Meet the Team

Client Services + Design Specialist: Kristy Baptista

Kristy Baptista was born and raised here in Placer County and her heart is deeply rooted in the community. Kristy received her Associates of Arts in Marketing from Sierra College. She developed a love for the arts at an early age learning to use natural fibers for dyeing fabrics and textiles. Kristy had her own small business prior to coming to Sierra Moon, designing, sewing and natural dyeing of fabrics for her designs. 

Kristy fits right at home here as a designer with her natural creativity and fun design eye. Her passion has always been design focused whether the medium is utilizing textiles, paint, or digital graphics. She now feels her worlds colliding into jewelry. Kristy says “Jewelry transcends what is physical and connects me with peoples’ stories in a truly unique way. I love what I do and I love learning more and more along the way.” 

Her favorite design style is a combination of Modern Geometric meets organic shapes. Kristy has a passion for sourcing natural and organic stones and utilizing them in her custom designs.

Kristy's Portfolio

Store Manager: Morrie Pelivanov

Morrie Pelivanov has followed a unique path to find her home at Sierra Moon. Getting her start in Davis, California, Morrie enjoyed a wonderful arts-based education which instilled in her a sense of curiosity and enthusiasm. Morrie's love of all things ancient and interest in the story of humanity led her to begin her studies as a physical anthropologist and archeologist. In an effort to test and challenge herself, she changed her area of study to Accounting and ultimately went on to receive her Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from the Sacramento State College of Business. 

After working in the world of business for several years, Morrie set her sights on a new craft - freelance website design and illustration. Morrie went on to make a name for herself in the Auburn community and beyond, where her art found its place on websites, logos, merchandise, and much more - up and down California.

Even after exploring multiple fields and ways of work, Morrie craved a team environment where she could grow - she happily found this in Sierra Moon. Jewelry design is a nuanced and complex craft which she is thrilled to be learning. As a Designer, her style is a juxtaposition of the Old World and modern playfulness. She particularly enjoys working with hammered gold and unexpected shapes, inspired by the beautiful landscapes around us. Morrie is humbled by the opportunity to work with her clients to create family heirlooms that will stand the test of time - wearable pieces of art that mean so much to so many.

Production Lead: Michele Passafiume

Michele Passafiume is a California native and mama of two. Michele was raised in Gold Country and has explored the world seeing 10 different countries. She has lived in various locations as a young adult exploring ocean life, desert life, and not to mention living in the Yucatan for 4 months with her son where she taught art, yoga, and English. Now happily landing in Auburn to raise her kids. 

Michele has been a manager and design assistant for a variety of interior design firms. She moved to Southern California to obtain her Associates Degree in Interior Design from Brooks College. Practicing Interior design for Trinity Bay Interiors in Newport Beach, John Gilmer Architects in Palm Springs, and Design Bar in Truckee just to name a few. While in Truckee Michele volunteered at the Truckee Makerspace for 2 years where she taught silk painting and bandsaw training for Sierra College students to build wooden puzzles as a part of their geometry class. She also helped coordinate Maker Fairs where artists would gather to sell and teach art and operated their booths on Truckee Thursdays. 

Palm Springs, and Truckee poured a strong foundation for Michele’s design eye. Utilizing cultural and natural inspirations is part of what ignites Michele’s design style. She is thrilled that her path has taken a transition into the world of jewelry. "Getting to be a part of the Sierra Moon team is teaching me something new daily. Designing jewelry is more than creating something beautiful. Jewelry tells a story and passes legacies down through generations. Getting to experience the way jewelry unites people and uplifts the spirits of its wearer is inspirational" says Michele. We are honored to have such a talent overseeing our beautiful Sierra Moon shop and helping to cultivate and grow our design team.

Master Goldsmith: Geoff Ferguson

Geoff has been making jewelry and art since he was 10 years old. His mom, an artist, and his dad, an engineer with an MBA, meant that he was exposed to a blend of creativity and practicality. Art in the forms of sculpture, blacksmithing, woodworking and ceramics are all part of his background. Although it has always been the jewelry arts that have been his personal favorite. 

He first began working as a goldsmith in 1986 where he had the good fortune to learn from many talented artists. Geoff is always looking to learn new techniques and study ancient ones as well. He has been working in the retail setting for the last twenty years. Before that, he created his own designer line with clients such as Nordstrom, Macy’s and dozens of fine jewelry stores across the country. 

Restoration and repair of family heirloom pieces are his specialty. Geoff is fascinated by old methods and finds it necessary with the restoration of antique pieces to blend these ancient technologies with the newest such as Laser Welding and Computer Aided Design, or CAD.

Geoff first started working with Sierra Moon over 25 years ago as the original owners and founders, Gary and Jan Lord, purchased his line of custom jewelry. He sold his jewelry to the second owners of the store as well and in 2014 began his present position as Goldsmith at Sierra Moon. 

“The foothills are a fantastic place to live and do business. The people are wonderful and lean toward creativity and old-fashioned value. This creates a fertile ground for art and high-quality art business. I love it here.”

Project Manager: Megan Stock

Megan Stock and her family relocated to the Auburn region in 2015 from New York. This is when her and husband discovered Sierra Moon. “We knew we wanted to do a custom design engagement ring, and to work with a local family owned jeweler,” recalls Megan. We are so happy Megan found Sierra Moon and come full circle she now works here! Megan and her family have settled just east of Auburn in Cool, California. “We were ready to trade in the hustle and bustle of city life for some country living and to be close to my parents.” Megan’s family has been living in the Sierra Foothills since 2001. 

Megan completed her Bachelors from Santa Clara University with a double major in Psychology and Theatre Arts. She then went on to study at The Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising in San Francisco where she completed her degree in Fashion Design. Megan worked as a designer in San Francisco and New York City for the past 10+ years and brings to our team a strong background in design. Working for companies such as Ralph Lauren and Gap, just to name a few, she has crafted a diverse eye and design talent. 

We are so excited to have Megan on board with us! “My favorite style is Art Deco, I just love the clean lines and bold design details of that era,” describes Megan. We are excited to see what fresh new jewelry design styles Megan brings to our shop. In addition to working on new Sierra Moon Signature Collection pieces Megan works on marketing, social media, interior store design and anything else Shawn and Brad cook up.

Meet the owners

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