Joe Rodriguez

I was born and raised in the beautiful island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

As the only child of a very creative mother, I developed a love for art at an early age. Fascinated by the beauty of the tropics, I took on photography and painting, but I soon discovered that I had also been gifted with an eye (and hands) for creative design.

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I moved to NYC right after high school to attend college. My first job was working in a gift shop at the Museum of Natural History where I was introduced to natural gems. That inspired me to create, GEMSIL, my first line of hand-crafted jewelry using gems and silver plated wire and beads.  I later landed a job at an osteological supply company (Maxilla and Mandible, Inc.), where I discovered the fascinating world of paleontology. Needless to say, I found a way to combine some of the small bones we sold with silver findings. As a result, I created my second line of jewelry, BONSIL, which I sold at a local store in Soho. My third and longest-held job was working in the financial district. Although my jewelry-making days had practically come to an end, somehow my colleagues discovered my talents and, from time to time, I was either decorating or designing something for someone.

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I left Wall Street after 15 years to open and operate my own business along with my lovely wife, Mari. Using all my creative inspirations, we opened and operated  Living Waters Books and Gifts. Although that was a short-lived venture, I was able to continue using my gifts in designing, decorating, and even creative gift wrapping. During that time I also began experimenting with wire art and created a unique line of personalized greeting cards. After closing the business, I soon landed a job at a wire mill where I was introduced to various copper alloys. Needless to say, my love for jewelry making was reborn! 

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“Wiremarks” is a result of working with scrap wire and making name stands for colleagues at work. I have always been encouraged by family members and friends to showcase my work so, I decided to put my creations on the web. CLICK HERE to see some of my past designs. 

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Oh, did I  mention that I also served as a part-time Children’s Minister for approximately 20 years? And yes, I was privileged to use my talents to design and create some pretty cool stuff while in ministry as well. Check out my FOR HIS GLORY album on Facebook.