Our Story

Wild Made wasn't born overnight. It has been decades in the making.

I'm Gretchen Julius-Whitehead, founder and artistic director of Wild Made. I have spent over twenty years in jewelry, trained as a goldsmith at RISD, with a career running through Barneys New York, Ralph Lauren, and Japanese Vogue. I have lived this industry from every angle.

My first collection, in the early 2000s, planted a seed. It traveled through Japanese Vogue and sold at Reinstein Ross and Fragments in New York. Then life shaped the rest. Triplets. Careers. Years of moving between personal and corporate work, mothering, and finding my way back to the work I knew I was meant to make.

In 2024, I took the leap. Wild Made is the collection I have spent a lifetime building toward. Jewelry that does not just sit on the body but carries meaning on it. Each piece moved through sketches, samples, and edits, every decision made to elevate the work beyond adornment.

Animals are a profound source of inspiration. They reflect our essence and remind us of our connection to the world and to ourselves. Our debut collection, Untamed, is a tribute to a transformative journey to Africa during my college years, where I traveled with my brother and came home changed.

These are talismans. Made to be lived in, passed down, held onto. Hearing that they serve as daily reminders of your strength, wisdom, and grace is what makes the work worth it.

Gretchen Julius-Whitehead

Founder and Artistic Director, Wild Made

Every Wild Made piece is meticulously handcrafted from brass with a thick layer of genuine 14k gold or rhodium plate, set with high-grade cubic zirconia. Each design is third-party tested for plating thickness and durability, exceeding the standards of typical fashion jewelry.