VAIL, Colorado — Hillary Fitzpatrick of Somers Jewelry will visit Cogswell Gallery in Vail, Colorado on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Somers Randolph is not a jewelry designer but a nationally recognized sculptor. He has carved stone for more than 30 years in Santa Barbara, Nashville and now in Santa Fe. Fitzpatrick traveled from New York's high-profile fashion world to Santa Fe in 1999. She parked in Somers' driveway to tour Canyon Road galleries. He invited her for a cup of coffee. They were married just over a year later.

Fitzpatrick discovered a trunk full of his tiny soapstone carvings and decided to apply her fashion experience to a sculptor's whittlings. They cast the miniature sculptures in silver and gold, creating sculpture as jewelry.

Somers jewelry starts its life as soapstone sculpture, hand-carved by Randolph. To keep the integrity of the original soapstone, each piece is molded, cast solid and hand-finished in a five step polishing process.

“Since introducing the Somers line at Cogswell Gallery this summer we have seen a tremendous response to the clean, elegant designs made in sterling silver,” said Steven DeWitt, Jr., director of Cogswell Gallery.

Along with sterling silver and gold jewelry, Fitzpatrick will be bringing a small collection of stone sculpture created by Randolph, available exclusively at Cogswell Gallery.

“I'm really excited to see our clients' reactions to the stone sculpture,” DeWitt said. “With such a positive response to the line of jewelry, I'm curious to see how the sculpture affects people. Both the sculpture and jewelry incorporate ancient shapes that have a broad appeal to many people”.

For more information about the event, call 970-476-1769, or e-mail DeWitt at cogswellgallery@qwestoffice.net.