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Jewelry maker finds inspiration in nature
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Judy Payne of JP Designs creates designs for her trendy lines of jewelry from the comfort of her Davenport home — but there’s nothing homespun about the CoolEarthwear Pendants and Coolinterchangeables.
With stores taking a more cautious approach to inventory these days, she’s seeking out fresh avenues for her jewelry in the button and hair accessory lines.
Designing jewelry wasn’t Payne’s original career path. She taught kindergarten and early childhood education before taking time off to raise her family. She and her husband, Ken Payne, are the parents of Spencer, 14, and Marshall, 10.
Making jewelry could have stayed a hobby, but Payne woke up to the potential of her designs during a visit to the Galena (Ill.) Bead Bar. A business owner purchased 60 pendants and Payne wondered what the woman intended to do with them. She discovered adding adornments such as beads or wire created a fresh dimension for each piece. JP Designs was formally launched in 2004.
“I was a stay-at-home mom, just trying to have fun. I was legally a business but that (moment) changed everything for me,” she said.
Her first line of jewelry was CoolArtwear, a line of dichroic glass doughnuts and pendants. The demand has lessened due to the cyclical nature of jewelry, she said. Her green category of CoolEarthwear is gaining fans as customers discover the reversible pendants made from recycled, organic materials such as corn husks, circular bark and bamboo eyes.
“I’m really excited and I think because they are eco-friendly, I’m the first out there with them,” she said.
Payne’s Corn-for-a-Cause Pendant helped raise money for victims of last year’s floods in Iowa, she said.
The creation process begins when she comes home fired up with ideas after attending a January trade show. A Davenport-based graphic designer takes the visions and refines them for the marketplace. Payne approves the final design before sending it to be produced in the Philippines or India.
If it were cost-effective, she would like to have products made in the United States, she said. The challenge is keeping her jewelry within a certain price range.
Her jewelry is carried at local shops such as Artswork in LeClaire and Your Design in Bettendorf. She also keeps a list of upcoming shows on her Web sites.
“From my viewpoint, it’s nice to carry someone that’s green and a local artisan,” Deb Willaredt of Artswork said.
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