Jewelry should accentuate your personality, your mood, your style.

Spitfire Designs thrives on making unusual and visually stunning pieces not seen every day. For those who are confident and don’t mind shining; bold, expressive pieces might strike your fancy. For more conservative types, elegant and refined pieces are made to suit your needs. It’s all up to the individual. Spitfire Designs makes jewelry for all kinds of personalities, occasions, and lifestyles.

Spitfire Designs believes in handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pieces for a one-of-a-kind person. When a piece is created, it is created only once. The owner can be sure that she and she alone owns that piece. The only exception to that rule is for wedding parties or clients who place custom orders.

Meet the Spitfire
I’m Holly Thomas, the spitfire behind the designs. I am the founder, owner, and sole designer for Spitfire Designs. I started my career in fashion at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, now known as Philadelphia University. I later transferred to Temple University and became a journalist. I love to write because it is a form of creativity and a way to express myself. Still, my true passions are art and fashion. My mind is constantly designing. I never have to write it down, I just create it.

In 2004, on a whim, I went to a gem show with a friend. I knew right then that I wanted to be a jewelry designer. Being a journalist just wasn’t fulfilling enough and I have always had an eye for design.

Within a month of designing jewelry, I sold almost all of the jewelry I had made and even got my wares into a store in Swarthmore, PA. I decided to name my new business Spitfire Designs, inspired by my father who often called me a “spitfire” as a child (I was and am quite feisty). In no time, Spitfire Designs appeared in shops in Newtown Square, Kennett Square, Swarthmore, and soon enough Philadelphia.

I am currently a member of Swarthmore’s Friends of the Arts and have taught jewelry design locally. I’ve been chosen to showcase my jewelry for events associated with Philadelphia STYLE magazine, as well as events at The Philadelphia Art Museum and other black-tie silent auctions. However, most Spitfire Designs events are juried shows. In 2006, Action News, one of Philadelphia’s leading local news shows, called me in and bought up several of my pieces for newscasters to wear.

My other interests include volunteering at the Philadelphia Art Museum and helping cancer patients and their loved ones, a cause that is near and dear to my heart, having lost both my father and sister to the disease.

The most important lesson I have learned is that a simple twist of fate can step in and switch things up for you. I love what I do and honestly can’t see myself doing anything else. Designing jewelry is my passion. I am fortunate to make a living doing what I love.