What does West Grove Design actually do?
Our mission is to protect, support, and preserve the natural world by selling you custom responsibly handmade jewelry that commemorates your favorite places in nature. A percentage of all profits from jewelry sales go straight back to national and local parks, to keep them as natural as possible.
Why Custom/ Why Made-To-Order?
Making each piece to order means that I waste no resources keeping potentially unsold items in stock. Materials and supplies only get used when they are needed and nothing goes to waste if I can help it. It is part of my promise to produce responsible jewelry in a culture of waste and misuse.
How do I order a custom piece of a park?
Simply fill out the contact form with the name of the particular park or land formation you have in mind (i.e. a lake, river, mountain, hill, ridge, trail, road, route, etc.). I’ll find a map and send it to you for confirmation before I design a piece fit for your special place.
How do I order a place that isn’t a park?
Just send me the name or general location (or if you want to get real specific; the coordinates) of your special place. I’ll pull up a map and send it back to you for confirmation before we get started on the piece.
Can you make roads into a custom piece of jewelry?
I can! Have you taken a road trip recently with your family or best friends? I can make the route you took into a matching set of rings, pendants, bracelets, or whatever your heart desires! Just send me point A and point B, your basic route, or an image of the particular route you took, and I’ll draw up some designs for you.
What about trails?
Yes! Do you have a favorite walking trail? Did you just run a marathon? Is thru-hiking or backpacking your thing? Send me the trail or route you want to wear and I’ll make it into a piece of your choice.
Does a custom design cost extra?
Technically every piece I make is a custom design because they are all made to order, so prices you see listed in my store are a general range for that category of piece. The higher prices are for more complex map pieces with more layers while the lower prices are for more simplistic designs. I’ll give you a quote once I’ve got all the details I need to start the piece.
What is Mokume Gane?
To put it simply Mokume Gane, or mokume for short, is an ancient Japanese blacksmithing technique used to create wood-grain-like patterns with multiple layers of precious metals. Layers of alternating colored metals are stacked and fused into what’s called a billet, and then forged and patterned into a workable and unique material. That material can then be used to make all kinds of jewelry! Each pattern is done by hand so no two pieces will ever look the same. If you would like to know more about mokume please contact me.
What else should I know about West Grove Design?
I like to think of the work I do as making artifacts. Think about it, as time goes by and the earth changes, the maps you wear as jewelry will represent places as they were when you enjoyed them. So not only are you commemorating a special place that you love and have memories of, but you are preserving a little bit of earth history too!
Got another question? Email me at: jac@westgrovedesign.com