Barbara McSweeney

RCAD Alumni 1980 // Graphic Design Barb resides in Sarasota, Florida, with her husband and two children. Graduating from Ringling College, Art, Fine Art, and Graphic Design have all played a crucial role in her creative development. For over 25 years, Barb was involved in advertising and marketing. She created Addy award winning marketing campaigns for both her agency and others. After successfully managing and directing her own agency for 18 years, Barb took some time off to raise her two boys. During the hiatus, she needed to continue expressing her creativity and chose jewelry as her medium. Her "Hobby Gone Wild" was discovered by Saks Fifth Avenue, which immediately placed her in their store in Sarasota. An exclusive line of her signature collection has been showcased there since 2006. Barb's vision is to design and create contemporary jewelry that captures both the timeless romance of the classic pearl and the joi de vivre of today's empowered women. Using mostly Sterling Silver, gold tones and fresh water pearls, she captures the elegance of "the high society of days gone by" in multi dimensional expressions which she designs and forms jewelry art that can be worn on any occasion. These are definitely "not your grandmother's pearls".