Dana Wadas Reed is the artist behind Dana Reed Designs. She is a local Chicago artist who began designing jewelry while earning her degree in Graphic Design. Her hobby quickly grew into a business and she began Bead Designs By Dana (BDBD) in 2002. After six years in business her collection has evolved from beaded jewelry to metalsmithed jewelry and her company is now Dana Reed Designs to reflect her more sophisticated line.
She began metalsmithing three years ago and creates her jewelry using sterling silver,14k gold-filled and 14k gold. With a design background, Dana views her jewelry as works of art. She uses a distinct combination of beautiful, semi-precious stones and metals. Gemstones have striking characteristics with variations in color, cut and quality making each piece distinct and special. Her designs are feminine and unique.
Her jewelry is for the woman who wants to set herself apart from others. Dana is inspired by different cultures, nature and art. She studied in Rome, Italy for a year and attributes her artistic motivation to the European culture. She combines the exotic elements of many cultures with art deco influenced geometrics and ultrachic textures