Artforms is a Perrysburg gem

Jewelry shop also features work by local artists

Steven Kaminsky, co-owner of Artforms in Perrysburg, works in the storefront on a diamond ring that needed repair. Mr. Kaminsky uses tools from the 1800s to do engravings. The shop sells his custom-made jewelry as well as his wife Kristin's handblown glass pieces and local artists' work.

The Blade/Amy E. Voigt
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Steven Kaminsky, co-owner of Artforms in Perrysburg, works in the storefront on a diamond ring that needed repair. Mr. Kaminsky uses tools from the 1800s to do engravings. The shop sells his custom-made jewelry as well as his wife Kristin's handblown glass pieces and local artists' work.

Drive or walk past Artforms in Perrysburg and you might see Steven Kaminsky in the window, head bowed, looking intently through his magnifier for a close look at an item he’s engraving or jewelry he’s making. His wife, Kristin Kaminsky, might be behind the display cases, working on stained glass in the shop area of Artforms.

One of the pleasant surprises inside the gallery at the corner of Louisiana Avenue and West Front Street is that the area where the work is done on jewelry and art is wide open to the retail store. The idea of putting up a wall to separate the retail operation from the work area was nixed by customers who like looking toward the rear of the shop to see the tools, various other paraphernalia, and everything else it takes to get the work done.

PHOTO GALLERY: Artforms in Perrysburg

The Kaminskys’ art and jewelry gallery has been in Perrysburg since 2001. Their work is among others featured by local artists who sell art, stained glass, hand-blown glass, and jewelry in Artforms, a full-service jewelry shop. Ms. Kaminsky does stained glass and blown glass. Mr. Kaminsky does fine and handmade silver jewelry. In addition to opals, emeralds, and imperial topaz, the Kaminskys try to use lots of Brazilian gem stones.

Steven Kaminsky works on an engraving block from the 1800s to create an original art piece that he designed in his shop.

"What we don’t make we try to buy handmade," he said. "Most all we have are handmade, from companies out of New York."

The jewelry business is part of Mr. Kaminsky’s family background. His mother, Pat Kaminsky, who makes hammered silver jewelry, volunteers at the gallery a couple of times a week. His father, the late Albert Kaminsky who once lived in Toledo, had a jewelry store in Findlay for more than 50 years. For decades, Kaminsky jewelers has been a pillar in Fostoria, where Alan Kaminsky Jewelers operates now.

There’s something else unusually comforting for customers at Artforms: The couple’s dogs, George, a Great Pyrenees, Albert, a golden retriever, and a Lab named Daisy roam the shop.

Contact Rose Russell at: rrussell@theblade.com or 419-724-6178.