The Journey

Judi McCormick’s passion for design has led her to many rewarding endeavors. Her adventures include launching the international ski and swimwear company Deep Powder Designs, hand painting silk textiles, and designing fabrics in New York City for Halston, who was infamous for his innovative textiles. She also designed a line of ladies ski wear for an East Coast ski line and created her own company of high end sweaters made from a fabric she invented of luxurious yarns and hand dyed ribbons.

It was from these high-end sweaters that her passion for jewelry and gemology emerged. Buttons made from semi-precious gemstones became a trademark of her sweaters, and her natural instinct was to create jewelry that matched. In 2000 she began her studies at the Gemological Institute of America, earning various degrees in pearls and gemology.

Education is always a continuing process and today Judi has accumulated a Pearls Graduate degree from GIA and the desirous Applied Jewelry Professional diploma. She has also graduated the Pearls As One international course. With her experience, she has become a member of American Gem Trade Association, Cultured Pearls Association of America and GemX.

There is a continuing passion to use the most ethical and sustainable components and gems in her pieces. This is a responsibility to our Mother Earth and her special clients.

A New Gem World

Today Judi travels the world in search of new pearls and gemstones, including Hong Kong, China, Bangkok, Thailand, Australia, and Vietnam. She feels endlessly exhilarated by the vast and ever-changing climate of the gem industry. Certain gemstones are becoming extinct, and new stones are discovered.  The deeper she delves into this world, the richer and wider it grows--a garden of potential discoveries.

As Judi creates her jewelry, she reflects upon the science behind her pearls and stones, strengthening her appreciation for the beauty that emanates from all facets of nature. It fascinates her that pearls are an organic substance grown inside a living organism, a precious phenomenon. Gemstones present another miracle, one birthed from within the Earth’s crust. To see them side by side one may marvel at these natural wonders—one from a living organism, the other from the Earth—and how they fit together in aesthetic harmony. 


Waterfall necklaces and Waterfall earrings.