Appalachian beauty

At first you can’t believe a gemstone like that could really exist. Soft curving layers of mountain ridges appear on the faces of these rare North American Imperial green gasper stones. It’s like a vista from the Blue Ridge Parkway. But how?

“Ask God how that happened,” jokes Diannah Beauregard, a master jewelry designer who crafts precious stones and metals into pendants, rings and necklaces.

At her Studio Thirty Three workshop in downtown Waynesville, these one-of-a-kind green jasper pieces are part of her Appalachia series, which she is creating to help support regional environmental organizations in Appalachia.

For Beauregard, it’s part of a larger purpose she finds in her work — helping bring people together through art. Having won honors as a small business owner and an artist, she felt the need to give something back. After decades in the business, she knows the beauty of jewelry is more than setting a stone and making a sale. It’s a journey of discovery, finding a design to fit the personality of the person who will wear it and learning what light can do with a precious piece of the earth. 

Born in central Massachusetts, Beauregard grew up with a love of nature and a fascination with minerals. In 1983, she came to Haywood Community College’s Production and Crafts Program to study jewelry. 

“It was there that learning to make jewelry satisfied my attraction and my curiosity,” she recalled. “I felt so at home in these mountains that I decided to stay.”

Under the tutelage of Arch Gregory, Bob Gibson and other instructors, she honed her skills and eventually developed a signature design for framing the gemstone, a visual technique she calls “sequential juxtaposition.”

“I let the gemstones dictate the design,” she said. 

The stones might range from emeralds to old mine turquoise, while designs might range from Mayan to Celtic to antique heirloom styles. 

“It is helpful if people have an idea of what they are wanting,” she explained. “They should also be aware of the difference between commercial quality and heirloom quality jewelry. I use very high standards in the selection process of gems used in custom pieces.”

And even after spending 50 or more hours on a piece, there are always more details she’d like to include. 

Some pieces are inspired by cosmic coincidence. After Beauregard’s three-legged black lab died, she was looking at photos of her best friend and found one in particular that spoke to her. In it, the lab was in the foreground and gladiola blooms formed the shape of a heart in the background. Soon after, ABC news anchor Peter Jennings was on television one night talking about a future collision between the Milky Way and a neighboring galaxy — together they would form a new galaxy in the shape of a heart. It was such an odd coincidence of events that Beauregard took it as a sign and created a heart-shaped brooch in honor of her dog. A portion of the proceeds goes to the Haywood Animal Welfare Association. 

On her new computer’s screensaver, brilliant colors of bright nebulas, starry skies, and exotic planets might serve to inspire the next generation of jewelry designs.  

“Some stones I love better than others,” she says, looking over framed photographs of her work on a rainy spring day inside a cozy workshop. A retail gallery in the front room of Studio Thirty Three (located at 33 Pigeon Street) sells finished jewelry and gemstones from several artists from Western North Carolina. Clients hail from all over the Southeast and as far away as the Bahamas, California, Europe and Australia. 

With a talent for crafting high-end custom pieces like elaborate diamond necklaces, Beauregard can command top dollar for some of her work. She’s also purchased new computer-aided design software that allows her to show a customer what a hypothetical piece might look like in a 3-D image, though she still uses graph paper to sketch out basic ideas. 

The Appalachia series began when she was invited to participate in the 2007 Appalachian Regional Commission show in Washington, D.C. She wanted a piece that would represent the mountains and trees, so the Imperial green jasper seemed like the perfect stone. 

For her latest — Appalachia IV — the jasper is accentuated in a necklace with fine and sterling silver, 18-carat gold, and one-quarter of a carat’s worth of diamonds — one on top and three on the bottom. On the backside are a silvery dogwood tree and a hidden quote — “The dogwood blossoms to remind us there is promise of a new season.”

Lapidary artist Bruce Caminiti cuts each piece in the Appalachia series. Each has a backside decorated with a type of Appalachian tree — oaks on the first two pieces, a hemlock on the third — as well as a carefully chosen quote that captures the essence of the artwork’s design. There will be 13 pieces in all, according to Beauregard, and it will take about two years to complete the whole series. In May, Appalachia IV was auctioned off for a handsome sum during a Friends of the Smokies fundraiser at the Waynesville Country Club. 

Beauregard’s work with charities and advocacy groups continues to earn her admiration and respect as more and more people discover her talents beyond the studio. 

“She really cares,” said Elaine Stewart, North Carolina office manager for Friends of the Smokies. “She puts a lot of effort and time into each piece.”

Marilyn Friedkin, a past president of Haywood Animal Welfare Association, worked with the jeweler on a number of fundraisers and public awareness programs several years back, and was impressed not only with Beauregard’s dedication but also her organization to see a project through to its completion.  

“Diannah was always very generous,” Friedkin said. “We should highlight people like that.”

Whether it’s raising public awareness about alternative methods for treating animals with cancer or helping stray animals find a happy home, Beauregard is always open and positive about giving her time, Friedkin said.

And Beauregard’s work doesn’t stop there. She and her studio have partnered with such groups as Habitat for Humanity, a local arts education fundraising event known as Quickdraw, and REACH, which helps assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

“My life is about making or creating win-win situations,” Beauregard said. 

Several years ago, she organized her first Haywood County art show to raise money for an animal sanctuary, and since then, she’s had all sorts of ideas running through her head. She wants to put together a jewelry show at Studio Thirty Three where graduates from the HCC Production and Crafts Program could sell their work. A portion of the proceeds would go towards creating a scholarship for art students attending this same program. She also envisions a jewelry catalog featuring local artists selling their work, with a portion of the sales going towards various causes. 

Of course, with the currency of generosity comes a reality check — to keep a business going you have to balance revenue with donations. But for Beauregard, it’s a welcome challenge.

“There’s something about me that just won’t quit,” she says. 

And in the solitude of her workshop, there will always be some new design to tinker with, a stone ready to be cut, silver and gold waiting to be woven into links.

“People ask me, ‘What do you do for fun?’” she says. “I tell them I make jewelry.”

For more information about Studio Thirty Three, visit www.studio33jewelry.com.