About

Thomas (Tim) McClelland was born in 1957 in Goodison Michigan, a rural town north of Detroit. His family was artistic, musical and had a good sense of humor. From an early age, Tim wanted to create things and influence the material world around him. He made sculptures, drawings and environments to display them in, just to see what he could do.

In his public high school, he saw an art student melt and cast silver coins into a small sculpture. From that moment he decided he was going to work in metal. He started making jewelry and took night courses at Cranbrook Institute of Science.

In 1975, he enrolled in Boston University’s Program in Artisanry. At the same time, he began working at Boston’s venerable jewelry store, Shreve Crump & Low. These two worlds, the European jewelry making tradition and the free spirit of contemporary art, have informed Tim’s work up to the present time.

After college, Tim moved to New York City and became a freelance jeweler. His expertise led him to restoring jewelry and metalwork for the antiques trade and auction houses. This led to a familiarity with the technical and artistic intricacies from masterpieces by Rene Lalique, Georg Jensen, Faberge, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Moving to the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts with his young family in 1996, Tim cofounded and became the artistic and design director of McTeigue & McClelland Jewelers. Over the next twenty-three years, Tim invented, innovated, experimented and produced an entirely fresh and new style of fine jewelry. It was not uncommon for collectors to come from around the world to visit the tiny atelier. Tim’s work has become synonymous with the highest quality materials and workmanship, along with inspired and timeless design.

As Tim enters a new moment of his creative life, he is grateful to have found an ongoing creative outlet that is so meaningful to him. Helping him along the way are his many close friends and relatives, his two rescued pit bulls, his unusually wonderful daughters, and his perfect wife.