La Contessa by Mary DeMarco
Since 1986, Mary DeMarco and husband, Buddy Wolfe, have been handcrafting their La Contessa line of nature-inspired, pewter jewelry and gifts, in Baltimore, MD, USA. When designing, Mary draws inspiration from her Italian heritage (La Contessa means “the Countess” in Italian), love of vintage and antique items, domestic and international travel, and time spent in her garden.
After graduating from Towson State University (Baltimore, MD) with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, Mary studied abroad in Florence, Italy for several months. Shortly following her studies, a very young, yet as an extremely driven, hardworking, and uniquely talented artist and individual, Mary DeMarco created her own jewelry business, La Contessa. “We are a family owned business," said Mary, “Our young adult children, Maria, Elle, and Marc, often help with set up, break down, and sales at wholesale and retail Art Shows across the US. Maria, the oldest, has spent much time making the jewelry, working in our shop, La Terra, helping with any Computer/IT issues or needs, modeling for La Contessa catalogs and postcards, and for several years has been acting as our website administrator/manager/front-end developer and most recently helping to update/manage our Etsy shop."
“My studio, where the design and creation takes place, is located in Clipper Mill, the site of an old foundry in Baltimore, built in the late 1800's. The area has been converted into art studios, restaurants, and a green community. Attached to our studio is La Terra Gift Gallery, where we showcase and sell our work. Our Gift Gallery has an old-world appeal, with stone walls and archways."
Each La Contessa piece is designed by Mary DeMarco and completely handcrafted in the Baltimore City studio. In the first step of the process a model is sculpted and then cast in American Lead-Free Pewter. Next, various pieces are soldered and finished to create a multi-layered, nature-like appearance. Semi-precious stones such as Aurora Borealis, Desert Jasper, Aqua, Turquoise, White Opal, and Vintage Rose Swarovski Crystals are used to create unique, beautiful, and fascinating combinations of colors. Much attention is paid to detail— turn a piece over and you may find a bee, a bird, or a flower, perhaps a pair of hands or even bird in a nest as the closure to a necklace. Each unique and original feature that Mary DeMarco has bought to life in her art, helps to distinguish La Contessa in the marketplace and establish a recognizable and sought after product line. Many customer's consider our designs to be timeless treasures, and several of these individuals have become quite the La Contessa jewelry and gift collectors.
At La Contessa, we pride ourselves on being American-Made and a locally-owned small business in the city of Baltimore. With many jobs lost to companies overseas, here at La Contessa we can proudly say that we are still doing it here, in the U.S.A.!
