Vermont Magazine | Page 27

A Tahitian Pearl in Southern Vermont Story by Craig Light Photography by David Barnum J udi McCormick Jewelry is owned, operated, produced, and sold—all by Judi—directly from her beautiful home in Manchester, Vermont. As you pull through the entrance to the driveway, a small sign on the right reads, “Drive slow. Fast pup,” and Vermont’s Green Mountains can be seen peeking up from behind the house. This is where Judi is inspired to create earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, cuffs, and more—mostly made of pearl. Judi was always naturally drawn to pearls, although she wasn’t always a jeweler. She received her college degree in photogra- phy and started her career in Steamboat Springs, Colorado as a photographer. There, Judi noticed an opportunity; the ski industry was picking up pace, but the fashion aspect of the ski industry was lagging behind. She started a new com- pany, Deep Powder Designs, which produced knitted winter hats featuring animal designs. This step into the fash- ion world catapulted her career. Having been impressed with Judi’s designs, a Vermont-based winter clothing designer asked Judi to return to the East Coast to work for them and to design the women’s outerwear line for their apparel company, based in Bennington, Vermont. Judi not only created the requested ski apparel line, she also developed a line of designer VTMAG.COM VTMAG.COM HOLIDAY HOLIDAY 2019 2019 25 25