Melissa Stiles’ “6 Leaf Necklaces” blend modern design with natural shapes.

Melissa Stiles lived in a veritable “construction zone” growing up—her ever-moving parents were avid about remodeling their homes. So it was a natural step for Stiles to pursue an architecture degree at Pennsylvania State University.

After graduating in 1996, she set out for Phoenix and then jumped to San Francisco. A few years into her career as an architect, though, Stiles felt stilted. “It was a lot of management and paper work,” she explains. “It wasn’t filling my creative desire.”

Stiles had been tinkering with jewelry making for some time; she enrolled in her first metalsmithing class after college. “I bought a small butane torch and learned mostly through trial and error,” she explains. After moving to Portland, Ore., where there was a real “creative vibe,” she got serious and started selling her work at local fairs in 2004.

Having her first child gave Stiles the push she needed to leave her career as an architect and pursue her art exclusively. She now balances the demands of two young children with her life in the Stubborn Design Works studio. “My business evolved on its own … from the work,” Stiles says. In her home studio, she slices industrial pipe to create patterns, and fills the “frames” with resin. “I enjoy the challenge of building and making the parts work together,” she explains. “It’s like putting together the inner workings of a building.”

The resin warms up the cold metal with pops of orange, red, blue, green and brown in necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, cufflinks and even belt buckles. The work is modern, showcasing clean lines and contrasting colors.

Recycled felt handbags round out Stiles’ current line. Although she loves fabric, she has no plans of transforming into a textile designer. “I love to take industrial materials and use them in unexpected ways,” she says.

You can count on one thing with Stiles—new designs are always on the horizon. “I look at everything around me and find inspiration in it,” she says. “I dissect the way things fit together and try to apply it to my work.”

Learn more at www.stubbornworks.com.