Student Startup Produces Quality Jewelry for a Good Cause

The Student Life section of Utah State Today highlights work written by the talented student journalists at Utah State University. Each week, the editor selects a story that has been published in The Utah Statesman for inclusion in Utah State Today.

By Shelby Black, Utah Statesman, Tuesday, May 1, 2018 

Buffalo Pine Co., a new student startup, creates quality custom jewelry while giving back to the community.  The small business was created by Utah State University students, Garrett Lamb and Amanda Peterson.

Lamb and Peterson are both originally from Draper, Utah. Lamb took several jewelry making classes in high school, where he first learned how to make things out of wood and metal. This is where his initial interest in the jewelry business began. Lamb and Peterson also dated throughout high school.

“That’s how I heard about all his million dollar ideas,” Peterson said.

The duo decided to actually act upon this “million dollar” idea. They participated in the Huntsman school’s $100 startup competition. The competition allowed their idea to become a reality.

“Once we developed what wanted, we had to get the knowledge, then the tools, and then material,” Lamb said.

All the material that Buffalo Pine uses in the jewelry and the jewelry-making process is ethically sourced. It was important to the company that they knew the stories behind the materials they were using.

“There is a lot of slavery in the jewelry industry. We want to responsibly source our material and be able to give back as well,” Lamb said. “We donate some of our profits to help with these issues. We wanted to make good jewelry and have a purpose.”

Next they had to create the name for their company. They decided on a name that represents both of them. Lamb said for a week straight they couldn’t come up with anything.

“One day we were hiking up Green Canyon and we got it. I wanted something that represents me and something that represented Amanda,” Lamb said. “The buffalo is for her and the pine is for me. Together they worked to become Buffalo Pine.”

Lamb and Peterson are both full-time students and work full-time jobs as well. Both said they work long hours to stay on top of everything, but they have fun doing what they love.

“I want this to be something where Amanda can get rid of her eight-to-five and just do jewelry,” Lamb said.

The unique feature of Buffalo Pine Co. is that no two pieces of jewelry are exactly alike. Lamb and Peterson make everything by hand and do all custom designs. Each of their handmade rings also includes a small pine tree engraving on the inside to identify it is from Buffalo Pine Co..

“When we do custom a lot of the times, we mostly think about the person we are making it for. I will honestly stalk the person on social media because I like to incorporate what they like,” Lamb said. “Then I ponder and design it. Most of the time we do trials, send it to them and ask if they like it. Chances are no one will have the same one as you. That’s the thing that we love.”

When designing custom jewelry there is a process. First the customer picks out what stone they want. The stones vary in price depending on size. Next, Lamb and Peterson measure the metal to fit around the stone. After soldering, filing and buffing, the jewelry is finally ready to be shipped to the customer.

“When we send it out, it is nearly perfect. It’s handmade so it takes time, but it is totally worth it,” Lamb said.

Buffalo Pine Co. hopes to continue expanding and perfecting its product. Lamb and Peterson said they both hope to be cable to source their own stones and makes more jewelry options in the future. They are also working towards attending the Pinners Conference in November.

“The reason people love handmade and local stuff is because you can feel the love that is put into it. We love doing this. When you buy something you can know it is from us. We aren’t in it for the money and that’s what is so great. If it pays the rent then, heck yeah,” Lamb said.

With their original handmade designs and dedication to the product, Buffalo Pine Co. is on it’s way to keep growing. To support Lamb and Petersons business customers can custom order by emailing buffalopinejewlry@gmail.com To see some of their products take a look at their instagram @buffalopine_co.

“I hope people will support our jewelry because no one else is going to match you and you can get whatever you want. By you buying our jewelry you are also giving back to someone else too,” Peterson said.