Jewelry artist Susan Wells emphasizes that her equestrian jewelry is for people who love horses
above any particular discipline. “I was introduced to horses when I was very young and I’ve been
through numerous stages. There was a western stage, the gymkhana stage, a short lived
(and not very successful) jumping stage, an English equitation stage and a dressage stage.
I learned something from every one of those disciplines but mostly I learned how amazing horses are…how
willing they were to accommodate the whim of a young girl, the impatience of a teenager and the intensity
of a young adult. I have always loved horses but it took me a long time to appreciate the fundamentally
honorable and honest nature of horses”.
Growing up in British Columbia, Sue was introduced to horses through her uncle, Tom Flynn, who had a
small ranch on Vancouver Island. With her uncle’s patience and encouragement, Sue spent every minute
she could learning about horses. When Sue would return home, she found herself drawing horses for hours
on end. With a love for all things horses and a natural artistic ability, Sue’s future ambitions were being
cast. But as time went by, she found that life and circumstances would interfere with those ambitions.
Moving to California in 1980, Sue found herself concentrating on making a living. She worked her way
through school and ended up working as an Executive Director in the Information Systems department for
several large Hollywood companies including Paramount Pictures and Disney. With all her corporate success,
Sue never stopped thinking about her early ambitions. “The time and circumstance finally arrived when I could
afford to focus my attention on what I really enjoyed doing”. She soon started sketching again, but this time
she began to experiment with simple, stylized line drawings. “I started to realize how a few simple lines
could capture the essence, strength and beauty of horses. The leap from the drawings to jewelry was an easy
one. I have always loved jewelry and always appreciated ‘artistic’ equestrian jewelry. It occurred to me
that these simple, stylized line drawings would lend themselves perfectly to a delicate and completely unique
line of jewelry”.
Sue enrolled in art classes in Los Angeles and studied various methods including metalworking, sculpting, and
wax carving. “I enjoyed working with all the different mediums, but I really enjoyed working with the wax.
The lessons in wax focused on creating jewelry and I just found myself drawn to it”. Sue’s current line is
completely hand carved from wax, cast and hand finished. The first pieces are sterling silver with Swarovski
crystals, however, they can also be ordered in white gold, yellow gold or rose gold and a variety of
semi-precious or precious stones.
The artist keeps her stable of six horses on her property in the San Fernando Valley just outside of Los
Angeles. “Being so close to my horses allows me to see and enjoy all those little moments first hand.
I’m really fortunate to be able to look outside and draw inspiration for new ideas”. Sue’s first horse,
Kidder was a gift from her uncle when she was nineteen. Kidder was just two years old when she received
him, and yes, at 30, Kidder is still part of her growing horse family.