About Peapod jewelry artist Ronna Lugosch of Round Pond, Maine.

About Peapod Jewelry artist Ronna Lugosch

"If people smile when they see my jewelry, I know I've done a good job."
— Jewelry artist Ronna Lugosch, designer of the Peapod Collection and the Natural Expressions Collection, and owner of Peapod Jewelry.

Jewelry Artist Ronna Lugosch is Inspired by Natural and Symbolic Forms

Jewelry artist Ronna Lugosch, who lives in Midcoast Maine, finds inspiration for her gold and silver jewelry in natural forms — especially the grace and warmth of the peapod — and in symbols that express deep meanings in everyday life.

Ronna's Career in Jewelry Began when She Was Four

Ronna was four years old, growing up in a Chicago suburb, when she announced that she was going to be an artist. She realized the direction her artistic career would take when she learned to create small-metal sculpture and jewelry at Evanston Township High School. As she says, "I was hooked."

Ronna graduated from the University of Wisconsin, earned a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from Temple University's Tyler School of Art, and immediately began her career designing and making jewelry. To earn money during those early years, she worked part-time restoring artifacts at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute Science Museum. That's where she met her husband Emile.

Moving to Maine

In 1982, Emile and Ronna were offered an opportunity to house-sit for the winter in South Bristol, a cove-side town on the Pemaquid Peninsula in Midcoast Maine. They both had an affinity for Maine, and thought that if they could survive one Maine winter, they could live there year-round. That first winter, Ronna created jewelry in a barely-heated room in the drafty rambling cape. To save money, the couple ate mussels they collected several times a week from the tidal flats.

In 1983, having survived that first winter and still loving Midcoast Maine, they bought an 1880s house in a country setting near Round Pond Village, another town on the Pemaquid Peninsula. They added a studio, where Ronna still makes her jewelry. At first, she marketed her jewelry through wholesalers, trade shows, and jewelry stores, but this required frequent travel and took her away from her design work. In 2000, she realized her dream of opening her own gallery, now the Peapod Jewelry gallery, when she and Emile finished converting their 1940s one-car garage into a shop and showcase for her work.

Focusing on Design and Creation

Now that she's no longer on the road, she directs her energy to what she loves best: designing and creating gold and silver jewelry accented with pearls, diamonds, and other gemstones. Some of her pieces are serious, some are whimsical. They're all made by hand, one at a time, and they all exhibit the simplicity, elegance, and imagination of Ronna's unique style.

Ronna loves the peapod form, which is the basis for so much of her jewelry. Here, she draws attention to her jewelry by dressing as a peapod for a Business Showcase sponsored by the Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce.

Always looking for ways to keep her ideas fresh, Ronna continues to explore new directions, creating one-of-a-kind designs she often submits to competitions. She has won many honors, including awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Diamonds Today competition, and a Niche Award and first prize in the prestigious Italian Ponte d'Oro Competition.

Sharing Her Enthusiasm

"At the end of the day," says Ronna, "we all want to experience something new, have fun, and have a good story to tell. Creating new designs, working together, and getting to know our customers — all these make each day special for our staff. We try to share our enthusiasm with our customers, so that each day that they do business with us is a truly special day for them as well."

Directions to our gallery.

Find out how Ronna makes her jewelry.