Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Courtney Reckord. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Courtney , thanks for joining us today. Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are often hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?

I got an incredible email from a woman who wanted to share her story with me. She and her partner ended up both getting wedding rings made by me in different parts of the country. Here it is: Hi Courtney, I wanted to share our story! My husband Aaron and I are both originally from Vermont. We met at the Chicago O-Hare airport and I moved to Colorado two years ago to be with him and his two children. We got married this past Monday, July 5th at his parents’ house in Bradford, VT. Here’s the story: on a whim a month ago we went into FineThings Jewelry in Glenwood Springs, Colorado near where we live. For Aaron it was one of those “not sure I want to wear a ring, but let’s run in to the store real quick” on a whim moments. In we walked and with barely a glance at the cases, he pointed to your Rocky Mountain ring and said, “That’s the one!” Size 10. It fit perfectly. Paid. Left. Smiling!! We were dazzled by both the ring AND the experience and thought it was SO COOL that he picked your ring out before we discovered that you are from VERMONT! The owner of Fine Things thought that was as magical as we did! And it gets better. Aaron had given me a diamond engagement ring. I wasn’t sure I wanted to wear a wedding band with it, but I had a thin silver band with teeny gold droplets a jeweler friend had made for me (Molly from Global Pathways) that I’ve had for many years and I thought I might wear as the wedding band. BUT, three days before our wedding as I was strolling Church St. with my step-daughter, we walked into Zinnia’s and as if I was reliving Aaron’s experience at Fine Things, I saw your Long Trail ring and knew I wanted that band to wear as my wedding band with my diamond ring. It was only when I tried it on and was ready to pay for it that I saw that YOU were the same jeweler who made Aaron’s ring! Courtney, as we told this story at our wedding and passed our rings around, everyone was commenting about how the Long Trail ring’s flow parallels and embeds in the flow of Aaron’s Rocky Mountain ring. SO TRUE! The parallel groove of the ring synchronicity (your craft AND our story of finding both rings) is so symbolic of how we met and what our love represents, and we are so grateful to have your rings on our fingers as a symbol of our marriage! Thank you for your beautiful craft and vision.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I make jewelry for adventurous people and the places they love using recycled metals, responsibly sourced stones and working with small manufacturers to help people carry an important time or place they cherish with them through their life. My jewelry is a confluence of my love of the outdoors and my background in both environmental science and the arts, and my love of maps!
My work is inspired by nature and the world around us. A significant part of my jewelry represents the landscapes of National Parks, mountains, rivers and lakes around the United States and beyond. I custom create rings and pendants using USGS data that are exact representations of any landscape that has meaning for the client.
It could be where they grew up, a special vacation location, a spot where they got engaged or any other special location.
Another part of my jewelry represents botanicals, and I also create work using bird calls.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I strive to create jewelry that is beautiful but also meaningful. We all have too many possessions.
My goal is to create objects that have meaning so they will be cherished for a lifetime
rather than being disposable items that are tossed after the newness wears off.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I love being able to hear the stories that people share with me about why my work is meaningful for them. It could be a first hike they took with a partner, an adventure that they shared with a parent, or a mountain that they see every day from their kitchen window.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://courtneyreckord.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtney.reckord.jewelry/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyreckord/

Image Credits
Kelsey Converse Elisabeth Waller