Judie started as an artist/designer in the early 70's after taking a jewelry class in the Denver area. Employed as a full-time secretary at that time, she quickly became excited to discover she had an aptitude and love for jewelry design which offered her the potential for self employment. She moved from being a hobbyist, by doing simple designs for friends and family, to gradually doing craft shows. She relocated to Alaska in 1972 and shortly thereafter, met her future husband Dick Gumm.
While Dick worked as a professional in human services and education in the late 70's and early 80's, Judie began to create a line of jewelry for reproduction. Dick assisted her on the side with the various particulars of running a business: pricing, inventory control, marketing, and employee management. In 1989 she returned with a $100,000 in orders from a wholesale show and Judie Gumm Designs was born in earnest. Dick left his career shortly thereafter to work full-time on their burgeoning business.
Judie Gumm Designs is currently the efforts of five people--(from left to right in the picture above) Kate, Dick, GaBriella, Alex and Judie.
Kate handles all of our carding and much of the stringing and tying of pearls for Judie's new necklace line. She was born and raised in Alaska hailing from our small town of Ester. A graduate of University of Alaska, she plays a variety of wind instruments and currently plays with the Fairbanks Community Band.
Dick continues to handle all the business particulars in addition to website maintenance and oversees most of the functions dealing with our wholesale operation. As a small business owner--plumbing, electrician and carpentry tasks are also familiar to him.
GaBriella is a Californian by birth but has chosen to make Alaska her home. As an Art major and graduate of Westmont College, she is well suited to her current position. As in most small businesses, people learn to wear many hats and she is exceptional in that she can wear most all of them simultaneously. She is the primary staff liaison with our wholesale accounts. In addition, she has become quite proficient in jewelry production and a whiz on the various software programs that we use. If you call the office, whether you are a wholesale or retail customer, more than likely you'll be talking to Brie.
Alex is currently our shop manager and has a whole page devoted to him on this web site. He also has many of his own original designs for sale at www.judiegumm.com so be sure to check out his jewelry line.
Judie continues to design jewelry both for our jewelry line as well as custom work for businesses and individuals. She continues to manage the staff in areas of production and quality control. You can find out more about Judie on her page as well. If you have an idea for custom work you can communicate with her through email at: judiegumm@alaska.com.
|
Born in upstate New York, Judie Gumm settled in Alaska in 1972.
Largely self taught, she has been designing jewelry for more than 30 years and
works almost exclusively with precious metals in the lost wax technique. Prior
to 1984, Judie worked individually on one-of-a-kind and limited edition
designs. Since that time she has worked closely with a small staff of skilled
artisans who assist her in the production of her work. In 1990 her husband,
Dick Gumm, joined her. Their goal is to create jewelry hand-crafted for a
lifetime of enjoyment at an affordable price.
Alex Lewandowski grew up in Buffalo, New York. He was exposed to the arts from an early age. His mother, Theodora, is a sculptor and she saw to it that he spent a fair amount of time wandering the halls of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. He moved to Bar Harbor, Maine in 1995. While attending College of the Atlantic, he began to develop a more in depth interest in art. After a few years of work and travel, he moved to Alaska to attend the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where on a whim, he took a beginning metalsmithing class. Right away, he realized that he had a strong affinity for this media and appreciated that the work he was creating was often functional. In 2002, he was hired as an apprentice at Judie Gumm Designs and began learning the "lost wax" process that is central to Judie's work. During his apprenticeship, Alex also received jewelry business instruction from Judie's husband Richard.
