had purchased. The idea really interested me and I thought it might be an appealing hobby to pursue. My friend let me borrow his name to look at, but other than that I had no other references; the internet wasn’t around yet.
I started to write my own wire names letter by letter. I learned the art on my own, and by practice, practice, practice. Once I got the hang of this, I put the letters together and made words. At first, each word or name took me about an hour to complete; especially when there were hard combinations of letters, like an ‘o’ next to an ‘e’.
Not having a lot of examples to look at really influenced me because I then developed my own style of writing the names. I kept on practicing to make my names look better than the first one I saw. Once I started to get more satisfied with my work, I set up small stands and made a little business. I sold these all over the world when I lived by the Mediterranean Sea (Croatia), South Africa, Florida, and the Chicago-land area.
I developed the style and art from my home country on the Mediterranean coast of Europe. I now live in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, with my wife and two children. All my work is handcrafted. My style is a mix of classic cursive letters combined with clean technical letters along with soft curves and clean lines. When I design the names, I try to make them easy to read, consistent, and at the same time add a touch of elegance.
How I Create Wire Name Jewelry
My work means a lot to me because it is very unique. Just like everyone has different hand writing styles, people that make wire jewelry likewise have different writing styles. Some are larger than others, some messier, or rounder, etc. I have my own style and it is so consistent that I can make twenty identical names.
I can make 50-60 names per day. My style of writing these names is unique because I make the letters very easy to read. I am consistent in my work and always make the letters the same size and shape. There is a bar on top of my wire names that protects them from being stretched out and ruined. This is especially helpful for children that wear the wire names.
My most unique item is the
wire bicycle that I make out of one piece of wire. It is a complete 3D bicycle with pedals, chain, wheels, seat, dropout support; making it look all the more realistic.
When I was a university student I read a speech by Chief Seattle
How Can You Buy or Sell the Sky? This speech impressed me very much and I would like to make it from a gold wire when I find the time.
Chief Seattle pdf Book (Open or Download)
Again, I thank you for your interest and invite you to contact me with any questions or comment you have about my background or my work.
-Mario Stefanovic