Richard Stump

Jewelry Designer and Belt Buckle Designer

Though Richard Stump’s work attracts collectors from all over the world, his inspiration comes from direct contact with the Southwestern wilderness. A native of Santa Fe, Richard spent many years guiding hunts and whitewater rafting trips in Colorado and New Mexico.  Soon he began to incorporate his love of the natural world into his art. “When  I’m outdoors hunting and fishing,” Richard says, “ that’s what feeds my soul. I can transfer that into the studio so when I’m carving out an elk or a trout, the process is always fresh and new.”

The animal figures and themes in Richard’s silverwork often reflect his own experience and are built around North American big game and spiritual designs. Richard has been known to incorporate elk ivory teeth in several of his silver belt buckle designs as well as other animal materials such as buffalo horns and claws from the large predators. Richard hand-fabricates and hand-engraves his pieces using a painstaking process. “Each piece takes time,” Richard says,  “each process is labor-intensive. To me, that’s what makes it an art form.”