Past Newsletters

February 3rd, 2025 — The Year of the Spoon

Year of the Spoon

The Year of the Spoon

You may have noticed a trend in my work over the past year: less jewelry and more housewares.

I’ll be spending the first half of 2025 expanding and refining my housewares collections. I’m working away in the studio now getting ready for American Craft Made Baltimore

As American Craft Council’s Flagship Craft Show this enormous show features nearly 400 artists andI highly recommend visiting for multiple days to make the most of it!

Please reply to this email if you’re interested in free passes!

Right after the ACC show in Baltimore I’ll be traveling down to Penland to spend 8 weeks as a student in Erica Moody’s Balancing the Spoon: Metal Craft and Studio Practice.

You can read more about the workshop here, or check out Erica’s beautiful work here.

From the course description: With utensil making as the framework, students will explore how our craft can foster play and awareness of our surroundings. The workshop aims to use this nice, long time frame to both upset and balance our practices as we inspire and support each other.

I’m excited to spend this time immersed in creative community, learning, creating, and connecting over one of my favorite topics, the spoon.

What else is new?

Night Shift Studio got a make-over!

We’ve moved half the studio to the second floor at Bok where we’ll soon have a small retail corner. Half the studio equipment is staying in the basement (for now) where you can still find me hammering loudly as I prepare for ACC Baltimore.

Tshatshke is hosting a Chains and Charms event on February 15th

With vintage and handmade chains & charms, plus assembly and soldering while you wait! Bring your favorite chain or start from scratch at Tshatshke. Bring your Valentine!

I’ll be teaching a few workshops

Small Scale Forged Earrings
at Snow Farm June 6 - 8

Small Containers / Baby Boxes
at Peters Valley September 5 - 7

Lots to look forward to! Lots of work to do!

-Kate

September 4, 2024

Serious Fun!

Join me this Friday at Gravers Lane Gallery for

Craftsmanship in Jewelry, Humor, and a Disco Ball

“Gravers Lane Gallery is pleased to present Serious Fun. Studio Art Jewelers and guest curators Ellyse Bendillo & Kate Dannenberg of Night Shift Studio were invited by Gravers Lane Gallery to develop a themed invitational and open call exhibition.

The first of two receptions will take place on September 6th, 5-8pm. Please join curators Ellyse Bendillo & Kate Dannenberg at 6:30pm as they lead a conversation on Serious Fun with participating artists and gallery staff.

Serious Fun celebrates the fusion of creativity and fine craftsmanship. This exhibition showcases new works by contemporary jewelers who skillfully combine expert craftsmanship with playful designs. These creations honor the rich history of the craft while embracing contemporary whimsy. The artists featured in the exhibition dedicate their time, refined skills, and high-quality materials to produce pieces that both surprise and delight art enthusiasts and craft aficionados alike.”

Water Cup Dangles

Margo Csipo

sterling silver, mother of pearl, pigmented ink

Red Horses, Yellow Horses

Aurélie Guillaume

Enamel on copper, sterling silver, specularite

Snakeskin Disco Ball

Mallory Weston

Gold-Plated Brass, Copper, Leather, Cotton, Foam

Confetti Fields 7

Nathalie Maiello

sterling silver, acrylic, silk

These pieces are just a small peek at the show’s spectacular scope! I hope you’ll come see it all in person on Friday!

You can read more about the show and the gallery here.

-Kate

October 6, 2023 — Memento Mori

Memento Mori Exhibition

April 3, 2023 — April Showers

April Showers

New designs are blooming!

Spring Events:

I’ll be at Tshatshke with some brand new work for First Friday on April 7th 6pm-9pm

These First Friday events are a chance to get the first look at new designs from multiple jewelers in the Tshatshke family, often at a discount!

I’ll at Night Shift in Bok for Open Studios on Friday April 21st 6pm-9pm

Bok Open Studios are always great fun! Many of the artists, studios, and businesses throughout the building open their doors to the public offering snacks, drinks, sales, and demonstrations of their work!

I’ll be at Night Shift in space BXBW (in the basement) demonstrating chasing and repousse.

We’re having a Made@Bok shop hop event on May 13th

Rather than our usual gathering in the gymnasium, participating artists will be selling out of their individual studios around the building. Come by for a behind-the-scenes look! Follow @madeatbok on instagram to get all the details.

In case you missed it:

I’ve had a very reflective March as I participated in the March Meet the Maker Instagram challenge—posting (almost) every day and detailing a different aspect of my art, business, or life. I’d like to share some highlights with you!

Growing up with easy access to natural lands shaped me as a person and as an artist.

A reverence for the earth itself lead me to sustainability-driven sourcing.

Commissions for custom work are open, let’s make something beautiful!

I hope that the work I make will be treasured beyond my lifetime, that my hands will produce objects that outlive them.

“Good things take time”

is a phrase I got from a professor and mentor of mine. It is an important reminder to me to take the time to do things right, to start projects early, and to allow time for rest and play.

