During 2008, Judie Gumm will spend many hours working on some special pieces of jewelry. Those pieces will be included in the limited edition section of her collection. While the creation of those pieces will take place in far-off Ester, Alaska, anyone with access to the Internet will be able to order one of those limited edition pieces.
Like all of the Judie Gumm designs, those special edition pieces will reflect Judie’s love for nature. Testimonials from past customers indicate that her love for nature, as shown in her jewelry, speaks to others who have a connection to the natural world.
On Judie Gumm’s website, one can find praise of her acorn pendants and dogwood necklace. According to one customer, the acorn pendants can be viewed as a symbol of greatness. (“Great oaks do from tiny acorns grow.”) That verse is not on the pendants, but a different verse is on the necklace: “the strength of love even in the face of challenge.”
Judie no doubt faced many challenges after she left her home in New York and settled in Alaska. Eager to design jewelry, Judie had no one in Alaska who could teach her that skill. She thus set-out to teach it to herself.
For 30 years now, Judie Gumm has been working with precious metals. She employs a wax technique, a technique that some might have thought had gone out of fashion among jewelers. Her decision to work on limited edition designs in 2008 recalls a similar decision made in 1984.
In the intervening period, some students in one school class have become adults. According to testimonials on Judie Gumm’s website, those students once had a good look at some Judie Gumm jewelry. Their examination of that jewelry provided them with a better understanding of the creative process.
Those same students no doubt learned a good bit about Alaska by looking at that Judie Gumm jewelry. Much of the jewelry designed by Judie Gumm mirrors the character of the Alaskan landscape. The governor of Alaska has been photographed wearing a piece of Judie Gumm jewelry.
Judie Gumm’s husband, Dick Gumm, helps to keep customers informed about his wife’s past collections and her future plans. He also makes a point of providing customers with assurances that any piece of jewelry that they order will meet their specifications. Dick Gumm has posted the promise to complete needed repairs on any of the purchased pieces of Judie Gumm jewelry.
Meanwhile, the flora and fauna of Alaska continue to inspire Judie Grumm, motivating her to design a new collection of jewelry. Perhaps she will one day make a piece of jewelry that depicts the famous “midnight sun” in Alaska. That sun was the inspiration for the symbol on the Alaskan flag.
A young Alaskan boy drew the picture on which that flag symbol was based. That boy is now a man. Perhaps that man enjoys buying jewelry for a wife, sister or mother. Perhaps he has even seen and purchased a few pieces of Judie Gumm jewelry.
Judie Gumm Designs official website: www.judiegumm.com
