By From hobby to full-time job opportunity, Hellbent Silversmith offers the unique trade of handmade silver jewelry and hands-on classes in Long Beach to locals and natives alike.
Ani Gabrielson, the 31-year-old, Venezuelan-born owner of Hellbent Silversmithing, said she was introduced to silversmithing at the age of 16.
Over time, and especially through the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, silversmithing became a more prominent hobby in Gabrielson’s life.
With dreams to eventually open up her own storefront, Gabrielson eventually left her home in Utah for Los Angeles, where she would take on part-time jobs to save towards her goal.
“[Moving] was something I wanted to do for a really long time,” Gabrielson said. “I worked a few odd-end jobs and was just really unhappy working there and that really pushed me to do my own thing again.”
Knowing prices in the city were high and incomes were low, Gabrielson borrowed space in a friend’s motorcycle shop, Off Track, to practice her silver work, sell her jewelry through Etsy and promote her work on social media websites such as Instagram and TikTok.
People quickly took to Gabrielson’s work, and the dream of her own studio became a reality.
A display of rings made by Ani Gabrielson for sale inside Hellbent Silversmith on April 22. Photo credit: Isabella Siqueira
“I had one TikTok blowup, and I got booked out three or four months in advance,” Gabrielson said. “That gave me the confidence to be like, ‘Okay, I can get my own space.’”
Now, Hellbent Silversmith has lived in Downtown Long Beach at its E. 1st Street location for a little over two years.
The small, minimalist space is fully designed and crafted by Gabrielson. Upon entry, guests are greeted with an array of plants, refurbished and handmade furniture and Gabrielson’s personal motorcycle, which stands statuesquely in the corner of the shop.
The shop sells rings, necklaces and pendants, as well as hands-on opportunities for customers to make their own jewelry.
“I think people come in without really knowing what to expect or what their abilities are,” Gabrielson said. “I think it’s just so fulfilling to see people do something that they didn’t think they could do.”
Inside her shop, Gabrielson operates machinery to create a ring on April 22. Each piece is handcrafted by Gabrielson herself with .925 sterling silver. Photo credit: Isabella Siqueira
The hands-on experience goes through all the steps of making a silver ring or necklace; participants get to measure their rings, cut, shape and sand their work, resulting in a finished product to take home.
In recent years, Hellbent has also begun hosting four-week silversmith courses for those interested in further pursuing the hobby.
Participants, like longtime customer Oona Bruss, can learn more in-depth on how to begin silversmithing at home through four consecutive weeks of putting together four silver jewelry pieces.
“After taking my first class, I realized how accessible they make it,” Bruss said. “I think there is something really special about jewelry making specifically, it’s the type of thing where someone’s going to make something and wear it all of the time.”
Now, Bruss is a silversmithing class instructor at Hellbent.
To her, Gabrielson’s desire to make Hellbent a welcoming space for people of all ages, genders and identities to enter reflects throughout her time there.
“It is super inclusive of women and people of color, and that was really important to me of being in a creative space, but also in a space that creates that inclusivity and accessibility for creative work,” Bruss said.
Gabrielson works on a ring inside of her shop, Hellbent Silversmith on April 22. Stages of jewelry creation can range from cutting, filing, soldering, texturing and polishing. Photo credit: Isabella Siqueira
Private and group sessions are available year-round on Hellbent’s website, along with their next four-week course, starting in May.
Additionally, Gabrielson invites the general public to celebrate Hellbent’s second birthday on May 10 alongside other small businesses, with special in-store pricing, food, flash tattoos, up-cycled vintage clothes and tarot readings.
“The current goal is to continue to adapt and offer a space and community for people to come create and share memories with someone, creating something together,” Gabrielson said. “I think my greatest joy is being able to provide a space where people have that feeling of creating art again, like being a little kid again.”
