By Larissa Theodore Herald Staff Writer

A 48-year-old Sharon jewelry maker who has handcrafted exclusively for Wendell August Forge has now created a collection of ornaments available only at a Hermitage store.

Donna Kissinger made six holiday ornaments available only through Kraynak's in Hermitage: two angels, two Christmas trees, a star and silver bells.

Making the line of ornaments was a completely new experience for Mrs. Kissinger, who is more familiar with handcrafting metal jewelry.

"This is the first year I've done ornaments. But they're just like bigger jewelry for Christmas trees," she said.

Each ornament is handforged with copper and brass metals and features a pewter background and an imprint of Mrs. Kissinger's decal on the back.

These ornaments aren't solely for Christmas trees either. They can be used to decorate anywhere in the home, adding an extra flair to such places as walls or doors.

Joyce Marrie, a Kraynak's supervisor, said the jewelry that Mrs. Kissinger makes is so superb that Kraynak's was curious to see how ornaments of her same craft would look. Kraynak's wasn't disappointed, she said

. "The ornaments are selling very well," Ms. Marrie said. "They are very unique. Shoppers have no problems distinguishing her interpretation (of the ornaments) from a metalworker's standpoint."

Mrs. Kissinger has worked with metal ever since graduating in 1994 with a fine arts degree from Slippery Rock University.

She was inspired to pursue the craft after viewing a metalwork exhibit by J. Robert Bruya, a metal professor at Slippery Rock. She would later go on to study under Bruya.

After graduation, Mrs. Kissinger moved into her downtown Sharon studio, Studio K, and has made a living creating metal pieces since then.

She's grown accustomed to handcrafting exclusively for businesses, landing the deal of a lifetime last year with metal handcraft pioneer Wendell August.

Metal art has been Wendell August's specialty since 1923. The Grove City-based forge sells all handcrafted contemporary products, made mostly of copper and pewter.

When Mrs. Kissinger began working for Wendell August, she was doing primitive metal work and using scrap material from Wendell August to make her jewelry.

One day after placing an order for more material, she was approached by Wendell August's president and a sales manager, who were interested in viewing her work. They told her the company was searching for new items to place in its upcoming catalog.

Mrs. Kissinger put a few of her works on display for them to view, which they not only loved, but wanted to choose some to sell in their upcoming catalog. Mrs. Kissinger offered to craft exclusive pieces for them instead, which they welcomed. So began her work designing exclusive lines for companies. In all, she made 1,769 pieces for Wendell August - which included several different pieces, from pendants to earrings to pins.

Everything she does is handmade, right down to the wiring. There's no way to do it with a machine, she said.

For Wendell August, she worked to fill large supplies of the pieces they wanted - making, for example, 168 heart pendants - and had to come up with a faster way to produce pieces. She was forced to hire friends to help.

"Physically I couldn't do it, though it all worked out very well in the end," she said.

"It was a good year for me. I learned a lot in the process during a very short time. Plus, I had so many of my friends volunteering to come help me. I couldn't have done it without them. They were wonderful."

Though working for Wendell August was great, Mrs. Kissinger said she actually prefers working with businesses closer to home.

"I would much rather work with people in the area for now," she said, adding that she and George Kraynak attended church together.

This year, Mrs. Kissinger is taking time out to work on her own line of products.

She also participates every year at Yankee Peddler in Canal Fulton, Ohio, a fall festival where artisans demonstrate their crafts in a colonial setting, without the use of power tools or other contemporary items.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Larissa Theodore at: ltheodore@sharonherald.com