Ramona Solberg (1921-2005) is known as the Grandmother of Northwest American Jewelry. A professor at the University of Washington, she inspired several famous jewelers. She became a major jewelry artist after World War II, during which she served in the United States, and for three years after the war, in Germany as a sergeant. She loved adventure and was an intrepid traveler who visited all corners of the world, and she was also a collector of all kinds of wonderful and strange objects, which she incorporated into her work.
Ramona firmly believed that if something isn’t fun, then why do it? This was her personal professional mantra. Feathers, beads, toys, environments, buttons, coins, bits of bone (everything she made) were stored in jars in her studios in Seattle and Ellensburg, Washington. It was like a wizard’s workshop with wonderful things everywhere you turned.
Ramona created her brooches while watching TV. These brooches were so popular that there were never enough of them. She insisted that their price should not exceed $110. It was important to her “that everyone could give themselves her jewelry.” Today, these “Fibulas” sell for $400-$800.
