Seventeen-year-old Lilli McCauley, one of the youngest silversmiths in the Gorge, is currently a junior in high school. Born and raised in Husum, McCauley takes classes online while pouring herself into her small business and true passion, Lilli’s Jewels.
Nine months out of the year, Lilli McCauley is open to commissioned pieces, a fun challenge where she enjoys helping her clients find the perfect stone and create something custom.
Nine months out of the year, Lilli McCauley is open to commissioned pieces, a fun challenge where she enjoys helping her clients find the perfect stone and create something custom.
At the age of 15, McCauley got sick and found herself bedridden, so she picked up wire-wrapping and beading, later receiving her first soldering kit for Christmas in 2021. She primarily works with sterling silver but also uses brass, recycled silver, and stones that are sustainably sourced in the U.S. She also uses stones that she finds herself, usually in the Columbia or White Salmon River.
Seventeen-year-old Lilli McCauley, one of the youngest silversmiths in the Gorge, is currently a junior in high school. Born and raised in Husum, McCauley takes classes online while pouring herself into her small business and true passion, Lilli’s Jewels.
HUSUM — It’s no secret that the Gorge is home to countless artists with small businesses and a community that prioritizes supporting their work. What many might not know is just how young and ambitious some of these local artists are.
Seventeen-year-old Lilli McCauley, one of the youngest silversmiths in the Gorge, is currently a junior in high school. Born and raised in Husum, McCauley takes classes online while pouring herself into her small business and true passion, Lilli’s Jewels.
For most of her young life, McCauley said she hated jewelry and never wanted to be a girly-girl. “I think some of that was deep-rooted misogyny, the idea that you have to be very feminine to wear jewelry,” she said.
Nine months out of the year, Lilli McCauley is open to commissioned pieces, a fun challenge where she enjoys helping her clients find the perfect stone and create something custom.
Laurel Brown photo
At the age of 15, McCauley got sick and found herself bedridden, so she picked up wire-wrapping and beading, later receiving her first soldering kit for Christmas in 2021. She primarily works with sterling silver but also uses brass, recycled silver, and stones that are sustainably sourced in the U.S. She also uses stones that she finds herself, usually in the Columbia or White Salmon River.
Since 2021, McCauley has pushed herself to learn and grow her silversmithing the same as any high schooler might pursue their passions: She started an Instagram for Lilli’s Jewels (instagram.com/lillisjewels) in fall of 2022 and followed with a website (lillisjewels.com) in the summer of 2023.
“It took a while to learn how metals work, how to control the flame, how to melt the metal. I knew what I wanted to make at first but wasn’t understanding how to get there,” she said.
McCauley only recently felt comfortable considering herself an artist as she gained confidence in her skill and style. “Making art from my brain into things that people can wear, it’s just so cool. Nothing makes me as happy as being at the bench. I’ll be on a family vacation and just wish I was back here,” McCauley said.
Jerry Titus, a local silversmith, has begun working with McCauley as a mentor, helping foster her mindset of progress and growth. He has taught her to cut and polish stones as well as refined some of her self-taught skills.
“There’s something special about failing and I appreciate that I learned most everything on my own, but it’s essential to have a mentor to get to the next level. [Jerry] has taught me exactly that, and it’s great to spend time at his studio and meet other artists there,” McCauley said.
She feels special, being so young in the art community, but has also found it limiting in some ways. Finding life balance and her artistic niche have been bittersweet with so much competition and comparison, even after her first solo vending event at Precious Drab, a vintage store in Hood River.
Nine months out of the year, Lilli McCauley is open to commissioned pieces, a fun challenge where she enjoys helping her clients find the perfect stone and create something custom.
Laurel Brown photo
“I’m trying to separate jewelry from my personal teenage life. I want people to know that making jewelry is my truest love, but I also want them to know how much pressure I put on myself to be a high school student, artist, and small businesswoman,” McCauley said.
Aside from jewelry, McCauley has a passion for graphic design, photography, and technology. She was awarded Washington’s Rising STEM Star of 2023 for a coding and programming project.
As if juggling schoolwork, a small business, and social life isn’t enough, McCauley has been processing the loss of her older brother, Sawyer, last August.
Sawyer’s life and friendship inspires McCauley in very real ways — for example, her jewelry studio is his old living space in their family home.
“Sometimes I’ll feel someone’s presence at the door or see a light flicker and I know it’s him there. I just talk to him about how things are going and I think that’s his way of saying he’s proud of me and my art,” she said.
“This has been my safe space, I feel very calm and connected to him here. Creating something with my hands brings me back to my roots and is very meditative,” she added.
At the age of 15, McCauley got sick and found herself bedridden, so she picked up wire-wrapping and beading, later receiving her first soldering kit for Christmas in 2021. She primarily works with sterling silver but also uses brass, recycled silver, and stones that are sustainably sourced in the U.S. She also uses stones that she finds herself, usually in the Columbia or White Salmon River.
Laurel Brown photo
Family is influential to McCauley: Her mother is her favorite jewelry model, her younger brother is her rock-hunting buddy, and her dad helps her “quiet the voice” of perfectionism within. She also takes inspiration from nature and puts that into her art, such as the mountains surrounding Bend and the rivers near her home.
She’s crafted fish rings, jewelry featuring the cycles of the moon, and wave-inspired pieces, just to name a few. “I love to push the boundary. I think, okay, what’s the wildest thing I can make and how can I make it pretty?” she said.
Nine months out of the year, McCauley is open to commissioned pieces, a fun challenge where she enjoys helping her clients find the perfect stone and create something custom.
“I even had someone wear my jewelry for their wedding recently. That’s exciting,” she said.
Despite moments of self-doubt, McCauley believes she has found her life’s calling, though some people deem her career as more of a hobby. “I want people to see how much handmade art is worth. I mean, I literally find a stone in the river and start there, I make the jewelry from the ground up,” she said.
McCauley released a new collection of pieces in early February and is looking forward to spring and summer markets around the Gorge. Her art is available at MoonMountain Highway in Bingen or her full inventory is listed for sale on her website.
“In my heart I know this is what I want to do. Jewelry-making — it’s it,” she said.
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