Feature Story: Jewelers

A Love for Creating Jewelry Becomes a Life’s Passion

Somebody once told me that “art is created when someone expresses themselves uniquely in an attempt to share and connect with others.” Regardless of the medium, we are all artistic in one way or another. Some of us are born with a gift that may be realized in childhood, but for others, artistic expression may come when we least expect to discover it within ourselves. Wearing jewelry is a form of artistic expression that extends from the art of creating the jewelry itself, and when hand-crafted, a jewelry piece can become a treasured work of art, celebrated and enjoyed for generations to come.

Daniela Cavazos Madrigal

Fruity Poms

Creating Cultural Character with Whimsical Designs

Many of us have a hobby that we are passionate about, but few of us have ever been able to turn that hobby into a thriving business. However, for one local artist, a whimsical hobby has become a viable vocation. Daniela Cavazos Madrigal was born in Laredo and received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Art at Texas A&M International before moving to San Antonio to pursue her master’s degree at U.T.S.A.

She began to dabble in jewelry making, creating fun and fuzzy earrings to show off on her social media pages. Daniela is beautiful, so she made the perfect model for her own designs, and her friends began to take notice and inquire about her unique jewelry. She began taking commission requests in 2017, making specialty earrings and pins with yarn, felt, and soft materials. When the orders started coming in, and she started to get more attention from people who had seen her posts and the posts of others wearing their commissioned designs, she decided to jump into jewelry making full time, and Fruity Poms was born.

Each unique piece is handmade and assembled here in South Texas, but she has become so busy that she has been able to outsource portions of the manufacturing to female artisans overseas. She feels strongly in supporting other women around the world, and this system allows her to give back to those communities who are also supplying her raw materials.

When asked what her inspiration is for her designs, Daniela states, “Everything I design is based on what I would wear myself. I enjoy creating jewelry that speaks to my Latina heritage and the culture that I grew up in.” This is why her “Merienda” collection does so well. Daniela’s creations celebrating conchas and café are fun conversation starters, and she sells out of her designs quickly.

For now, Fruity Poms jewelry is only sold online, and orders are taken and drop-shipped a couple of times a month. Daniela balances her growing business with grace while also raising two boys, Luca (6) and Marcelo (3), with her husband, Edgar, and she also manages to show and sell her designs at local artisan markets. She says, “I love setting up at local markets because it allows me to feel connected to the community. I get to meet my customers and see how my designs work with their personal styles. I’m grateful for the support from my customers, and I feel validated as an artist when I see that my designs make people happy.”

Always thinking about new ways to express her creativity, Daniela has also begun to design shoes, and she takes preorders until she reaches her manufacturer’s maximum capacity before closing a design. She ships all over the U.S. and Canada, and she even has customers in other countries. Future plans include creating a handbag line, along with necklaces and chokers, and possibly even a clothing line. You can’t miss a Fruity Poms design. They are big and bold, and since they are handmade, each piece is unique and special. Daniela’s designs are perfect for San Antonio, and she looks forward to sharing our South Texas style and her Latina influences with women around the world.

Jenny Forks

J. Forks Designs

A Country Girl’s Hobby Becomes a Thriving Business

Growing up in Beeville, Jenny Forks was your typical Texas tomboy. She grew up on a ranch, barrel racing in the rodeo and throwing runners out at second base as an all-star softball player. She had planned to continue her softball career in college when life took an unexpected turn, as it often does, and she became a mother at the age of 18.

She had begun making jewelry as a teenager, inspired by the stones, arrowheads, and other natural materials she would find on her family’s ranch. She found some success selling her designs in local boutiques and restaurant kiosks in Beeville, eventually expanding north into boutiques in Floresville and Pleasanton, before making the decision to move to Boerne and focus on her jewelry business fulltime in 2002.

Jenny opened her first jewelry store in Boerne in 2003, creating unique pieces for her boutique while also designing custom orders for local residents. In 2011, Jenny offered to help a friend out at the National Finals Rodeo marketplace in Las Vegas. It was here that she met her friend’s son, Cody Ackel, who was a leather artisan himself. The pair began to work on jewelry and accessory designs together, marrying her silversmithing and stone setting talents with his leather tooling expertise. They eventually fell in love and got married, and together they have grown J. Forks Designs into the sought-after jewelry line and clothing boutique that it is today. Jenny’s jewelry is in over 500 stores across the U.S. and in six countries. She continues to take a few custom orders, but her focus is on sourcing quality materials for her unique designs and bringing stylish and affordable clothing to customers at her boutique, J. Forks Designs, which sits just across the river on Main Street in Boerne.

