Mary Wood (pictured) has a head for numbers—something she learned early on in her first job at the pro shop of her local golf course, during her years at the University of Texas as an accounting major, while she practiced jewelry-making as a side hustle.
When those numbers started to show her that her jewelry brand, Modern Merrigold, could become a full-time business, Wood made the leap. Today, her all-woman team in Longview, Texas, creates a variety of handmade jewelry that seeks to highlight life’s most important moments. Some of her most popular pieces show off the wearer’s state pride with charms or personalization.
Here’s her path toward entrepreneurship—learning how to build, maintain, and grow her jewelry business.
Where did you go to college, and why did you study accounting?
I attended the University of Texas at Tyler, graduating with my bachelor’s degree in 2012. I chose to study accounting for a couple reasons: I knew an accounting career could provide a steady job and income, but, more importantly, if I ever decided to start my own company that business and financial education and experience could really come in handy. From my first entrepreneurial venture as a 5-year-old selling my Lisa Frank sticker collection to unsuspecting neighbors, I always knew that I would one day start my own business. It wasn’t until I dove into the world of jewelry design that I figured out what that business would be.
Why did you start making jewelry on the side?
I started making jewelry as a side hustle during my senior year of college. I was working part time at a bank while taking five senior-level business classes, and I was totally burned out. I sort of stumbled into it, finding a small bead shop near my parents’ house where I learned basic jewelry- making techniques. I had collected tons of beads and supplies from my time working at a craft supply store and used all of that and some strands of beautiful gemstones to create my first few pieces, which my mom took to work with her and immediately sold to coworkers. She’d leave for work with 20 to 30 pieces and come home with fistfuls of $20s. I knew from that point I was on to something, and I needed to pursue it.
How did jewelry blossom for you as a business?
From 2011 to 2016, I worked on my jewelry business on the side, participating in many, many craft shows, setting up booths in marketplaces, and spending all the PTO I accrued at work to visit bead stores and take time off to just make jewelry. During that time, I bounced around from job to job, never finding anything that was as fulfilling as designing jewelry. In 2015, I dipped my toes into the e-commerce world and opened an Etsy shop. A year and a half in, I felt I was finally making enough consistent revenue to quit my full-time accounting career, so I did. And I never looked back. While we still sell on Etsy, Modern Merrigold now has a beautiful, branded website. We also just completed a partnership with Good Morning America Deals & Steals, where we introduced the brand to a large nationwide audience. Beginning in January 2022, we’ll also introduce a new wholesale jewelry collection to buyers at Dallas Market.
What else do you want to highlight?
While our passion lies in creating personalized, relatable fashion jewelry that celebrates our customers’ special occasions, we’re also super passionate about lifting up local animal rescue organizations. I am crazy about my dogs—they’re my children—and through Modern Merrigold, I want to do as much as possible to help local rescues and our local animal shelter to find homes for adoptable pets and end pet homelessness.
Top: Modern Merrigold founder and designer Mary Wood (photos courtesy of Modern Merrigold).
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