Don Haywood

Don Haywood is a native of North Carolina and lives in Boone, NC. Don, his wife Faith and daughter Jessica have been involved in the creation and marketing of jewelry for many years, at one time owning and operating The Stonehinge; A Gifts of the Earth Gallery for ten years. The love of nature and an eye for creating jewelry out of unusual mineral and fossil specimens is the niche Don has created in order to bring the consumer an enhanced appreciation of nature’s “wearable art.” The specimens are showcased using sterling silver, gold filled, or brass and each design echoes the one-of-a-kind patterns created by nature. Most of the pieces are set using fabrication, a method which incorporates soldering as a major technique. Other methods are metal fusion and design-wrapping as well as 2 lapidary. Even in his early years, Don had always been intrigued by making things. At age 15 he was exposed to the art of making jewelry by his brother as he worked with him in Pigeon Forge, TN. When deciding what to study in college, jewelry was a natural choice. He earned his BS in Industrial Arts and Technology in 1980, a degree which allowed the inclusion of a variety of disciplines including jewelry, woodworking, leathers, and ceramics.