Materials carry history.
Casa Catalina Jewelry explores how materials, traditional craft, and personal history can come together to create objects that feel both ancient and contemporary.
My work begins with curiosity. I collect materials over many years, drawn to their color, texture, weight, or the way they catch light, often without knowing exactly how they will be used. In the studio, those pieces slowly find one another.
Wood, bronze, silver, beads, gemstones, oil paint, and textiles each bring their own character, becoming part of a larger composition where no material is secondary.
Travel has shaped the way I see the world as much as the way I make jewelry. Growing up, I often wandered museums, cathedrals, archaeological sites, and historic cities. Ancient jewelry, carved wood, medieval architecture, devotional objects, and centuries-old paintings taught me that materials carry stories long before they become art. Those experiences continue to guide my work today.
Oil painting on copper, a technique practiced by the Old Masters, allows me to bring painted imagery into the jewelry itself. These miniature paintings are paired with hand-carved wood, cast bronze, sterling silver, beadwork, and carefully chosen gemstones, each element shaped and assembled by hand using both traditional and contemporary techniques.
I think of each piece as a conversation. Histories, materials, and processes that might otherwise remain separate come together to create something new. The resulting jewelry reflects the places we've been, the people we carry with us, and our enduring desire to surround ourselves with objects that hold meaning.
Every piece is made by hand in my New Mexico studio.
Artist Statement
Caitlin Velázquez-Fagley is a jeweler, designer and lifelong traveler. She was born and raised in New Mexico and continues to create her work there.
Caitlin lived abroad in Spain for three years and upon returning, she enrolled in workshops to learn traditional metalsmithing techniques. After a year of developing many designs through practice and experimentation, Caitlin's work was featured in Vanity Fair UK.
She's taught stamping and repoussé workshops in Albuquerque as well as a semester at the Santa Fe Community College's Jewelry Program. She received a certificate in jewelry wax carving in Florence, Italy from Alessandro Dari to learn how to carve and sculpt wax by hand. She was selected nationwide as an emerging female jewelry designer for WJA's Jewelry Loupe Project in 2023. She completed the mentorship to create her Essentials line for Casa Catalina Jewelry which launched in 2024.