About Us

Hi! Welcome to Windfall Jewelry! My name is Jill and I am the artisan behind the jewelry. Let me tell you a bit about our story.

I worked as a professional graphic designer for over 20 years and raised our two sons during that time. At age 50, I decided to retire from graphic design as a career in order to pursue my dreams! I wasn't exactly sure what that was at the time, but I wanted to give myself the opportunity to figure it out. I had always wanted to try to start a business but never had the time to get anything off the ground. 

One day, I happened to see a really cool beaded wrap bracelet online. It was gorgeous and I was intrigued. I made some simple jewelry in my younger days. It had been many years since I had tried to make anything but I was inspired! I figured out how to make the bracelet. It was leather cording with pretty glass beads strung on heavy duty thread. But the resulting bracelet felt kind of flimsy to me. The beads would shift position on the thread and sometimes turn a bit sideways. I wasn't satisfied with the result. It didn't take long until I started looking into working with wire. I soon found more inspiration online and delved into jewelry making in earnest.

I was having so many ideas that I could barely try them all. Many days I would fall asleep watching jewelry tutorials, dream about making jewelry and then wake up and immediately start brainstorming and experimenting.

But there was the issue of how to finance this new venture.  At the time, we had just redecorated our younger son's room. He had a bunch of Lego sets in his room that went into storage in the basement.  So I had the idea to sell some of the old Lego sets. And the boys were fine with that idea. The first set I sold was the Lego Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean. I used the profit to put in my first large order for jewelry supplies. One of the first pieces I wanted to make used freshwater pearls, some of them natural color and some dyed black. So the irony was that I sold the Lego Black Pearl in order to buy black pearls and start my jewelry business! And that's how it all began!

Since then, I've been spending as much time as possible learning about jewelry making and improving my skills. I started this website with my best initial ideas but will continue to release new pieces as my skill and experience with wire wrapping progresses. So stay tuned! There is much more to come!

I love making jewelry. And I love when others are delighted with the things that I've made! I hope that people will enjoy the luxury of having something that is carefully handcrafted instead of mass-produced. And I hope that they will enjoy wearing my jewelry for years to come!