RudCompany

In February of 2022, we experienced a fire in our workshop - at 4am, with a gas explosion blasting us awake, and chemically-fueled flames so hot that the fire extinguisher on my bench actually blew up. It was terrifying and we were lucky to escape with our lives - and thanks to my husband, with our home still mostly intact. He ran inside the house over and over, emptying extinguisher after extinguisher, until the flames were out... just 13 inches from a can of MAPP gas. The fire department arrived a whole 17 minutes later. It changed us. Forever.

The cleanup lasted months... due to the very specific nature of my business, I had to clean thousands of steel tools and dies by hand. My husband, son, and daughters helped clean every single item in our garage. We threw away moldy, water and smoke damaged items in tens of dumploads. We rescued 90% or more of our tools, but we lost our inventory from my previous businesses. As we rebuilt, slowly, deliberately, and carefully - we decided to leave behind our past success, and be born anew as a whole family effort: Rūd Company.

We are the Rūd Company - pronounced "ROOD". We are a family owned and operated business, with our company name a play on our surname, "Swensrud" (swenz' ROOD). We make artisan jewelry, accessories, and trinkets for those who must have something truly unique.

I'm Bonnie Swensrud, and my family and I proudly design, forge, and finish every item you see in this shop. I've been a silversmith for 23 years, and this business is the heart of our family. Most of our work is in soft metals like fine and sterling silver, copper, brass, bronze, and gold. We love to include natural stones and minerals, adding to the meaning and energy of our pieces. Our small shop is in the Pacific Northwest, in the shadow of the beautiful Mt. Rainier. Our work is inspired by beautiful thick green forests, abundant marine life, teeming lakes and ponds, the smell of rain, ancient petrified wood and agates, the profound experiences of everyday life, and the bounding laughter of our five children.

Each of our collections has a special story. Every member of our family is involved in our process - from the choosing of the stones from all over the world, to the design ideas, to the strength and architecture of the pieces. Every single item in our collections is one-of-a-kind - from the hand-sawing of the silver, to the rare and beautiful stones, to the hand-pressed dies made from antique hubs, the soldering of the accents, and finally to our quality mark.

Most of our work shows "Attitūd" to go with our Rūd themes... it is not for the faint of heart. We are Rūd Company - and we chose that name because our collective life experiences shine through our handcrafted items. That's why each new "drop" of designs from our workbench carries the "Rūd" title. We hope you find humor and art as well as heirloom quality. Some of our more iconic anthologies: "Resting Rūd Face", "Rūd Mama", "Rūd Rides" and "The Tao of Rūd".

When you purchase our art, you are not just obtaining a beautiful, handcrafted item - you are also receiving a piece of our story. Our heart, our energy, our effort and our family all come bundled in every piece we make. We hope you love it.

- The Swensruds