Our Story
Little Pet Portraits is a collaboration between award-winning artists Russell Jones and Judi Powers. The pair—a couple outside of their separate fine jewelry businesses—merge their talents to create one-of-a-kind wearable pet portraits in gold and gemstones.
At a very young age Russell displayed a remarkable talent for capturing the world around him in skillfully detailed drawings and paintings. He earned his BFA in illustration from RISD (where he also took jewelry fabrication classes) and his MFA in graphic design from Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. Russell was a professional illustrator and graphic designer prior to becoming a jeweler. He’s equally at home working as a goldsmith as he is rendering our pet friends with a tender touch. Working with the smallest of paintbrushes, delicate layers of watercolor, and vellum (the material used to create illuminated manuscripts), Russell has been rendering miniatures for jewelry for more than a decade.
Judi is a life-long animal lover and goldsmith who is obsessed with both miniature paintings and gemstones. She earned her BA in art history from NYU and an AAS (Summa Cum Laude) in jewelry design from F.I.T./SUNY, where she studied fine jewelry design with Harry Winston’s Head Designer.
When Judi and Russell first met, it was a chance encounter at one of their suppliers. As the two became friends, and later a couple, they talked about collaborating but the right project hadn’t yet presented itself.
In 2023 Russell gave Judi a miniature portrait of Lulu, her beloved dog and an idea was born. Later that year their first true collaboration—a pair of cufflinks—came to fruition. Russell and Judi loved working together and slowly began laying the foundation for their collaborative endeavor, Little Pet Portraits, which launched in spring 2026.
The couple reside in New York’s Hudson Valley with their sweet rescue dogs.