Adventure Awaits: Melissa Lew
Born and raised in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Melissa Lew is fueled by adventure and exploring the world around her.
Lew founded her namesake studio in Virginia in 2005. She has always loved creating beautiful jewelry, but the business adopted a new meaning and blossomed in 2016 after a life-changing event — when Lew had major surgery. She remembers hearing the words, “she’s fading.”
“That’s the last thing you want to hear in the hospital,” Lew said. “I know it’s kind of cliché, but life just kind of flashed before my eyes. There was so much more that I wanted to do, to see, to experience.”
During months of recovery, Lew had to learn to walk on her own again. She took a break from her business and missed the outdoors. She was determined to get back out on the trails. Nine months later, she was hiking the Ocean Path Trail at Acadia National Park.
“I have always loved hiking and being in nature, but there was something special and different about that moment,” she said. “The sunshine, the waves, the beauty that surrounded me, I felt whole and it made my heart sing. I needed to find a way to capture that magical moment.”
That’s when Lew decided to create a national parks collection within her jewelry line.
“I had a moment of clarity on that trail … and they went from being just pretty designs to designs with intention and meaning,” she said.
INSPIRED BY NATURE
Lew’s jewelry creations are often inspired by her own experiences.
“I travel with my sketchbook, and I love to spend time sketching outdoors. I often use these sketches as inspiration for new designs,” she said.
For the national parks collection, it’s important to Lew that the designs reflect actual features and landmarks of the parks — instead of being a generic design with a namedrop.
Once a design is finalized, it’s cut from stainless steel, hand-finished and packaged with an illustrated backing card specific to the design, which Lew also draws.
“Each piece I create harnesses the beauty and joy of nature,” she said. “They celebrate what we love, turning moments into tangible memories that we can keep close to our hearts.”
Melissa Lew jewelry is designed with the planet in mind, she said. The jewelry is handmade from durable, eco- friendly materials in small batches in Lew’s studio in Virginia. Small-batch production allows for intentional design, production and quality control, as well as reducing waste and minimizing environmental impact. The packaging is compact and printed on recycled stock. A tree is also planted for each piece sold through a partnership with One Tree Planted.
CUSTOM CREATIONS
Melissa Lew’s bestsellers are custom- made for museums and national parks. There are a variety of customization options available, from custom-backing cards for catalog designs to fully personalized, exclusive designs.
“I love working with museums and national parks to create designs and collections based on their park or collections,” she said. “Each custom piece comes with a custom backing card with their logo, branding and message.”
Lew said retailers should offer a custom collection tailored to their park, collections and/or upcoming exhibits.
“Custom products can make wonderful keepsakes, connecting visitors to a place that they love,” she said.
Lew said her jewelry is made for adventurers. She chose stainless steel because it’s durable, easy to care for and eco-friendly.
“I’ve worn my pieces hiking, rock scrambling, ocean kayaking and snorkeling,” she said. “I’ve used my necklaces on more than one occasion to tighten screws on my studio lights — so in a way, my jewelry is made to be Melissa-proof. They’re tough!”
