Rural setting a gem
Story by Mary Catherine Brooks � Photos by Tara Wyatt
Wayne Justice creates jewelry at his workbench i n the relative solitude of life at Elgood Mountain Rainbow Glass in Princeton .
J
eannette and Wayne Justice have been combining their talents for nearly 50 years – through separate careers , building their home , raising five children , and , for the past dozen years , in their jewelry business Elgood Mountain Rainbow Glass .
“ We live in Elgood … on our 40 acres of land in our owner-built home ,” Jeannette said of their Mercer County home . “ Elgood is a beautiful mountain area with lots of forest and beautiful views .
“ We live at the end of a long , gravel , private road and love the solitude and peace there .
“ We both have workshops where we create our art and have some online sales from home .”
Jeannette creates glass jewelry from rainbow glass and Wayne fabricates jewelry from copper .
In addition to online sales , they also sell their creations at two stores – Young at Art in Lewisburg and the RiffRaff Arts Collective in Princeton – as well as at several crafts fairs across the region .
“ I was born in New Jersey , my parents were immigrants from the Netherlands ,” Jeannette said . “ I grew up in a rural area with a love of nature and always enjoyed art and being creative .
“ I moved to Athens , W . Va ., to attend Concord University and obtained a teaching degree .”
“ I worked as a classroom teacher for more than 30 years in Mercer County – much of that in kindergarten ,” Jeannette said . “ I also worked as an adjunct Special Education professor at Concord University .”
Wayne is the youngest of a large family that moved around three states – West Virginia , Virginia , and Florida .
“ I moved back to West Virginia as a young adult and have lived here ever since , eventually buying property and building the home we live in today ,” he said .
“ We have worked together in many capacities as a couple – we ’ ve been together for 49 years ,” Jeannette noted .
“ We ’ ve lived a rustic , somewhat
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