The journey of Tim and Jim Gannaway into the jewelry business began in their childhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. At just five years old, the twins got into trouble for damaging their father’s screwdrivers while trying to chisel agates from the pavement behind their home. Throughout their childhood, they collected colorful Lake Superior agates, polished them, and sold them as pendants during high school.
While the Gannaways had a lifelong interest in agates and craftsmanship, both pursued math and science degrees in college. Tim attended Bemidji State College for three years before transferring to the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, for his final year. Jim studied at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
“It’s unique for us because, even though we’re twins, we attended colleges at opposite ends of the state,” Jim Gannaway said.
Though Tim focused on math and science, his adviser told him he couldn’t graduate unless he took some humanities classes. This is when the Gannaway brothers first ventured into jewelry making.
“I enrolled in a jewelry class because I was curious about how things were made,” Tim recalled.
He quickly became captivated by the subject and dropped his math and chemistry courses to focus entirely on art. Lacking his own tools, Tim spent every day from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the art department, where he created the first of many jewelry pieces.
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