By Andrea Izzo
Willa Showalter, a local artist, has had a love of rocks since childhood. She has an aunt from the Labrador region of Canada, a region that claims its fame for stones that are a cool shimmery blue and green called Labradorite. “She would send us little trinkets and things and I just became a huge rock fanatic. I absolutely loved them,” said Willa. Her love of rocks continued through her teen years. She became interested in all sorts of stones including crystals and things that most other teenagers would be interested in.
In college, Willa studied Earth Sciences, geology, geography and worked at the precursor to Tamarack. A co-worker who made jewelry asked her a life-changing question, “Hey, do you know that you can take rocks and make jewelry out of them?” This inspired Willa to start making jewelry in 1992. She learned the basics from her co-worker and then it was primarily a self-taught endeavor. It was before the age of the internet, therefore, she essentially taught herself through trial and error. She had a friend who was downsizing and gave her a set of lapidary equipment for basic cutting, grinding, and polishing stones. “That’s when I first started cutting and exposing the beauty inside of stones”, she said.
The first stone Willa worked with was the state gemstone of West Virginia — West Virginia Coral. It is a fossilized coral that looks like a honeycomb rock, most commonly reddish in color. It is not the easiest rock to work with due to its medium high hardness. Willa also did some further studies with the people who had the gem shop at The Greenbrier. Her first craft show was at the Gauley River Festival in 1992, and she was also selling in the Student Union at Concord College. She obtained a business license and began going to craft shows up and down the East Coast. Willa estimates that she has probably worked upwards of 600 shows. She noted that it was a serious gig for about 24 years, and she absolutely loved it. When I asked what inspires her designs Willa replied, “That is absolutely up to the stones themselves.” She goes to wholesale gem shows and spends a lot of time picking out stones that have beautiful colors or patterns. Willa elaborates, “I pick things I like and that I like to work with. That’s my contribution to the design. Then, I spread out my inventory and let the stones say ‘hey, I want to take this beautiful piece and this beautiful piece – put us together to make an exquisite piece’.” Willa said she has tried to make things with more intention, like zodiac jewelry for instance. She would get zodiac pendants and the corresponding stones to make jewelry that is nice but doesn’t explode with personality. Willa’s favorite style is what she calls a power necklace, which is something like a breastplate that features magnificent stones and multiple layers. It’s the kind of piece that you would wear to make a real statement.
“I will be gearing up in my new studio space above Patina to create these really exquisite, powerful pieces that are eye-catching and help define a person’s intention and possibly their personality. They are perfect for the Renaissance Festival and other events too.” Regarding her studio she notes, “After many years of not really having adequate space for creating jewelry, I have secured a really fabulous office suite above Patina that has incredible lighting and is warm and cozy and funk It’s the perfect place for creative endeavors.” Willa is currently selling her jewelry at Patina at 1046 Washington Street, Lewisburg, WV on Monday through Friday from 11am – 5pm, Saturday 10am – 6pm, and Sunday 12 – 4pm. Willa will also be set up at the 2025 Renaissance Festival on June 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 28-29. To learn more about Willa and her art visit Patinaofwv.com
