Alisha and Marty Mountain View Art and Wine Festival – 2019
Marty Magic is run by Marty and Alisha, a mother-daughter team. Their jewelry is created by the lost wax process. They create their unique design in their Santa Cruz, California studio and their jewelry is made in America. Fantasy and the magic of nature are their muses.
Marty has been designing and making jewelry for over 40 years and Alisha has inherited both her mother’s talent and her entrepreneurial spirit. They have a small team of talented people who work with them in helping to bring their designs and creative visions to fulfillment.
Marty’s Story —“I started my business over 40 years ago in the summer of 1978, selling my jewelry at Bay Area Art and Wine Festivals.
Marty’s First Jewelry Display 1976
Marty carving waxes – 2007
“I grew up in Southern California; the only child of a scientist father and an artist mother. My father was chairman of the geology department at UCLA, and subsequently at UCSB. I traveled extensively with my parents when my father was doing research, mapping or lecturing abroad. I’ve lived in a chalet in Austria; in an adobe cottage at the edge of the Salton Sea, California; on a farm outside of Edinburgh; in a thatched cottage in Gilleleje, Denmark; and in Bogotá, Columbia. I continue to travel extensively and to find inspiration in the cultures and biodiversity of our planet.
I began making jewelry in high school, assembling beaded earrings and making copper enamel jewelry. My entrepreneurial spirt took shape early on and I took these pieces to school, pinned inside my notebook and sold them to my classmates. I graduated with a B.A. in Art from University of Redlands with a focus in ceramics and under the critical eye of Leon Moburg I took an introductory jewelry class. My early projects surprised us both and I was soon doing independent study and was asked to teach the beginning jewelry class the following year.
After graduation, I worked a number of waitressing jobs but continued making lost wax jewelry and cast my pieces in my garage studio. It wasn’t until the summer of 1978 when I drove with my husband Scott to show at a San Francisco street festival that my jewelry career unfolded. (Scott is now my ex but a close friend and Alisha’s father.)
Early on, I only sold my jewelry at art festivals and fairs in the Silicon Valley. As the tech industry grew, so did business (my thanks to all my geeky patrons and my techie husband, Art.) In 1995, Art helped me enter the digital age by launching my first website, which has become a significant venue for sales.
In 2010 my daughter, Alisha began working full time with me in the studio. Alisha, who was raised doing art shows, takes all the product shots and manages the office and is a wiz with our online venues. She has a natural aptitude for design and lends fresh creativity to our Marty Magic business. In every product description, we note if the design is one of Alisha’s or mine.
In addition to having our Marty Magic online shop we also have an Etsy shop and an Amazon Handmade shop. We continue to show at a handful of Bay Area Art and Wine Festivals as well as the Maryland Renaissance Festivals where I have had a shop for over 35 years. Thanks to our loyal followers, our unique designs and Alisha’s fresh visions, we look forward to many more years of creativity.” — Marty of Marty Magic
Alisha’s Story —
Alisha Modeling her colossal trilobite pendant – 2019
“Growing up, I watched my mother design jewelry and run her business. I was helping sell jewelry as soon as I was tall enough to see over the display cases. I was influenced by my parents’ hippy, artistic and geeky friends. Santa Cruz is just over the hill from the Silicon Valley where my Papa worked so there was an interesting mix of guests at the dinner table many nights.
I briefly studied fashion design at S.F.S.U. and then completed an AA in Early Childhood Development at Cabrillo Community College. I have a supportive husband and am the proud and happy mother of two children. I began working with my mother full time in 2010. I love designing jewelry and seem to have inherited both my mother’s talent and her entrepreneurial spirit. Marty Magic now has two creative women working as a team to grow the business.” — Alisha of Marty Magic