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Orcas Island Jewelry Artist,
Jessie Morrow
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The Large Drop Pebble Necklace is part of her
FOUND collection. It was cast from a pebble
Jessie found while walking along an Orcas
Island Beach.
What makes a farmer trade her pitchfork for a soldering torch?
One word: passion. That’s what fuels everything minimalist
jewelry artist Jessie Morrow does. And it shows in her work.
Jessie hammers
brass to create her
Ripple Bracelets from
her workspace at
Material Wit.
BUT JEWELRY WASN’T THE ORIGINAL
plan. An advocate for sustainable agri-
culture, Jessie moved to Orcas Island in
2006 to work at the Olga Farm. Some-
where between the carrots and the peas,
she started envisioning earrings and
necklaces.
Initially, she fashioned pieces from
hardware parts, wearing them during
her island comings and goings. Friends,
family, and fellow islanders took notice.
“People wanted what I was making, and
eventually the business just grew from
there,” Jessie told me.
For several years she sold her work
at the Orcas Farmers Market and craft
fairs along the West Coast. Stores from
Brooklyn to Seattle began carrying her
30
explore: NW | The Official Magazine for kenmore air | Spring 2019
collections. But in November of
2017, Jessie took her jewel-
ry business to a whole new
level, opening a shop in Orcas
Island’s Eastsound.
Her quaint shop, Material
Wit, is the real-life embodi-
ment of Jessie’s commitment
to beauty, quality, and sustain-
ability. In addition to the shop’s
showroom that features her
pieces, Jessie carries a carefully
curated collection of art and
homewares that share her
same values.
“Primarily the items are
from West Coast artists, but
the concept is really about
well-made items, created with
environmental and social
ethics,” she explained. For
instance, she carries beautiful
bristle brushes from Germany.
“They’re not locally produced,
but they’re environmental-
ly-friendly and incredibly
well-made, which is what we’re
all about.”
While Jessie’s main studio
is at home, her shop also has
a small workspace where you
can sometimes see her working. Gener-
ally, she creates one major collection a
year. But with her second child on the
way, she’s put new work on hold.
“Brass is an affordable and durable
metal, but some of the production
process just isn’t good for the baby,” she
explained. The process starts with raw
brass that’s then cut, filed, soldered,
cleaned, formed, and polished before it
ever hits the showroom floor.
But what’s amazing about Jes-
sie’s pieces is how delicate the metal
becomes. They are an eye-catching
combination of personalities — like a
dance between an urban tomboy and a
country flower garden. In essence, they
are the embodiment of Jessie. They echo
her kind wholesomeness and commit-
ment to enhancing the beauty of others.
“I believe jewelry is one of two
things. It’s either a way to enhance
beauty or it’s a talisman. That’s one of
the reasons I really love making ear-
rings. I see someone’s face and a way to
complement the beauty that’s already
there,” Jessie said.
Each collection is inspired by some-
thing different. “It really changes every
time,” Jessie said. “I’m often inspired
by nature. And obviously it’s beautiful
around here, so you see a lot of that in
my recent collections that have to do
with the ocean and travel.”
Her work is crafted from silver and
high polish brass. The brass, in partic-
ular, offers a uniquely affordable and
stunning finished product. “The brass
I use is a red brass, which gives it a
warmer tone that looks a lot like gold.
It actually has a color match to 14 karat
gold when it’s polished,” she explained.
Which means, her pieces are as fitting
in the countryside as they are on a night
about town.
Though Jessie is a self-proclaimed
“workaholic,” she still loves to travel
with her husband Justin Blevins and
their daughter Zoe. And during her free
time, she can often be found digging in
the dirt, growing much of her family’s
fruits and veggies. MIKAELA JUDD
View more photos from inside Jessie’s shop:
KenmoreAir.com/MaterialWit
Material Wit
123 N Beach Rd suite B, Eastsound
materialwit.com