Professional Bio

The Russell Design Studio is the creation of Steve and Patty Russell. We opened our doors in April of 1977 in the beautiful and historic town of Manitou Springs, Colorado, at the foot of majestic Pikes Peak.

Patty has ridden horses since childhood and introduced Steve to the pleasures of the equestrian life. Early on, she became interested in Dressage, and this has been her passion ever since. That's Patty riding her grey Trakehner gelding, Hallmark, pictured on our Home Page.

Steve has designed and made jewelry since high school, and spent the better part of two years as an apprentice to Master Jewelry Repair Man and Diamond Setter, Donald Brookhart, while attending the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, majoring in sculpture.

In our store, we have specialized in creating unique jewelry in gold and silver, and in crafting unusual custom designs for special occasions-- weddings, anniversaries, graduations, or simply to make someone happy.

Our Equestrian line of jewelry grew out of our love for the animal and began slowly with a few pieces designed to be sold in our store. It continued to grow in the mid 1990's when Patty began to attend the United States Dressage Federation's annual symposiums, as a vendor, selling our equestrian jewelry. She has also shown our work at the Arabian National Championships and at both FEI World Cup events held in Las Vegas in 2005 and 2007. For all of these shows, we would make several new pieces to add to our line. As the years went by, our line has grown and is now available to you here on our web site.

All the jewelry we make, including our Equestrian line, is designed and made entirely in our Manitou Springs store. We do not contract out anything, and take great pride in our craftsmanship and attention to detail.

We hope you enjoy seeing our many equestrian jewelry designs, and perhaps you might want to take one or two home with you! And please, if you find yourself in Manitou Springs, stop by and see us!