Ever since she was a kid, art and science have battled for Amanda Preske's attention. At the age of 14, she started Beadwork by Amanda to sell her jewelry at craft shows, mostly because her creative output exceeded her family’s capacity for "just one more piece."

But when it came to academics, science stole her heart, and she took it all the way to a chemistry PhD—in semiconductors, no less! Amanda discovered broken circuit boards in the lab while attending Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and decided to experiment by casting them in resin to create pendants. The result was striking, and craft show customers fell in love with the interplay between art and science. Circuit Breaker Labs was born.

Now one of the most prolific creators of handmade and custom circuit board art in the world, all items are made at the Circuit Breaker Labs studio in Washington, D.C.