"I just charged for the metal I had to buy," he told the Houston Chronicle in a 1988 profile, "but then I saw how moved they were, and realized that this is important in life -to give meaning to others." Founding the Company in 1954ĭuring this period Avery met a 19-year-old sophomore, ten years younger than he was, Sally Ranger, who came from Kerrville, Texas. Some of the college students were attracted to the cross and asked if he would make one for them. In 1951 he made his first cross, inspired by a Southwestern Pueblo Indian Cross that he came across in a Denver store. His agnosticism gave way to a rekindled faith, strengthened by his natural interest in the kind of ritual and symbolism offered by the Episcopal church. The breakup of his marriage caused Avery to take stock of his conduct in his marriage, which was punctuated by alcohol and stormy fights, and at the behest of his mother he visited an Episcopal minister in Boulder. After returning from a trip with his sons to visit his parents in Chicago, he found a note from his wife asking him to call her lawyer. He learned the rudiments of jewelry making from a library book.īy this time Avery's marriage was on the rocks. While teaching a class in applied design at Colorado, Avery tried to provide some variety for his students, who had grown weary of making furniture and silk screening fabrics, by looking to jewelry. He then became an industrial design teacher at the University of Iowa, then at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Married during the war, Avery returned home and went to college, majoring in industrial design at the University of Illinois and earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1946. The charm also would presage his eventual career. He managed to survive 44 missions over Germany, a feat not easily accomplished without injury.
He wore an amulet made from the horn of an animal, given to him by an African native who said it would protect Avery from "boom-boom" -antiaircraft fire. By the time he joined the service during World War II and became an Army bomber pilot he was what he called a "defensive agnostic." He retained a certain level of spirituality, however. James Avery was born in 1920 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of a teacher and an insurance agent, who grew up attending a Presbyterian church. Founder Turns to Jewelry Design After World War II The mostly family owned company is still headed by its founder, Homer James Avery, well into his 80s, assisted by sons Paul and Chris Avery. All told, the company offers about 1,100 designs and 14,000 different pieces of jewelry, sold through 40 company-owned stores located in Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Colorado 200 independent retailers mail-order catalogs and an Internet site. James Avery Craftsman, Inc., is a private company based in Kerrville, Texas, that designs, manufactures, and sells jewelry, primarily Christian in theme. NAIC: 339911 Jewelry (Except Costume) Manufacturing
0 kommentar(er)
