Thistledown Studio is run by visual artist and teacher Rachael Wells. The landscapes of her rural Vermont home are the muse for many of her creations. Rachael earned her BS in Art Education from The University of Vermont in 2020. She has enjoyed sharing her love for art with her students since she first stepped into a classroom in 2017. While she enjoys many forms of art making, her passion lies in jewelry making, watercolor, and drawing.

Rachael has been developing her jewelry making skills since the spring of 2021, when she finally decided to take the leap and get the tools needed to make jewelry that will last a lifetime. That summer, she spent countless hours learning the ins and outs of shaping, soldering, filing, sanding, cleaning, and finishing sterling silver. From there, she was able to start making the pieces she had dreamed of. Shimmering snowshoe hares and trees, sparkling stones and rustic pieces of sea glass and river glass can be found in her work. All jewelry pieces are one-of-a-kind and hand-forged from sterling silver, and they all tell their own story of her life in Vermont. Some pieces even have river glass that she collects herself. Watercolor reproduction prints are also created with inspiration from snapshots of her life.