Steve lives in the gloriously picturesque mountains of central Pennsylvania with his wife, poet Rebecca Kinzie-Bastian, two untidy sons, and two also untidy cats. At various times he has earned his way as an illustrator, a wood carver and a maker of animation puppets. His work with jewelry began in 1990 with a line of handmade polymer beads, shifting to silver and gold in 1997 when those close to him tired of receiving beaded items at every holiday gathering. He believes that his family will tolerate jewelry as gifts for two or three more years, after which time he will probably become a potter, cowboy, or Pullman porter.

"It’s my desire to create strong, well balanced jewelry that leaves no doubt that it has been plied into shape by human hands. I hope that when someone sees a piece of my jewelry and looks across the landscape of marks and lines, they can feel the joy I feel when my hammer is singing along making those marks. I want them to know that someone made that thing they hold in their hands, and once they put it on, they become a part of the creation process—a part of my life just as I've become a part of theirs."