Handcrafted is not a word you hear too often these days, but it is what Lemont resident and fine jewelry artist Deb Wojnarowski does.

Wojnarowski has an eye for finding beauty in just about any material. Some examples include domino pieces, old refrigerator tubing and metal washers, which are unrecognizable after being shaped into a necklace and earrings set.

She explained that she works mostly with a material called metal clay, which is a combination of recycled silver materials, organic clay and binders. After the material has been torched and molded into one of her beautiful pieces of jewelry, what is left, she said, "is 99.9 percent fine silver."

As a teenager, watching her mother run a from-home jewelry business allowed Wojnarowski to learn the tricks of the trade.

Mostly self taught through observation and a bit of playing around with her mother's tools and materials, Wojnarowski also studied the art form at the College of DuPage and currently teaches custom classes from her home.

She said her favorite part about crafting fine silver jewelry is getting to work with her hands and be able to turn nothing into something of beauty and value.

"I just like to hold the metal in my hands and let it tell me what it wants to do," she said about the inspiration behind each piece.

Wojnarowski said she enjoys doing custom pieces for people looking for something special, and has designed everything from wedding rings to cigar boxes.

Her pieces range anywhere from $15 to $200 and can take anywhere from one hour to a few weeks to make.

When it comes to selling her handcrafted fine jewelry Wajnarowski said, "You have to find the right person for the right piece."

Want to see if you are the right person for one of Wojnarowski's unique silver jewelry pieces? Check her out at fussyfinery.com or e-mail her at deb@fussyfinery.com.