About The Wright Jewelry

I live with my husband in a small town in North Carolina, half way between the ocean and the mountains. We just adopted a one-year old Lab-Chow mix from an animal rescue group, and we are all settling in nicely together. My son and his family often accompany us on our trips to the ocean and the mountains. I started making jewelry in 2006 when I was unable to find earrings to match a beautiful red coral necklace, a gift from my husband, son, and daughter-in-law, so I made my own earrings and bracelet. Then I made other jewelry to go with other outfits. My friends received my jewelry pieces as gifts and said that I should sell it; it was so beautiful (!) that I should go into business, and here I am. So I set up a jewelry workshop in my home. Though I am mainly self-taught, I took some classes in metal and silver work. I have a long family history of craftsmanship going back four generations: Coopers-barrel makers, a Ribbon Maker, Blacksmiths, and Farriers-blacksmiths for horses, etc. But I chose to work with metal on a much smaller scale, and with the purpose of adornment instead of being utilitarian.

The first rock I loved had some sparkly flecks in it-quartz in Granite. As a little girl when on camping trips with my family, I'd pick up pretty rocks to take home and gaze at. My Dad would carry them for me in his pockets, because my hands weren't big enough to hold them all. I finally figured out that at the end of our hikes, that I didn't have as many rocks as I thought I'd picked up, as my Dad was secretly and silently dropping the majority of them back onto the path! So I got my Mom to get me clothes that had pockets in them and I carried my own rocks!

I have always had a passion for those who have been less fortunate ever since I saw a statue of Martha, the very last passenger pigeon on Earth at the Zoo on a visit from school when I was in second grade (1956). I can still recall looking up at the bronze Martha, feeling so very sad, and ashamed that 'we' did this, and also angry, that we did this. I do not believe we are on this Earth for a free ride-we have an obligation, a duty to take care of our world. Stewardship was taught to me by my Father and was solidified during the eleven years I spent in the Girl Scouts. I find peace in our natural world-watching the endless waves come ashore, or a bird soar on thermal winds above a mountain valley. Creating jewelry which celebrates the world around us and honors its inhabitants has fulfilled a dream of mine. It has all come together-jewelry which honors the ocean and mountains and their inhabitants also reminds us that we are stewards of this Earth. My jewelry pieces may honor that connection with nature for you, or may they just be a fond remembrance of your time spent at the beach or in the mountains.