Jenny’s daughter, Hallie (22), is the graphic designer for J. Forks Designs, and she creates and screen prints all of the custom t-shirts that have become very popular at the boutique. In fact, it was Hallie who convinced her mom to add clothing, including plus sizes, to the business. Jenny says, “I wanted to bring an affordable clothing and jewelry boutique to Boerne. I never want anyone to feel excluded by size or price, and I wanted to make women from every socioeconomic level feel beautiful and have access to great fashion. My store is my platform, and I want to make a genuine connection with my customers.”

Jenny also has a son, Tristan (17), who attends BoerneChampion High School, and was recently accepted into the prestigious NASA Texas High School Aerospace Scholars program. She feels blessed to be where she is today and that God has allowed her to make a living doing something she loves. She has recently taken her devotion in another direction, creating a concept called The Lighthouse (thelighthousetx.com). It is an online boutique of Christian gifts, with a physical space within the J. Forks boutique. With The Lighthouse, Jenny strives to create a “space” of comfort and encouragement for anyone who may be struggling or looking for guidance and connection. She has big plans to grow this concept and to release a book telling her own story sometime next year.

Jalisa Murray

Shetler Fine Jewelers

Crafting Exceptional Jewelry for Discerning Customers

There are few people who can say that their first job became a lucrative and life-long career, but Jalisa Murray, the design studio foreman at Shetler’s Fine Jewelry, is a card-carrying member of that elite club. Jalisa was born in Corpus Christi but grew up and still lives in Boerne. Like most young adults, fresh out of high school, Jalisa was trying to find her path in life when a friend’s father asked her if she wanted to make some money making and assembling jewelry pieces for his business which supplied jewelry and accessories to small jewelry stores across Texas.

She became quite skilled as a jewelry maker, and when Medlar’s Jewelers in San Antonio came to the company to help fulfill orders of themed jewelry for amusement parks around the country, Jalisa’s talents were discovered, and she was hired and quickly became a supervisor. She worked with Medlar’s for over 25 years until the owner retired and sold the store to Shetler’s Fine Jewelers in early 2021.

Jalisa lights up when she speaks about her mentor, Roger Huckabee, who also worked for Medlar’s and is still working the bench with her at Shetler’s. She says, “Roger taught me everything while working beside him throughout the years at Medlar’s. Every day was a different day and brought a different repair or design challenge to solve. He has always been so patient, and I’m grateful that he took me under his wings and continues to inspire me today.”

Jalisa loves to design custom and quality jewelry pieces that will become a treasured heirloom and passed down through generations. She says, “I enjoy being able to become a part of someone’s journey in selecting or designing a memorable piece of jewelry. What I create becomes a significant life souvenir, and you are able to build connections with people you might not normally cross paths with otherwise.” Jalisa describes how jewelry making has changed during her career with advances in technology streamlining and perfecting manufacturing techniques. She says, “We used to hand solder precious metals and hand cut stones to be set into mountings. Now we use computers to create designs and lasers to cut and weld, but it still takes an artist to make someone’s vision come to life, and I love being trusted to refurbish, repurpose, and create something special that means so much to somebody.”

When you sit down with Jalisa Murray, you are immediately at ease in her presence. She has a calm and open demeanor that draws you in and makes you feel that she is interested in knowing you, even as she tells her story. She has raised three children as a single mom. Her daughter, Kelly (32), is a dance teacher at Boerne High School. Her oldest son, Cameron (24), is a fuel pump technician, and her youngest, Jason (23), is a correctional officer in Kerrville. She has three cherished grandchildren under the age of three to keep her busy in her free time and is very happy that God’s path for her has led her to the team at Shetler’s Fine Jewelers, where she will eventually retire her jeweler’s tools, but for now, she will continue to craft precious keepsakes from precious stones and metals.