Raising a vessel from a flat sheet is an ancient, labor intensive, sometimes meditative, incredibly rewarding process. Like many of my favorite techniques, it takes a long time and a lot of work for a piece to take shape and it’s worth it.

A love of tools is central to my practice

This is my collection of chasing tools that I made myself—I started with a somewhat standard set then grew it one by one as I made specific tools for specific applications. I find the ability to make and modify tools as needed really freeing and empowering.

See these in action on Friday, April 21st at Bok Open Studios

Roswell is the best and least helpful assistant a person could ask for!

If you’re craving more meet the maker content, dig into my recent instagram posts.

We’ve got lots to look forward to as spring begins to spring and the sun begins to shine—

Hope to see you all soon!

February 27, 2023

Looking ahead, looking back

The start of a new season…

This print is my favorite depiction of Janus, 1569 "Bust of the Roman god Janus" from The New York Public Library

Janus, January’s namesake, is the Roman god of doorways and passages, beginnings and endings, transitions and duality. Usually depicted with two faces, Janus gazes both forward and back, reflecting on what has passed while anticipating what will come. Yes, February is almost over, but let’s set that aside and get down to 2023 business, looking ahead, and glancing back at the past few months.

What you may have missed:

1. I got hurt (but I’m ok now!)

2. I went to Penland

I spent two weeks at the end of January in North Carolina at Penland School of Crafts for their Winter Residency.

The residency gives artists two to four weeks of unstructured time in their beautifully equipped studios to pursue projects that may be unfeasible otherwise. I used my time there to restore many of the tools that I’ve collected over the years. Having this time set aside to attend to these tools and having Penlands equipment to clean, shape, and polish them was an absolutely wonderful experience. I worked hard everyday and got to enjoy this beautiful campus in the mountains with a group of other artists dedicating this time to their craft.

I turned this jumble of rusty, loose, beat-up hammers into this array of pretty, shiny, ready-to-use hammers

Before-and-after cleaning up some of my silversmithing stakes.

3. Vessel Philadelphia

In mid-February The Museum for Art in Wood hosted a panel discussion about vessels with four Philadelphia-based artists; Miriam Carpenter, Syd Carpenter, Jason McDonald, and myself. Organized by Katie Sorensen, this chat was a chance to dig into why we make vessels and what they can mean to us in our artwork and in our daily lives. I will share a link to the recording of our talk when it is available.

What’s Next:

March Meet the Maker is an annual Instagram “challenge” for artists to share more about their work and their business with daily prompts for posts. I am planning to participate this year so follow me on instagram @katedannenberg if you haven’t already and send me any questions you have about me or my work!

You can learn more about March Meet the Maker here.

Past Newsletters

The Year of the Spoon

You may have noticed a trend in my work over the past year: less jewelry and more housewares.

Right after the ACC show in Baltimore I’ll be traveling down to Penland to spend 8 weeks as a student in Erica Moody’s Balancing the Spoon: Metal Craft and Studio Practice.

What else is new?

Night Shift Studio got a make-over!

Tshatshke is hosting a Chains and Charms event on February 15th

I’ll be teaching a few workshops

Lots to look forward to! Lots of work to do!

-Kate

These pieces are just a small peek at the show’s spectacular scope! I hope you’ll come see it all in person on Friday!

-Kate

Alongside this exhibition and throughout the month of October we have a capsule collection of memento mori, vanitas, and generally spooky-themed jewelry by our studio members for sale. Everything in this collection is under $200!

We’re adding more pieces throughout the month, so be sure to check back frequently!

I’ve got a lot of events on the horizon outside of Night Shift, so keep an eye on your inbox for more updates!

Talk to you soon and happy fall!

-Kate

Can’t wait to hear what’s coming up next? View my upcoming events on my website any time!

New designs are blooming!

Spring Events:

I’ll be at Tshatshke with some brand new work for First Friday on April 7th 6pm-9pm

I’ll at Night Shift in Bok for Open Studios on Friday April 21st 6pm-9pm

We’re having a Made@Bok shop hop event on May 13th

In case you missed it:

Growing up with easy access to natural lands shaped me as a person and as an artist.

A reverence for the earth itself lead me to sustainability-driven sourcing.

I hope that the work I make will be treasured beyond my lifetime, that my hands will produce objects that outlive them.

“Good things take time”

A love of tools is central to my practice

See these in action on Friday, April 21st at Bok Open Studios

Roswell is the best and least helpful assistant a person could ask for!

We’ve got lots to look forward to as spring begins to spring and the sun begins to shine—

Hope to see you all soon!

The start of a new season…

What you may have missed:

1. I got hurt (but I’m ok now!)

2. I went to Penland

I spent two weeks at the end of January in North Carolina at Penland School of Crafts for their Winter Residency.

I turned this jumble of rusty, loose, beat-up hammers into this array of pretty, shiny, ready-to-use hammers

Before-and-after cleaning up some of my silversmithing stakes.

3. Vessel Philadelphia

What’s Next:

I hope your year is off to an excellent start and look forward to seeing you all soon!

-Kate