Early in 2019, St John’s chorister and local manufacturing jeweller, Roley McIntyre, approached the then rector of Wagga Anglican, The Venerable David Ruthven, with an idea of producing a wholesale jewellery range based on images from St John’s Wagga Wagga. They would be available for sale as an ongoing fundraiser for the parish.
Archdeacon David, assistant priest Reverend Gavin Krebs and parish secretary Kim Hoey were very excited about the potential of the idea and took it to Parish Council.
Parish Council agreed to the proposal and to the initial outlay for the master patterns and subsequent castings, wax casts and first set of items.
The branded range of Wagga Anglican jewellery was launched at Synod 2019, with lots of interest from Synod members. While the initial cost to the parish was a substantial outlay, the jewellery paid for itself within eight weeks of launching, with excess stock available as gifts for Baptisms and special occasions.
Roley was able to fulfil all customer requests including special orders of cufflinks, clip-on earrings and gold crosses. For some people, the range of jewellery inspired them to create their own silver or gold treasure set with precious gemstones.
The initial range was in sterling silver. Roley has since added to the initial range to include gold items, which are proving to be popular.
The parish receives ongoing funds from the sale of their stock, and as a percentage of all sales via Sculpted Jewels website, Sculpted Jewels retail store, or as a donation when parishioners and friends are inspired by the range to create a special order.
This has been a very successful partnership for both parties and we look forward to continuing this into the future.
by Anna Krebs
