Meet Judith Bright

CEO, Jewelry Designer & Owner

What started as a home business idea in 2005 has blossomed into a retail and internet company with 30 awesome employees and three Nashville locations. “Let your instincts be your guide, your passion be your teacher, and know that it’s never too late to start something you love!” xx, jb

A Mini Interview

Get to Know Judith

ORIGINALLY FROM: Washington, DC
BIRSTHSTONE: Opal/Tourmaline
SIGN: Scorpio
WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU: I'm an End-Of-Life Doula
JB PIECE YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT: My Rockstar ring, double-stacked wide-wrapped bands, my crossover band, and my thin wrapped cuffs.
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Sex in the City
DESERT ISLAND ALBUM: Fleetwood Mac Rumours
FAVORITE GEMSTONE: Labradorite
FAVORITE MEAL: Sushi & Sake
FAVORITE QUOTE: "If a task is once begun, never leave it 'til it's done, be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all" - my old boss Quincy Jones

Judith's Path

How It Started

1964

Born Judith La Gorce in Washington, DC

1970

Discovers mom’s jewelry box, time stands still

1972

Unfounded fear that Mom’s jewelry box has been stolen, but later found under chaise where mom hid it from burglars (and Judith). Judith breathes huge sigh of relief.

1977

Relatives tire quickly of Judith’s ‘playing ring’ game: how many ways can one stack and combine rings on a finger.

1981-1989

After working as a candy-striper, Judith chooses nursing as her career. Graduates from Vanderbilt University Nursing School in Nashville, Tenn., Heads to LA to work with AIDS patients at Cedar’s Sinai Medical Center. Ends nursing career—too exhausting and sad—and lands job as production assistant on “Growing Pains,” exhausting & complete opposite of sad.

Big Life & Career Moves

The Start of Judith Bright

1990

Works at Disney for an Australian film director. Main job is to help director not call every female executive “Sheila.” Successfully accomplishes this goal.

1991

Marries man with an incredibly optimistic name: Will Bright. Little does she know that this will one day become a wonderful jewelry brand moniker as well.

1992

Lands wonder-job with Quincy Jones, and finally gets serious about work.

1997

Baby boy #1 is born.

1999

Baby boy #2 is born. Judith becomes President of Quincy’s publishing company.

2001

Baby boy #3 is born. Whew! Thoughts return to the simplicity of ‘playing ring.’

2002

Retires from Quincy Jones to chase dream career as a jewelry designer.

2003

Moves family to Florence, Italy to take big-time jewelry classes. Starts drinking wine at lunch in order to fit in. Unable to wear “European” sized jeans, she buys lots of scarves instead.

2004

Family settles in Nashville, TN and Judith turns 40.

2005

Sets up Judith Bright jewelry business, spends days sketching designs, sipping cappuccinos and waxing on poetically about peridots and citrine. Actually, spends days creating jewelry like a woman possessed; nights with toothpicks in eyes doing Internet research.

2007

Glass slipper finally fits, launches website, www.judithbright.com

2008-2009

Jewelry appears on network television programs, “Gossip Girl,” “Samantha Who?,” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”

2010

Opens Flagship Store in The Mall at the Green Hills, Nashville, TN Jewelry appears in the major film releases, “The Back-up Plan” on Jennifer Lopez and “The Rebound” on Catherine Zeta-Jones.

How It's Going

Jewelry for All

2011

JB Voted “Best Handmade Jewelry” by Nashville Scene Poll, “Top 3 New Retail Stores & Top 3 Jewelry Stores”. Jewelry appears on Carla Gugino in “Mr. Popper’s Penguins & Frances McDourmand in “This Must Be The Place”. Jewelry worn by cast of TV series “Happy Endings”.

2012

JB opens store in Atlanta. Jewelry worn by Meryl Streep in “Hope Springs” and by Abbie Cornish in “Seven Psychopaths”.

2013

JB jewelry featured on the CBS TV Show “Partners”. JB donates to many charities in 2013.

2014

Judith moves out of the Mall at Green Hills to a house in the 12 South neighborhood of Nashville. Jewelry appears in feature film “Lullaby” on Anne Archer & Jessica Brown Findlay. Voted Top 3 Jewelry stores in Nashville by the Nashville Scene Poll.

2015

Judith hires 3 more full-time employees, launches a brand new website.

2016

Judith hires more people and has jewelry featured in “Bad Moms” and “Lights Out”.

2017

Atlanta location moves to space three times the size and 10 times more beautiful and installs a jewelry maker there. Jewelry featured in Silicon Valley & Mozart in the Jungle.

2018

Procures a studio space for manufacturing in Nashville. Hires additional jewelry makers to crank out more jewelry. Jewelry appears in Oscar nominated film, Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, MO. Judith voted as a Nashville Business Journal “Woman of Influence”. Summits Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

2019

Judith travels to Israel, Hong Kong and Croatia. Becomes the Community Chair for the Nashville Chapter of EO and the Programming Chair for NAWBO. Joins the Vanderbilt University Dean’s Advisory Board. Raced her boys down the slopes after Christmas.

2020

Things were going swimmingly, then COVID hit. Our stores were closed for 4 months. During that time we said goodbye to our Atlanta store and opened our Franklin, TN store. The JB team rallied and persevered. Judith named as Most Admired CEOs by The Nashville Business Journal.

2021

Life returns to almost normal, the stores are in full-swing and we are nominated as one of the best places to work in Nashville by the Nashville Business Journal. New designs are flowing and some archival pieces return. We open a new store with an open-studio concept at L&L Market in The Nations neighborhood in West Nashville.

2022

Judith becomes certified as an End-of-Life Doula by the Conscious Dying Institute and volunteers at Alive Hospice in Nashville. She embarks on the Leadership Nashville year-long cohort. Several designs emerged and innovations made on existing lines.