A farmer, a tech executive, and an R&B singer walk into a jewelry store. Though it might sound like one, this is not the set up to a joke. It’s the visionary thinking of Sarah Jo Lightner. When she helped start the Methow Valley Jewelers Collective, she imagined a diverse group of girlfriends visiting a jewelry store together. She wanted each woman to find something she adored and could afford.

The Methow Valley Jewelers Collective easily hits that mark. With a handsome retail space on the TwispWorks campus, the Collective is home to nine talented jewelers and three visual artists. Styles range from diamonds to tiny glass seed beads and everything in between.

Joanne Marracci, one of the Collective’s members, shared about a favorite project of hers: “I just finished 6 pendants and 4 tie tacks all made from two gold rings from a matriarch and a patriarch that had passed on. Their son wanted to give all the grandchildren something to remember them by, so I melted down the rings that were grandma’s and grandpa’s and was able to make identical pendants and tie tacks for the grandchildren… It’s so rewarding to be part of that story. I believe metal has a memory, so when you melt metal, you’re melting and meshing these lifetimes of memories in this metal, and you give it another life.”

Having this group of jewelry artists on the TwispWorks campus is an amazing resource for visitors and locals alike. There aren’t so many small towns that still have a jewelry store of any kind—let alone one staffed by nine jewelers doing unique, handmade work!