Jewelry designer sets up shop in downtown Newton
Godoy will sell her creations, teach classes
JEN ARONOFF
Charlotte Observer, NC
Ana Cristina Godoy grew up in Colombia, studied in Italy and recently taught at the University of California at Los Angeles. But now, the professional jewelry designer is setting up a gallery and will soon begin teaching classes across from the old courthouse in downtown Newton.
If you’re wondering how she ended up there — well, you won’t be the first to ask, she says. And the 41-year-old artist is happy to explain.
Her husband, Michael Neely, once worked in the Hickory area as a textile designer, and he longed to return when his work took him elsewhere.
After spending four years in Los Angeles, the couple made the move back this spring, buying a house in Conover — although Neely’s job working on 3-D and animation for movies still takes him out of the area.
Godoy then began looking for a suitable site to make and teach jewelry. At first, she considered opening a store in Asheville — after all, an hour commute, she said, is normal to someone used to Los Angeles — but she dropped that plan after finding her space in Newton, on the corner of First Avenue and Main Street, across from the Artist’s Cafe.
There, her gallery will be in the front and an instructional and work area behind that, with room for six students at a time.
Godoy plans to work in her studio during the day, designing all-handmade contemporary pieces primarily from 18-karat gold and sterling silver. Those will be available in her gallery, though she also hopes to show some of her higher-end work in Charlotte.
Then, starting Monday, she’ll teach evening jewelry-making classes, for beginner to advanced levels. Students will learn techniques such as melting, sewing, soldering and hammering, and they will produce pieces of their own.
Godoy herself was inspired to make jewelry, she said, because of the beautiful jewelry she remembered her father buying for her mother when she was growing up.
In her native Colombia, she taught and had her own studio for years. She also earned a professional jewelry design degree in Florence, Italy.
In California, she designed for a store in Marina Del Rey, near Los Angeles, started her own studio and taught contemporary jewelry design at UCLA.
Teaching there, she said, is what she misses most about the West Coast. Otherwise, she’s happy to be in North Carolina: She and her husband wanted a place where they could raise a family, and she appreciates the greenery, cleanliness and weather. And — unsurprisingly — the commute. “Traffic here is amazing,” she said, smiling. “Everything is so close.”
Gift shop opens in Viewmont
A new Viewmont gift shop opened Friday, stocking a potpourri of items — including potpourri, as it happens.Magnolia & Vine is in the former Lisa’s Hallmark, in the Hobby Lobby plaza on N.C. 127 in Viewmont.
There, owner Natasha Bolden, a licensed contractor, and general manager Angie Reitzel, who has a marketing degree, turned a 5,000-square-foot space into a relaxed, roomy shopping environment that includes four specialty rooms, a children’s play area and a coffee shop and pergola in the back.
Then, they chose a name that pays tribute to their Southern roots without tackiness or pretentiousness, Reitzel said.
“We just wanted to build something that would inspire people to get excited about shopping, but not stress them out,” she said.
Christmas never goes out of season at the store, which will feature 18 decorated trees year-round, as well as collectible Santas and exclusive, locally made Christmas purses. Gifts and mementos for other holidays, such as Halloween and Valentine’s Day, will also be available.
But the shop also carries a diverse array of general gifts, including gourmet foods and tea, chocolates, candles, bath and body products, robes, photo albums, items for babies and children, and cookie and fruit baskets, as well as those with baked goods.
There’s a room of inspirational gifts and a space “we affectionately call the outdoor, manly, redneck room,” Reitzel said.
In addition, the store has baby and wedding registries and a corporate shopping program that lets businesses order gifts in advance and schedule delivery.
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Call Jen Aronoff at 828-324-0055, e-mail jaronoff@charlotteobserver.com, fax 828-327-3480 or mail it to Catawba Valley bureau, P.O. Box 2464, Hickory, NC 28603. Jen
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