Whitney began making art jewelry when she was a student at Towson University in 1997. As an Education major, she was required to take an art class. Whitney haphazardly selected Jewelry 101 because she registered late and it was the only art class with seats open. Her youthful procrastination led to a rewarding hobby. Whitney, now a high school English teacher, sells her art jewelry at local craft shows and posts on a blog called Metal and Stone.

During the summer of 2006, Whitney realized that she needed a way to keep track of new techniques and show her work to friends. She began Metal and Stone as a Blogger site. Soon, she realized that she had regular readers who were interested in and informed about the world of art jewelry.

As Whitney began to sell her art jewelry at craft shows, she used her blog to post tutorials, profiles of other jewelry artists and event recaps. She now sells her work on Etsy and teaches art jewelry workshops. Because of the exposure, Whitney’s hobby generates enough income to keep her going during the summer, when she doesn’t teach English.

Whitney is married but has no children. She uses what she learned about blogging when she teaches her high school English class. “Many teens are interested in blogging and telling others about their life,” she said. “Each winter I teach a unit on blogging. I have the kids set up a free blog and post about a hobby or interest. This is a professional skill they can use later in life.”