BAYFIELD, Wis. - Rare, natural gems and local stones.  A Bayfield silversmith has been working them into her pieces for more than 2 decades.

Nestled along the south shore of Lake Superior you'll find a Bayfield silversmith with a connection to the natural beauty of gems and minerals.  "I was a rock hound when I was a kid and we collect rocks from all over the world," said Donalee Kennedy of Donalee Designs.  "It’s just very exciting when you can find a rock lying on the ground and a couple days later it's in a pair of earrings or something, it's very rewarding."

For 22 years, Kennedy has been creating handcrafted sterling silver with natural gemstones.  "I bought myself every tool I could get a hold of and every book and just studied on my own and basically taught myself," said Kennedy.  "The first time solder flowed it was magic, it was just magic."

After years in the corporate world, making jewelry 8 hours a day was a welcome change for Kennedy who now runs her own silversmith studio.  "It’s my passion; I mean I hardly do anything but," said Kennedy.  "This is really where I want to be, it's the old adage that if you find something you love, you should do it because then great things come."

Every year Kennedy spends 2 weeks at the world's largest gem and mineral show in Tucson, AZ hand–picking every stone and bead for her pieces.  "Gemstones, rocks, sapphires, diamonds, plain old rocks, we love them all," said Kennedy.  "I mean literally we have thousands."

Behind her bench every day, Kennedy combines stones and Lake Superior agates with sterling silver to create one–of–a–kind pieces.  "I love being at the bench, I’ll let the paperwork sit for weeks but I have to be at the bench," said Kennedy.  "One of the best parts along with making it is to see the reaction of the people when they put it on or touch it or feel it; it's just phenomenal and so we like to make people smile."

Creating handmade jewelry from natural, rare gemstones, it's what she was meant to do.

Kennedy is now learning how to carve wax for casting.  For more information on her silversmith studio visit www.donaleedesigns.com