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CONNECTION ELEMENT 79, A FULL-SERVICE, CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY STORE IN CHERRY CREEK, CELEBRATES ITS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY THIS MARCH Carol Ferguson, owner of Element 79 contemporary jewelry, believes everyone has a jewelry story. Hers—a peridot ring from her grandmother. “It's a really simple piece,” she says. “My grandmother wore it every day. Every day. And I think of her every time I wear it. When I leave the house, I look at my jewelry box and think, 'What if someone breaks in?' and that’s the piece I put on, so it's safely on my finger. The piece has soul for me. It’s a talisman and brings me back to my relationship with my grandmother. It’s irreplaceable.” This emotional connection to jewelry is essential to why Carol loves what she does. Prior to opening Element 79 in March 2017, she spent 20 years as a bench jeweler and a custom jewelry designer. “I really think everybody has a desire to create, and we just need to find our medium,” Carol says. “When people tell me that they're not creative, I don't believe it. I just think they haven't found the thing they like to create. I had a sister-in-law who was a Le Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef, and I watched her spend literally three days making a cake. She made sheets of glass-like sugar layers so that there was a crunch to the cake, and it was devoured in 15 minutes! That was not where I wanted to place my creativity. Though I respect her desire to nourish and delight people gastronomically, my medium is metal and gems. Jewelry, [it] started by [wanting] to buy a piece of jewelry for my sister. It was too expensive, so I decided to make her a piece. That’s how I found my medium. I just love the emotional impact that jewelry has on—especially women but—just people.”
ARTICLE BY RILEY COWING | PHOTOGRAPHY BY POPPY & CO. BY KELSEY HUFFER
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EXP E RT H E LP | STY L E + BE AUTY