Growing up in the Midwest in an auctioneering family, John Paul was raised on buying things used and giving well-made items a second chance to be useful. The attitude of reusing & repurposing things has been in his blood ever since. Be it rummage sales, estate sales, thrift stores, auctions, craigslist or antique stores, he buys absolutely as much as possible, used. Nearly all of his large equipment and tooling is 50-100 years old. Some of his favorite tools include an anvil from Sweden, a fly press from the turn of the century, and his 100 year old 25lb Little Giant mechanical hammer. Most of his smaller hand tools are from the 1940's-70's. He finds great pleasure in rescuing old tools and working them in to his day-to-day operations.
Metals: John Paul Designs strives to use recycled metals whenever possible or applicable. All of the gold we use is 100% post consumer recycled from Hoover and Strong. We also spend time dismantling old jewelry, removing gems, separating the karats and colors and re-using clients' gold and platinum to create new works of art with their "recycled" gemstones and heirloom diamonds.
Diamonds: All of the diamonds used to create the John Paul Signature line as well as our custom designed work utilize conflict-free diamonds. John Paul Designs fully supports the Kimberley process, which is an International process used to track and certify diamonds. In April 2003, congress and President Bush passed a law adopting the Kimberley Process - a certification scheme that requires all US diamond retailers to buy diamonds from manufacturers who have documentation warranting that the merchandise was obtained through legitimate channels. Today, the US Customs Service actively enforces the Kimberley Process requirements as diamonds enter American ports. The Kimberley Process is by no means perfect, though we stand behind it while it becomes more standardized.
Displays: Nearly all of the cases & displays at our gallery are old artifacts and objects of interest that John Paul found while "making his rounds" as he likes to call it, antiquing and junking. Over the years, this has led to a fair amount of people who bring things they see that remind them of JPD's displays. Occasionally, some people find his displays more interesting that the jewelry! Egad!
Packaging: We strive to use as many American made items as absolutely possible. From our hand stamped Kraft bags, to the light bulbs in our fixtures, we are relentless in pursuing the origin of an object and doing our best to support local makers & USA manufacturers.
Belief: A friend of his once said, "I want everything in my house to be beautiful, so no matter where you look or what you touch, you see or handle something beautiful." John Paul identified with that wish, and felt at ease knowing that he wasn't alone. This deeply held belief continues to inform every piece that he designs and creates.
