Derek Katzenbach Gem Cutter & Metalworker Looks At Gems Very Differently Due To His Background In Both Fields

"I was actually going to school for marine biology at College of the Atlantic, in Bar Harbor and I was kind of not feeling the classes I was taking. I wasn't really interested anymore. I just got burned out with the sciences. I started just kind of looking at things and so I went to a gem show down in Massachusetts and I walked in and I was like, oh my goodness, I was just blown away by all of the different beautiful gemstones you could buy. I just started walking around and buying things. I was amazed that you could actually buy those things. And you could buy gemstones. So I did and then I ended up spending about, a week's pay in about an hour and then I went to the ATM and I did it again. I walked away with this, you know bag of gemstones. When I had them I had no idea what I was going to do with them. But I was just so happy," said Derek Katzechbach, award-winning faceter, gem artist, and custom jeweler.Derek decided to take his passion for gemstones to the next level by taking jewelry manufacturing classes and learning more from apprentices in jewelry stores. "I was working for a small shop in Bar Harbor and the owner ended up showing me how to set stones, just like little prong settings that were pre-made, which was helpful. It kind of set me off in that direction. But then I wanted to learn how to fabricate settings and make things more from scratch and more custom. So I took lessons for a little bit at that point from a local jeweler, Addison Saunders. He made the Maine State Tourmaline necklace, which is displayed in the Maine museum. Yeah, that piece was made out of all gold I mean, that took me a long time to make as well. So I took lessons for a little bit but I ended up moving. I moved to Farmington and then I met one of Addison's previous students and he ended up showing me some repair work. He showed me repair work over the weekends and I learned to size rings and fix broken chains and things like that. Then as it got closer to Christmas, he said, You want to do this more full time? Oh, absolutely. And at that point, I was doing some construction work. So this paid more on the weekends than that that all week. So it was kind of a no-brainer. That's kind of the start of where I got my passion for gemstones," said Derek.Derek has worked on some challenging pieces including the Big Reveal piece he crafted which took about a year to put together. from beginning to end."This stone was a little different than the style of stone that I would actually facet myself, it's more of a carving than it's a mixture of a carving and a faceted stone. So it makes it a lot more challenging to set and to kind of work, a design around that flows with that style of gemstone. That was one of the biggest challenges I had. I probably sketched a few things with the stone, maybe, I don't know, maybe a month or two after getting it. I just didn't like them. I looked at it went and nope. Then I sketched something else out, you know, I could do that. But it's not, it didn't really sing to me. So I kept doing that for maybe six months. Because I really wanted this to be special. You know, it was one of those things that I love the relationship I have with the museum, I really love the idea of the event. I wanted to make sure that when I did match that, you know, quality of detail that they have. So you know, I just kept thinking and thinking about it and I ended up coming up with a great idea. It utilized a variety of different skill sets. I just drew something, and then I kind of let my creation and my imagination go at that point and kind of started scrounging for materials that I had around the house and started putting together my concept of what I had and ended up buying tools that I didn't have, and all kinds of things just to like, bring this thing into fruition," said Derek.Tune in to hear about Derek's maker journey and more details behind the craft of his final Big Reveal piece.Please visit Derek's website to see more his lovely pieces.To see Derek's final piece follow the Makers of the USA on Instagram and Facebook and Maine Mineral & Gem Museum on Instagram and Facebook as well as the images will be posted on both of those social media platforms.  If you enjoyed this Makers of the USA episode, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook. Please check out Makers of the USA's YouTube channel, Facebook and Instagram. Thank you all and stay safe and healthy.