After becoming interested in Mexican jewelry, selling it, and then designing it in his hometown of Milan, Italy, Fabio Vanin moved to Taxco, Mexico in 1992 and attended the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. It was here he met his wife Veronica, originally from Santiago, Chile. Ten years ago, the two visited Puerto Vallarta. Fabio says, “We liked [Vallarta]. But I am from Milan, and decided I wanted to spend the rest of my life in a small town. We were looking for a quiet place close to Vallarta, and San Pancho was the right place.” San Pancho is a village about an hour north of PV, and has a population under 2,000. Here, the couple now runs Fabio and Veronica Jewelry Creation, what they like to refer to as an “open work studio.”
In their studio, Fabio and Veronica create jewelry utilizing .950 silver (higher-quality than sterling), 18K gold, and their large collection of Mexican stones including obsidian, jade, amber, amethyst, azurite, and opal. Their specialty is rings, with Fabio fusing the metals and setting the stones, and Veronica doing the detail work and final polishing.
Since it’s an open studio, the couple welcomes visitors to come and watch the jewelry-making process, or to discuss custom pieces, which is Fabio’s favorite type of work. He says, “I’m interested in talking with people about the design, trying to understand what they really like, and trying to make something very personal. Not just from me, but from both of us. The most interesting part is that there is a collaboration.”
Currently, Fabio and Veronica’s pieces can be found in four places: their studio, Sun Silver, A Touch of Gold, and Andrea’s Silver and Art.
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