Wendy Culpepper was born with a flair for design and intuitive sense of style. Jewelry designed by Wendy is not just her work, it is her passion. Wendy enrolled in the University of Florida Engineering program and after a year and a half opted to enroll in an advanced drawing program at the Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy.

Wendy moved to New York after completing the SACI program to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology's intensive program on studio jewelry and design. At the same time, she began beading work as a hobby, designing jewelry for herself as a release from the demanding program. While traveling on three separate occasions, Wendy sold pieces of jewelry right off her neck. As a result, she decided to set up a website to explore the process of starting a jewelry website business.

In the summer of 2003, Culpepper joined the custom jeweler, Me & Ro Jewelry. Wendy was part of the product development team, managing custom requests, new collections and model management. She also assisted with price negotiation, contractor relations, production training and set-up for the Eastern-inspired jeweler that is famous for adorning Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan and Debra Messing to name a few. With the knowledge she gained working in the business, Culpepper left Me & Ro to start her own company, W. Culpepper.

The launch of her first line, the Alligator Collection, debuted in February 2005. The Fiore Collection was her second launch in August 2005, and the retro-Western Tribute Collection followed in January 2006.

Today, Wendy Culpepper resides in Providence, Rhode Island, where she is inspired to design and produce her jewelry in-house.

To learn more about Wendy's inspirations, click here.