Acanthus Jewelry is designed and owned by Nichole McIver. Her background in fine art and art history informs her work, as she finds inspiration in sources from Ancient Roman adornment to Medieval manuscript illumination. Acanthus is handmade in her studio in Minnesota with materials such as sterling silver, high karat gold, diamonds and semi-precious gemstones. A self-taught metalsmith, Nichole uses traditional techniques, such as “keum boo,” a gilding technique used to apply sheets of gold to silver, to make silver-gilt. Nichole believes strongly in retaining the sacred relationship between artist and patron, so she is solely responsible for painstakingly creating each piece in her home studio.