Love – Here and Now!

Everlasting Love! Isn’t that what we attempt to signify while presenting a diamond studded engagement/wedding ring to our beloved – a promise that lasts a lifetime? We found out that there is a better way of saying that you love your partner than an expensive piece of jewelry. Ek Titli caught up with Gustav Reyes, owner of Simply Wood Rings in Chicago, Il, USA who unfurls a new meaning to love – which is based on the concept of ‘now’.

1. 

   What is Simply Wood Rings all about?

Simply Wood Rings is based on the concept that love is now, and time and materials are precious. Most wedding and engagement ring companies use this idea of forever to sell diamonds and other materials that they believe will last. This tugs at human’s desire for survival. It is within the human condition to want to live forever, not to die and decay.  It is easy for such companies to sell this idea of perfectness, of survival, and of forever. But we need to evolve out of that idea, and return back to the primal part of us that exists. Simply Wood Rings is on this evolutionary path. It is time to enjoy again what’s natural. SWR shows us another part of life that we don’t always acknowledge, and that we need to reawaken. People enjoy the newness of life, but putting something that is going to decay over time at the forefront of the relationship reminds us to do what we like and take care of what we hold most dear, because life is too short.

As humans we need to evolve spiritually and intellectually. We had to learn that it’s a minority group that wants these rings so far. It needs to resonate as mainstream. We’ve learned that simple authenticity can sustain business. Working against what the wedding industry has become makes sense to people, whether they vocalize it or not. Our message is resonating with people.

2. What inspired you to become a green person?

Becoming a green person is an evolutionary process. Before we got into the idea of forever, women and men would adorn themselves with flowers and other natural materials. It’s an ancient idea we’ve gotten away from, and it’s in alignment with the planet to do it this way. People are now seeking this realness, and it is marketable because it tugs at the same heartstrings. There’s the idea of forever, but are you going to be around to experience it?

3. Tell us about your best green project.

We use salvaged materials, wood from cabinet makers, xylophone makers, and other musical instruments no longer able to make music. We give this wood new life. Rather then letting it go unused, we transform it into an object that represents a sacred bond, which is a very noble life for a piece of wood.

We had a couple who designed a ring we like to call The Ocean of Love. The couple worked as marine biologists. He studied whales and she studied the effects of trash on marine life out of California. She collected samples of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch— a mass of floating marine pollutants that is caught in the currents of the ocean. The material was layered into the wooden ring, and turned out more beautiful and more meaningful than any diamond ring. This couple helped us to create a custom ring that demonstrated what they were doing at the time of their marriage, and their desire to put their will to live a better life at the core of their marriage. When our customers add their own materials to the rings, it adds another level of significance, by connecting them with a time and a place that is important.

4.  Do you think this initiative could help develop a harmonious balance between industrialization and nature?

Absolutely. It is in alignment with how people used to live thousands of years ago. When people didn’t live as long as they do today, there was preciousness to life. Elongating life can be a detriment to humanity. It can create havoc without realizing it. By using natural materials, we are letting it go back to the earth. We didn’t always have the machinery to use gold and metals, and instead adorned ourselves with natural materials. The idea of forever isn’t natural. Dying is a part of life. That is why we focus on material that will go back to the earth since it allows us to be in the present moment. We are trained to think diamonds and gold are precious and are to be exchanged on your wedding day. But using natural materials is actually the method of the future, and a part of history.

5. Why eco-friendly wood rings?

It’s important to be eco-friendly. My wife has a metal allergy, and one day asked me to make her a wooden ring, so that’s how it started. But using salvaged materials resonated with me. It connects time and place. Sending in meaningful materials is a great way for people to become a part of the process. It is comfortable to work with this idea in mind.

6. What are your expansion plans?

We want to introduce this concept into different products such as other jewelry and home items, to connect with people more extensively.

To know more about them, click here.

Author: Mansi Bagga

Mansi Bagga is an MBA student, pursuing a course in Communication Management. She is a highly enthusiastic person, always willing to learn more and do more. She is an Indian by origin and a Thai citizen by virtue. She can be reached at mansi.bagga@ektitli.org.

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