Lady J Arts

July 2016

Lady J ArtsSeveral months ago artist Jessica Hope Prince Kroll met with a client at the Downtowne Coffee House. When leaving she noticed the “For Rent” sign on the building next door. In mid December she opened the doors of her very own working artists studio, Lady J Arts, at 202 Talent Avenue.

Raised in Ashland, and after living in several towns here in the Rogue Valley, Jessica found herself happily living in Talent for handful of years. “When I got married several years ago, I moved to Medford with my husband. It didn’t take long before I was homesick for the little town I had grown to love.”

After twenty years as a Bookkeeper and Payroll Specialist, she decided to dedicate herself to her art full time. “After a car accident left me with a tremor in my painting hand, I took a lot of classes and tried a lot of art forms before discovering I had a knack for playing with wires,” Jessica said. “I started creating jewelry purely as an artistic outlet and for lack of having the right jewelry to go with several of my favorite outfits. Eventually I had amassed quite a collection of gorgeous pieces.”

But she had no idea what to do with them. That’s when her husband encouraged her to sell the excess jewelry. “At first, I was quite reluctant, I am actually quite shy by nature and I was uncertain of how my work would be received,” Jessica explained. “I decided to be brave and started attending farmer’s markets and craft fairs and the positive response from clients was overwhelming! These kinds of markets continue to be the source of so much joy for me.”

In her studio you can find one-of-a-kind jewelry, fine art prints, greeting cards and bookmarks featuring original pieces of artwork. You can expect high quality, hypoallergenic one-of-a-kind jewelry that will last for years. The shop is a working artist’s studio as well as a store, so you can always expect to see new things being created and new works on display weekly, if not daily.

“I often work closely with my clients to create custom pieces of jewelry using their treasured rocks and gemstones. I re-purpose family heirlooms into beautiful new jewelry. I create commissioned artwork, paintings, drawings, etc. I teach color pencil drawing, watercolor painting and wire wrap jewelry making here at my shop.

Her jewelry is in eight different stores including the Oregon State Capital Gift Shop. Her pendants were gifted to over a hundred attendees and members of the press corps this last January at the Golden Globes Celebrity Gift Lounge event, and her jewelry is currently being considered for use on several popular TV shows (to be announced once filming is complete).

“I am also part of the Talent Artisans & Growers management team which puts on the Talent Evening Market every Friday all summer long. I love this town and am so happy to be blessed enough to call it home!”

Jessica is also quite a dog lover. “They are welcome in my shop anytime! We have sampler packs of handcrafted treats to give to all four-legged visitors, compliments of Kimbra’s K-9 Crunchies.”
To learn more about Lady J Arts, stop by the studio at 202 Talent Ave, or call 541-531-8212.