Carla Caruso was born in New York City. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1987 with a BFA in glass sculpture, Carla moved to the hilltowns of western Massachusetts where she lived in a hippie-esque community, sometimes in a teepee. Over the years she worked with several glass artists, including a collaboration on a line of glass jewelry. Jonesing for the bright lights, Carla moved back to New York City and spent a few years slinging drinks and waiting tables in the early days of Williamsburg's hipster migration. But the call of small town living led Carla back to western Massachusetts. Deciding between pastry chef and jeweler, Carla found her creative outlet in the latter. Totally self-taught, she founded Carla Caruso Jewelry in 2001.
For years Carla made jewelry in a converted garage behind a rented house outside Northampton. Now finally returned to the beautiful Hilltowns, she lives in a farmhouse in Ashfield with her faithful pup Birdie, works in a studio above her garage, and continues to make each and every piece by hand.
