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"  Photo: Stephania Stanley  &amp;quot;I started making jewelry when I was little,&amp;quot; Melissa Joy Manning told ELLE.com. &amp;quot;The first necklace I made was when I was 4, for my mom.&amp;quot; Manning, known for her magical pieces ornamented with a plethora of stones, evidently always had the jeweler gene. &amp;quot;For me, art was play. I had a side business in high school where I would make friendship bracelets.&amp;quot; Though it seems apparent now that &amp;#039;jeweler&amp;#039; was a natural career path for Manning, there were some intermediary steps; &amp;quot;I dropped out of school when I was studying Spanish Art History. I was planning on being pre-law, trying to fit into another mold, and I ended up going down to Mexico because I was so confused. And that is where I started Mexican silver-smithing.&amp;quot;  After some time spent learning traditional Mexican techniques, Manning ended up in San Francisco, studying jewelry and architecture, yet still hadn&amp;#039;t fully embarked on her professional ventures. &amp;quot;My Mom sent me to a vocational counselor, and I took all of these tests, expressing what I could do.&amp;quot;  Photo: Stephania Stanley  Within a month, at the age of 25, she had started her own business with the $1000 that she had saved up. Now, Manning has built two retail collections and has sold over 1,300 of her popular &amp;#039;huggy&amp;#039; earrings in one year alone.  But Manning, who today is known for her unique take on stones, is not interested by traditional gemology. &amp;quot;I am not GIA certified, and to some extent that can be a competitive advantage because I am not limited by what the industry considers &amp;#039;precious.&amp;#039; I like to push peoples perceptions!&amp;quot; Manning has an encyclopedic knowledge of gems, and loves finding new treasures. &amp;quot;The things that stick with me have a story\u2014I really respond to the history of objects.&amp;quot;  Manning is highly environmentally conscious, and seeks to be as ethical as possible in all areas of her business. Her studios in California and New York are certified green, and she only uses ethical stones and 100% sustainable metal. This ethical vision is perhaps most visually expressed by her NYC store, which is entirely sustainable. &amp;quot;The store was such a good exercise in wanting to express my vision in a large-scale way, so that someone could come in and truly have the experience.&amp;quot; Aside from the lighting, everything in the store is recycled, from the tables, to the doors, to the cabinets. As Manning so aptly puts it, &amp;quot;everything in the store has a piece of history, just like the stones themselves.&amp;quot; Related: Karlie Kloss Designs Shades for Warby Parker Related:  Meet the Woman Creating Heirlooms for a New Generation  Related:  The Best Advice From the Most Well Travelled Jeweler  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/accessories/news/a24902/melissa-joy-manning-eco-jewelry/>