Meet Erin Trumble | Jewelry Designer and Lapidary Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Trumble and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, why did you pursue a creative career?
Being an artist feels like an innate gift. It’s funny to think of pursuing this as a career, mostly because before this I really really tried to pursue other careers. I tried to work in the cooperate box, I tried to really strive in the service industry, and the beauty industry. All of these endeavors felt like I was constantly pushing a boulder up hill. I truly don’t believe that one chooses to become an artist, I think the creative life chooses us. Once I stopped trying to fit into another career, it was like the inner artist was finally able to flow through me. Now, work feels like inner peace. There is a sense that this was always within me, and developing skills and growing this business feels very natural. It’s the gift.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Independent Mountain Jelwery Co. is based in my love for nature and geology. In creating this jewelry brand I wanted to design pieces that feel elevated and timeless, but not too fancy to wear all the time. As the one and only artist behind the brand, I am starting the process with all raw materials, working directly with miners and rough stone dealers allows me to seek out the most unique stones with the highest quality. From there every stone is cut by hand in my studio, this allows me to really customize the size and shape of the stones used in the design process. One of the greatest compliments I hear at handmade markets and art shows is “there’s a lot of jewelry here today, but none of it looks like this”. As an artist and pretty quirky and unique individual, that’s all I ever want to hear.

15 years into this journey, I never could have imagined where I’d be today. When I started making jewelry I never imagined that today I’d be creating what I do. I started with making affordable crafty type jewelry and now I’m making one of a kind wearable art from scratch! Over the past few years, I’ve really developed a portion of my business that is solely focused on taking hand me down heirloom jewelry and giving it a refresh. We all have jewelry tucked away in the back of our jewelry boxes that just are not our style, left behind from a grandparent. We know we are never going to wear it, but the sentimental value stops us from getting rid of it. But there is more then just sentimental value there, often these pieces are made of quality metals and semi precious and precious stones. Working with my clients in this redesign process has become one of my favorite parts of what I do. Breaking down their heirloom jewelry into its raw elements and magically turning those elements into something that they will wear on a regular basis. Delivering these finished custom pieces always feels like I’m delivering a sentimental box of joy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ha! I feel like I need to ask you this question! My family and I just relocated from up in the mountains outside Denver down to Colorado Springs and I’m really looking forward to discovering some of the small businesses, best hikes, and yummy coffee shops in this area!

But if my bestie was here for the week, we’d do so much fun stuff all over the front range. There would definitely be a day spent in the downtown and rino areas! Breakfast at Crema, shopping at La Lovely Vintage, and dinner and putt putt at Puttshack. A day spent in my old stopping grounds, starting the morning off at Melt Coffee in Rollinsville followed by a hike at Maryland mountain, popping in and out of the shops in Nederland, making sure we don’t miss Sweet Sue’s, then back to Rollinsville for pizza at Toss! Then a day spent in the Springs sipping a beverage at Switchback Coffee Roasters, exploring the trails at Red Rock Canyon, and then the most delish peach and basil scones from Nightingale Bread.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family really deserves some credit in my story. Being a creative isn’t like your typical 9-5. Creativity flows in waves that can’t really be predicted. I’m so grateful to have a family that not only supports my dreams but also recognizes how those flows can affect daily life. They are always there to lend a helping hand, push me to believe in the beauty that I’m putting out into the world, and hold me up when this life style has completely drained me.

Website: https://www.independentmountainjewelryco.com

Instagram: @independentmountainjewelryco

Image Credits
Whitney DeVoto