About Tiny Desk Designs

Tiny Desk Designs is a signature jewelry collection from artist Valerie Graham’s studio based out of Portland, Oregon. For over twenty years, Valerie has been creating wearable treasures using rare and precious gemstones, sterling silver, fine silver, and high karat gold via advanced metalsmithing techniques.

Meet Val

I create tiny artworks by blending metals like sterling silver, high karat gold, gemstones and metal flourishes, into unique, wearable jewelry. This craft has been my joy for over two decades – from engaging in my first jewelry studies at Rhode Island School of Design to receiving a BFA in Crafts from the University of the Arts in 2000 and completing the Bench Jeweler program at Portland Jewelry Academy in 2016, I’ve loved making jewelry.

I spent several years studying glass techniques and working as a glassblower. My time in the hot shop, working with timing and temperature, has greatly inspired my metalwork, including the fusing and granulation techniques I use in my current line.

My years of travel have also greatly inspired my work. From the graphic layers of graffiti I spotted on the trains in Philadelphia to the emoji imagery I loved to see while living in Japan to the connection to nature I feel on a rainy Portland day –these vivid experiences inform me as an artist and maker.