Winter 2025 - 49

BEHIND THE SCENES: MELISSA LEW
Melissa Lew creates her jewelry inspired by
her travels and experiences.
B
orn and raised in the foothills of
the Blue Ridge Mountains, Melissa
Lew is fueled by adventure and
exploring the world around her.
Lew founded her namesake studio in
Virginia in 2005. She has always loved
creating beautiful jewelry, but the business
adopted a new meaning and blossomed in
2016 after a life-changing event - when
Lew had major surgery. She remembers
hearing the words, " she's fading. "
" That's the last thing you want to
hear in the hospital, " Lew said. " I know
it's kind of cliché, but life just kind of
flashed before my eyes. There was so
much more that I wanted to do, to see,
to experience. "
During months of recovery, Lew had to
learn to walk on her own again. She took
a break from her business and missed
the outdoors. She was determined to get
back out on the trails. Nine months later,
she was hiking the Ocean Path Trail at
Acadia National Park.
" I have always loved hiking and being
in nature, but there was something
special and different about that
moment, " she said. " The sunshine, the
waves, the beauty that surrounded me,
I felt whole and it made my heart sing.
I needed to find a way to capture that
magical moment. "
That's when Lew decided to create
a national parks collection within her
jewelry line.
" I had a moment of clarity on that
trail ... and they went from being just
pretty designs to designs with intention
and meaning, " she said.
INSPIRED BY NATURE
Lew's jewelry creations are often
inspired by her own experiences.
" I travel with my sketchbook, and I
love to spend time sketching outdoors.
I often use these sketches as inspiration
for new designs, " she said.
For the national parks collection, it's
important to Lew that the designs reflect
actual features and landmarks of the
parks - instead of being a generic design
with a namedrop.
Once a design is finalized, it's cut from
stainless steel, hand-finished and packaged
with an illustrated backing card specific to
the design, which Lew also draws.
" Each piece I create harnesses the
beauty and joy of nature, " she said.
" They celebrate what we love, turning
moments into tangible memories that we
can keep close to our hearts. "
Melissa
Lew jewelry is designed
with the planet in mind, she said. The
jewelry is handmade from durable, ecofriendly
materials in small batches in
Lew's studio in Virginia. Small-batch
production allows for intentional design,
production and quality control, as
well as reducing waste and minimizing
environmental impact. The packaging is
compact and printed on recycled stock.
A tree is also planted for each piece
sold through a partnership with One
Tree Planted.
CUSTOM CREATIONS
Melissa Lew's bestsellers are custommade
for museums and national parks.
There are a variety of customization
options available, from custom-backing
cards
for
catalog
designs to
fully
personalized, exclusive designs.
" I love working with museums and
national parks to create designs and
collections based on their park or
collections, "
she said.
" Each custom
piece comes with a custom backing card
with their logo, branding and message. "
Lew said retailers
should offer
a
custom collection tailored to their park,
collections and/or upcoming exhibits.
" Custom products can make wonderful
keepsakes, connecting visitors to a place
that they love, " she said.
Lew said her jewelry is made for
adventurers. She chose stainless steel
because it's durable, easy to care for and
eco-friendly.
" I've worn my pieces hiking, rock
scrambling,
ocean kayaking and
snorkeling, " she said. " I've used my
necklaces on more than one occasion
to tighten screws on my studio lights -
so in a way, my jewelry is made to be
Melissa-proof. They're tough! "
GIFTSHOPMAG.COM 49
http://www.GIFTSHOPMAG.COM
Winter 2025

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