Meet Marci Isabelle Ambrose Founder and Designer

Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: June 2023 | Photograph By: Mary Gilian

While shopping, Marci Sherwood saw a piece of jewelry that called her name. She deliberated, “I wonder if I could make that.”

She bought supplies and made a version of it. Voila! She liked her edition even more than the original. Bonus – jewelry making was fun, so she kept making, and kept making.

After designing dozens of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, adornments began pouring out of cabinets and drawers. Her husband thoughtfully suggested, “Maybe you should open a shop, honey.”

She had to face it. She’d become the Forrest Gump of jewelry-making. Forrest just felt like running. Marci just felt like making jewelry. Like chocolate, you just never know what you’ll get when you see a piece of jewelry while shopping.

Suddenly she became a walking advertisement, modeling her latest creations. Why not? It was fun and people loved it. Friends received jewelry for birthdays. She hosted home parties. She displayed jewelry in a window or in a booth. She dangled a necklace or two in a hair salon.

And then Covid hit. Her selling outlets closed shop.

Looking for a way to help support her family, she went to work at Highlands Chamber as an event planner. Three attributes made her the perfect candidate for the job: 1). Her love for food, cooking, and entertaining; 2). her engaging personality; 3). her eye for design.

But, after a year of work, her mothering instincts took back the reins. She missed her kids. Full-time employment didn’t have the flexibility she needed to care for 3 young ones. And she regretted the magic moments she was missing with them, moments she’d never get back.

She decided to shift gears and be a stay-at-home mom again. She’d do jewelry whenever windows of design-time permitted. Her go-with-the-flow strategy worked, and this time, instead of closets, trunks filled up.

Word-of-mouth was her best friend. Associates, patrons, buddies, family all spread the news. Her jewelry collection caught on. This summer Jeanie Edwards Fine Art Gallery will host a trunk show on July 8. Acorns will also feature Marci at another trunk show on August 19. Stay tuned for times.

Marci’s creations are unique in that she strings and sculpts accessories like she cooks – a sprinkle of this, a dash of that, a twist of something gold. And the concoctions are absolutely delicious and visually delightful.

Blue and green, the tones of nature’s mountains and beaches comprise her favorite color palette. Marci laughs and says, “If sales are slow, at least I’ll be left with jewelry in colors I love!”

She creates pieces that touch her heart. She hopes an audience of soul sisters will click and connect with her Marci-masterpieces.

Get ready, Sisters. Trunk shows are on the way.

Contact info: [email protected]. Website: isabelleambrose.com. Instagram: IsabelleAmbroseCollection.