Sweet and socially conscious jewelry
Figs and Ginger rock out eco-friendly sterling silver
By Amy Strauss
Published: June 30th, 2008 | 9:35pm
Rhonda Wyman loves fairy tales. Praising the mystical stories for their ability to allow readers to think in a very fantastical manner, Rhonda, together with her husband Elijah, sculpts eco-friendly sterling silver jewelry that's reminiscent of our favorite narratives. From adorably perched birds to carefully crafted fawns, the couple, identified as Figs and Ginger since December 2006, creates simple, yet sophisticated wardrobe enhancers that Rhonda likes to think "can tell a different story to different people."
The pair continuously crafts in their hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, where their backyard possesses a 10-foot-by-12-foot shed that's known to them as a jewelry-making factory. With hopes to heat it with passive solar window boxes in the winter, as per an idea Elijah read about in a Mother Earth News from the '70s, the duo continues to hold in-depth, philosophical conversations on what new forest creatures to cutely construct next.
"We've decided no skunks for Figs, even though they are super cute," Elijah says. However, Rhonda still holds that up for debate. Since the couple does the business together — Rhonda, a Rhode Island School of Design graduate, focuses on the metal-smithing; Elijah on the company's business aspects — they enjoy stimulating creativity by vying together in design challenges. "We randomly point to a word in the dictionary once a week," Rhonda says. "He has to write a song or story, and I have to make a piece of jewelry or drawing." Such challenges sometimes result in the exercise of transferring an idea into metal, and if a success, Rhonda tests the new piece by wearing it about town to draw in a response.
"We want to make stuff that's affordable enough that people like us can purchase a necklace if they really love it," says Elijah. "Also, we want to make people smile." Besides making sure each product is ethically made by using recycled and reclaimed silver and gold that's designed using renewable energy tools, they are also working on expanding by promoting their wedding line, MyHandmadeWedding.com. Producing non-gender specific wedding rings and gifts, the Wymans believe "it's not difficult to try and minimize our negative impact on the environment."
From their delicate bird rings, brooches, and earrings to their new cuddle bunny necklaces — all of which are either forged, sawn, or soldered by Rhonda's own two hands — Figs and Ginger international success is easily recognized by the shop's ability to craft elegance out of nature's most endearing things. While it's obvious the husband-and-wife team has a sweet spot for animals (they have also rescued two dogs and a cat), their affinity for music also ranks high on their lists, with Elijah fronting a solo singer-songwriter gig and releasing tracks through a socially conscious label, GrindingTapes.org.
"Our mission is to just be loving, good people who make a living off of something that we can be proud of," says Elijah. "We decided that if Rhonda just focused on her metal-smithing, things would probably work out better — and they did."
Issue #28
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