Behind the scenes with the sister duo of local jewelry company Twine & Twig

Elizabeth Stafford White and Jacquelyn Stafford Buckner are the Charlotte locals behind (in my humble opinion) the most amazing line of jewelry ever, Twine & Twig. Not only is the handcrafted jewelry gorgeous, it has a powerful background as well.

Being the total fan girl that I am, I reached out to Elizabeth for some behind-the-scenes information.

What are your backgrounds?

We are a sister duo who grew up in Greensboro.

Elizabeth studied graphic design at Chapel Hill and Jacquelyn studied elementary education at College of Charleston. Our mom put us in art classes at a very early age which no doubt helped to cultivate our creative drive.

Elizabeth, being a typical first born, always colored neatly in the lines while Jacquelyn took more of a Picasso approach. I think that having two different types of creativity has really helped to shape the Twine & Twig brand. We’ll brainstorm an idea together and go back and forth and, before we know it, we will have created a new collection or line.

As far as hobbies and passions, we have five young children between the two of us, so we love getting all of the cousins together, being outdoors, trying new restaurants and exploring our cool city of Charlotte.

How did the idea for Twine & Twig come about? 

The initial designing began when Jacquelyn’s 2-year-old daughter was being treated for a brain tumor. During our time in the hospital, we started brainstorming jewelry design as a form of distraction. That summer we made our first Twine & Twig necklaces on a family beach trip.

From there we were constantly stopped and asked about our jewelry, so the collaboration on the launch of Twine & Twig began in late 2013. Our mission was to create a line of jewelry that reflects our love for natural, organic beauty, as well as our Southern roots.

A love of the rustic outdoors, combined with a great appreciation for the casual calm offered by the North Carolina coast inspired us to begin this journey. With quality craftsmanship and incredible attention to detail, every Twine & Twig piece is one of a kind, handcrafted, designed by us and tied onto our signature branded suede strap.

When did you realize that you were on to something big?

We never sat down and said, “Let’s start a business.” It was simply one sister helping another sister get through a hard time. We created something we wanted for ourselves – something we thought was missing in the industry – a statement necklace that was neutral, organic, and earthy; not bedazzled, shiny and machine made.

Our business grew because our product stood out. It was different than anything else out there and every time we wore ours, the signature suede strap was so eye catching that people stopped us and commented, asking where they could get one of his or her own.

We quickly started making necklaces for our first trunk show and within days of our show we had retailers reaching out. I guess it was then that we realized that we had started something special. We were fortunate to come up with an original idea that appealed to others they way it did to us.

Where do you source your materials?

We joke that Twine & Twig is “world peace” on a necklace because of the materials coming from near and far countries. We pride ourselves on sourcing globally to create a very curated and unique product that speaks to many ages and demographics. India, Africa, Philippines, the U.S., Nepal and Indonesia are among the few places that we find our eco-friendly, ethically sourced materials.

Is there anything new coming up that we should keep an eye out for?

We have recently launched our Home collection, which includes pillows and throws. We have also expanded to other accessories such as hats, ponchos, belts, and purses. If only there were another day in the week. We have so many ideas but not enough time!

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All photos courtesy of Rob Brinson Photography