Growing up in the small town of Mayerthorpe Alberta, Carmen's passion for the jewelry industry developed at an early age, evolving from her hobby of collecting stones as a child. In 1986 she began her career in retail jewelry sales in Edmonton and continued this career when she, her husband and two children moved to Calgary in 1992. Here, she further developed her knowledge and understanding of the industry over the next 15 years working in partnership with a third generation family business of 85 years. Over her career Carmen's travels to Europe helped to cultivate her passion for design and technical manufacturing techniques, adopting a respect and extreme attention to detail. It is the essence of the art that brought her passion to create jewelry designs through a simple concept. One which shows a piece unique to an individual's taste while pronouncing the stones and workmanship of the goldsmith's craft. Thus the creation of Concept Jewelry Design!