gloves, as well as a summer line of clothing
called “Great Shapes.”
In the late 1980s, Judi moved on to her
next venture, a line of high-end
sweaters created from a fabric that she
herself invented: a mixture of luxuri-
ous yarns and hand-dyed ribbons. She
still fondly remembers her freshly dyed
ribbons hanging from the tree branches
in her yard. Like silent wind chimes, they
each received some extra love with each
breeze of Vermont air. With time, Judi saw
another opportunity to add an additional
detail to her sweaters: gemstones as
button-fasteners.
Her breakthrough revelation occurred
to her as she was shopping in Paris. A
necklace made of bold, beautifully rough
amethyst stopped her in her tracks and
inspired her next endeavor: gemstone
sweater buttons with matching jewelry!
This led her to further explore jewelry and
gemology. She enrolled at the Gemological
Institute of America, where her studies
would earn her various degrees in pearls
and gemology.
Judi shares that her favorite part of her
career is the exotic travel and experiential
learning. She loves visiting places such
as Fiji, Australia, Vietnam, and Thailand,
where she received a hands-on education
of the process directly from pearl farmers.
There is an art to farming pearls. Pearls
look very different depending on a slew
of variables, including their location, the
salt content of the water, and the water
temperature. For example, if the water
gets too warm, the farmers must lower the
netting that the oysters cling to in order
to reach colder waters for optimal pearl
development.
Judi keeps her products fresh and diverse,
utilizing new gems and pearls regularly.
That said, she always finds herself return-
ing to Tahitian pearls. They emanate in-
credible color variants of green and violet,
which seemingly shift as they move. It’s
easy to see why they are Judi’s favorite.
When watching her process, it’s clear that
Judi loves what she does. Her pieces often
take days to create—especially her cuffs,
26 VERMONT MAGAZINE