Description
6.5" Retired Jeep Collins Sterling heart bracelet<br><br>In 1972 Jeep Collins, the son of Enid Collins Handbag designer started making<br>jewelry from glass African trade beads that my sister gave me. She told me, "Why<br>don't you put these together with brass wire and I will see if I can sell them<br>in my store." I had just been discharged from the Marine Corps in July and was<br>planning to go back to college in the fall. I needed to earn a little money<br>while I waited to begin school so I took her up on the offer. By September she<br>was selling all the jewelry I could make. I was so encouraged by the sales that<br>I decided to put off college and make jewelry for awhile. Awhile turned into a<br>lifetime career.<br><br>In time I learned the art of lost wax casting and direct metal fabrication at<br>the Southwest Craft Center in San Antonio. These new skills enabled me to turn<br>sketches into pieces that reflect my interest; wildlife and nature. In 1974<br>after my redemption through Jesus Christ many of my designs reflected my new<br>found faith.<br><br>In the early years Dana and I traveled on weekends to arts and craft shows all<br>over Texas to sell what I made during the week. Later we sold to resellers, and<br>in the early 1990’s we opened our own stores in major Texas cities. This was an<br>exciting time; we had over a hundred craftsmen making jewelry in our<br>Fredericksburg workshop; our lives were at a fast pace.<br><br>Today life is simple, the stores are all closed and we make jewelry in the old<br>tin house on the ranch, very much like the log cabin of my mother’s where I<br>started. We sell from our website and by phone. The downsizing has been a<br>blessing for us. In addition to making jewelry, Dana and I are involved in<br>several Christian ministries, taking care of grandchildren, raising cattle, and<br>growing vegetables.<br><br>anderas
