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Canvas Rebel – “Meet Kaminer Haislip” – March 2026

We recently connected with Kaminer Haislip and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaminer, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

A native of Aiken, South Carolina, I grew up in my family’s hardware and appliance business. This experience directly influenced my interest in creating three-dimensional objects and working with my hands. During high school I became enthusiastic about sculpture and jewelry, so I enrolled in the industrial tech class and learned to weld. I attended Winthrop University for my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jewelry and Metals and Master of Fine Arts in Silversmithing and Design with a minor in Sculpture. For both of my degrees I studied under Alfred Ward, an internationally acclaimed English silversmith from London. Alf introduced me to crafting functional silver objects, which was the perfect combination of my interest in jewelry and sculpture. When I graduated in 2005, I moved to Charleston, South Carolina and established my silversmithing studio and business.

For the past twenty years, I have been a professional silversmith focused on creating functional objects and hollowware. I have also produced numerous silver jewelry lines and worked in gold for custom commission projects. Sadly, Alf recently passed away, but he inadvertently introduced me to a new technique to add to my skillset.

The American College of the Building Arts in Charleston, South Carolina, where I teach an elective metalsmithing and jewelry class, purchased many of the tools and equipment from his estate. One of those items included a Guilloche Hall Straight Line machine, made in Rhode Island in the early 20th century, so I started learning how to use it for both my artwork and to teach my students. The journey has been fascinating and sometimes frustrating as Guilloche or Engine Turning is an extremely difficult process. Rialto was my first Guilloche jewelry series and is a tribute to Alf.

Last March, I traveled to Switzerland to learn Guilloche from Calina Shevlin, one of the few experts in the world that teaches it. My travel and studies were funded in part by a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission and the American College of the Building Arts. It was an incredible experience and I learned so much in just one week!

Over the past year I have honed my skills, introduced several new jewelry pieces to the Rialto collection, and am currently working on a new Guilloche series. Stay tuned for the new collection coming soon!

Kaminer, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I design and create all of my original, handcrafted silver designs utilizing techniques that have been used for centuries. Inspired by Charleston’s extensive silversmithing tradition, I am dedicated to carrying forth that legacy. In addition to my work as an artist, I am frequently commissioned by individuals to create unique objects and jewelry in silver and gold. A commission piece merges the client’s vision for a specific object with my technical and artistic ability. For me this combination is a unique approach to designing, because it creates an opportunity for my work to take a new direction.

Fine craftsmanship is also an important hallmark of my hand-fabricated work. Each of my objects or jewelry items begin as silver sheet or wire and then are manipulated utilizing traditional silversmithing techniques, such as forging, raising, and fabricating, to create the final piece. My design approach focuses on a timeless quality that is durable and lasts rather than steered by fashion or fleeting trends. My concepts vary for different series, but my metalwork is unified by elegant design and clean lines.

My artwork has been exhibited internationally and nationally, featured in over sixty publications, including Silver Magazine, Metalsmith, The Magazine Antiques, Traditional Home, Elle Décor, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, Charleston Magazine, Charleston Weddings, and on the TV show Handcrafted America. I was honored with the Made in the South Award in the Home category from Garden & Gun magazine and with The Eric Berg Prize for Excellence in Metal at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. Additionally, Historic Charleston Foundation honored me with the Samuel Gaillard Stoney Conservation Craftsmanship Award. Finally, I collaborated with Reese Witherspoon’s Southern lifestyle company Draper James on an exclusive silver bowl and The Charleston Museum acquired my silver Charleston Rice Spoon for their permanent collection.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Silver is a commodity traded on the stock exchange and its price fluctuates based on the market. Since late 2025, the price of silver has been hitting record highs and has been bouncing up and down at a rate that is difficult to keep up with. Those dramatic variations can be very challenging to a small silversmithing business like mine, because I must plan accordingly for the silver I purchase to make pieces and the inventory I keep in stock.

Historically, when the dollar is weak, the price of silver goes up and when the dollar is strong, the price of silver goes down. However, inflation is down and growth is up, so investors seem to be flocking to it for other reasons. Supply and demand also affect the price of silver. Silver is used in a lot of technology, industrial, and medical products, which has recently skyrocketed demand. Deregulation is opening up more mining in the US, but it can take years to scale up production. It is a lot to track, and I only took basic economics in college, so it is knowledge I have gained by following the business sector.

During the 2008/2009 Great Recession, which happened only three years after I started my business, the price of silver was very high. At that time, I started making more jewelry and had to get creative with the amount of silver I used in my functional home objects. Currently, I face similar challenges, so I must approach my business model in the same way as I did during the last silver price spike.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Even though I started my business after graduate school twenty years ago and have made some challenging yet extraordinary objects over the course of my career, I still feel like I learn something new every day! Silversmithing is a lifelong pursuit that can never be truly mastered or perfected. It requires a strong work ethic, discipline to put in the long hours required to develop the extremely technical skills of a silversmith, and fortitude to meet the intense physical demands. You must be a creative designer, willing to sacrifice free time, and tenacious to earn a living as a silversmith. For me it is well worth the extra effort to spend each day following my passion.

I recently started teaching elective metalsmithing and jewelry classes at the American College of the Building Arts and presenting lectures on the rich history of silversmithing and how it relates to my contemporary silver designs. Being more involved in the academic and intellectual side of my medium has been very rewarding. At this point in my career, I enjoy sharing my knowledge, passing on my skills to the next generation, and educating the public on silversmithing.

Most of my lectures are presented at institutions or museums as public events and I teach one day jewelry and silversmithing workshops that are open to the public through a partnership with the American College of the Building Arts and Redux Contemporary Art Center. Please check my website Blog for those events, dates, and how to sign up!

Image Credits

Personal Photo Credit: Paul Cheney
Teapot Photo Credit: Alexis Lorraine Howard
Martini Shaker and Bracelet photos all taken by artist.

https://canvasrebel.com/meet-kaminer-haislip/