Meet Harry Hansen | Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Harry Hansen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Harry, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Nicole and I both grew up in families that worked for themselves most of the time, and we have both been self employed all of our adult lives, this business is just the latest evolution of our craft.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Riveting Experience Jewelry is our latest evolution in our journey of metalsmithing. Nicole and I both grew up with hammers in our hands, hers were just smaller than mine. Nicole was raised in her parents jewelry store ( Master Goldsmiths) that they founded together in Nederland and then moved to the Pearl Street mall in Boulder. I grew up learning metal fabricating and welding from my dad and then moved on to become a full time farrier shoeing horses in central Colorado for twenty years. Since 2001 Nicole and I had a small line of collaborative work that we call “Sterling and Steel” that we expanded into a full time business in 2013 after I was kicked in the head by a horse I was working on, sustaining a TBI and forcing me to leave the trade. We built that business by traveling the country exhibiting our work at fine art festivals coast to coast. Around that same time we also started teaching wedding band workshops, hosting couples in our private studio and guiding them through the process of making their own wedding bands. In the spring of 2019 on a return trip home after a month on the road we came up with the idea to expand on what we already did in our wedding ring workshops and designed a studio where anyone, no matter how little experience they have working with their hands can come in and design and make jewelry that speaks to who they are. We guide you through each step and help when necessary, and you leave with a piece you will be proud to show your friends. The sense of accomplishment our customer have is one of our greatest rewards, we truly love sharing our family legacy of crafting with our hands!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Salida is known for its outdoor activities, to answer your question would require knowing when the visitors were coming. Winter means skiing at Monarch ski area, an awesome little ski area close to town, but there is also dog sledding, cross country skiing, snow shoeing and great day hikes close to town and all of that can be done here in winter. Summer is definitely our season though, mountain biking, rafting, fishing backpacking, Jeep trails, the list is endless! As to food, Amica’s wood fired pizza is one of our favorites but also Fifty Burger, Highside Grill, Boathouse Cantina, Shallots, Moonlight Pizza, Uptown Grill, all good places to eat owned by good people! Our establishment Riveting Experience Jewelry is unique in town and we definitely introduce our out of town family and friends to the fun and creative process of designing their own jewelry and then teaching them how to craft it into a finished piece.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our success is wholly because of our family, the support, encouragement and labor from our family is what makes us who and what we are today. Nicole’s mother Dvora has been a constant source of inspiration as well as helping us financially to get Riveting Experience launched and her dad Jim is always ready when we need technical advice. Both of her parents are award winning jewelers and their respective spouses Steve and Rynn have helped in building displays and keeping our books straight, we would not want to tackle this without their support.

Website: https://rivetingexperiencejewelry.com/

Instagram: @rivetingexperience

Facebook: Riveting Experience

Image Credits
Mark Weidman