Meet Liz Gould | Silversmith & Owner of Rusty Creek Designs

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

Hi Liz, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I never had any intentions of starting a business at the beginning of my silversmithing journey. After Christmas in 2018, my husband, Cody, and I were driving down to Golden, Colorado and I was scrolling on Instagram and the idea hit me… I could make Sterling Silver and Turquoise Jewelry. I had always had a love for rocks since I was a kid, but the thought of being a silversmith had never crossed my mind. I turned to Cody and said, “I am going to need you to build me a bench!”. He thought I was crazy, but I had my mind set that I was going to teach myself how to make jewelry. I gave myself a timeline of 5 months to get it right, as I wanted to surprise my mom. and grandma with my very first pieces of jewelry for Mother’s Day. Those pieces were rough…but that is where it all started. After 6 months, I found out that it was a very expensive hobby, but I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to continue doing what I had come to love, so I needed to find a way to make it happen. Rusty Creek is the name of my family’s land in the Laramie Peak Mountain Range in Wyoming. I use Mother Nature as an inspiration in most of my pieces… so with that, my love of the mountains, Wyoming and my supportive family, Rusty Creek Designs was born.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

The jewelry industry is an extremely saturated market. I was once told, “You can have the most beautiful jewelry in the world. However, if no one knows about it, you won’t sell a thing”. This is 1000% true, so I feel like making myself different is crucial. My entire life I have had a hard time finding rings that fit me – let’s be real, I have sausages for fingers- it was rare that I was able to find an awesome ring that was in my size. My goal with Rusty Creek Designs is to bring eye-catching, unique jewelry to all shapes and sizes. I want someone who is wearing my jewelry to feel bold and beautiful in every way. This is where I try to stand out and be different.

There have been a lot of highs and lows of owning Rusty Creek but learning to navigate the lows makes the successes so much better. I think about where I started and where I am now, and it is quite the difference. I have found a group of women who are all small jewelry business owners and we have become friends! We bounce ideas off each other, host events together and are a great support system. I also work with Cait Luca and Mikayla Woodzell – both who are Western Influencers/Models – and they have been great advocates for Rusty Creek. Both of these women have spread the word about my jewelry and that has opened more doors for Rusty Creek than I could have ever imagined! I think both of these groups have helped me navigate the jewelry and western world, and that has been instrumental in my growth.

I know that there are always going to be hurdles and changes that happen, however, I am excited for these challenges that come my way. I have set some pretty big goals for 2022, so I can’t wait to see where it takes me!

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?

This is a hard one because there are so many amazing places! I think the first place we would go is up to Estes Park and stay at Aspen Winds on Fall River. It is a little mom and pop owned hotel with a 2 person hot tub and kitchen in the room! It is the best when you have some wine to drink and can watch the beautiful snow come down. Taking a drive through the park, up Trail Ridge Road or over to Lily Lake are some of our favorite places to hang out. The food up there is phenomenal, but we especially love Smokin’ Daves and Antonio’s Pizza. Downtown Estes is adorable with some of the best ice cream and candy stores around!

Golden is another place that we like to frequent. Woody’s Pizza is probably the best Pizza Buffets around and one of THE BEST salad bars! The salad bar has anything from pepperoni to gold fish that can be added to your salad and some pretty darn good beer cheese and potato soup! We also like to go to the wine bar and wander downtown.

And lastly, we would go camping up at Pinewood Reservoir. It is the perfect spot to go Stand Up Paddle Boarding, fishing, to relax, make smores and watch all the wildlife. All in all, we live in a beautiful state and this is just a fraction of fun things to do!

Alright, so let’s jump right in! 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 a person, group, organization, book, etc that you want to dedicate your shoutout to? Who else deserves a little credit and recognition in your story?

Wow, I absolutely love that this question is in here. I have had more support behind me with this I could have ever imagined… my family and friends comes to mind first and foremost. My mom has always been my biggest supporter and biggest critic. However, being both of those has only helped me grow and be a better silversmith! Every family member has supported me in some way – my grandma, mom, dad and sister helped put together an amazing space for me to do my first pop up in my hometown. My grandpa made me the coolest business card holders and my dad is always a call away when I need help troubleshooting or putting together my equipment. And lastly, but certainly not least, my mother in law is always spreading the word all around town and handing out my business cards.

I saved the best for last my husband, Cody. He has put up with a lot since I started this endeavor from spending his weekend trying to help me get products done by deadline to building me numerous benches and having him consistently be my quality control.  Without this list of people, Rusty Creek Designs wouldn’t be possible.

Website: www.rustycreekdesigns.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/rustycreekdesigns

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rustycreekdesigns

Image Credits
Shel Francis Creative, Emily Nicole Photography, Horsemanship Collective, Carly Rae’s Photography