OUR STORY
Eleanor and Bonnie want Whiplash Curve to be known as the jewelry store where everyone feels comfortable. They want to show people that a jewelry store can be fun, kind, and laid-back and not snooty or pushy. They say “your jewelry is just as important to us as it is to you.”
Everyone at Whiplash Curve treats you and your jewelry with integrity. If you have a sentimental piece that you would like redone, your vision can be produced and you can trust it will be safe in their caring hands.
Eleanor and Bonnie’s passions include children and art education. Their community involvement includes donations to the Sequoia Park Zoo and Morris Graves Museum. They have also had children’s pendant design contests and love to see the joy of children when they pick out jewelry.
Eleanor Mattingly has been a Humboldt County resident her whole life. In 1985 she started her first sales job at Graystone Jewelers in Eureka and has been in the jewelry business ever since. She became a certified gemologist from the GIA in 1999.
Bonnie Stephens graduated HSU with a degree in Industrial Art in 1980. Her favorite classes included jewelry design and metal work. After graduation she apprenticed at the Revere Academy of Jewelry and worked in many jewelry stores. In 1999, while visiting her old college town, Bonnie decided that she wanted to move back to Humboldt County and started working at Graystone Jewelers.
In 2006, Eleanor and Bonnie purchased Graystone Jewelers. They closed the doors in 2011 and made plans to open a new business next door. Whiplash Curve has its’ grand opening in October 2012 during Arts Alive.
Longtime friend and jewelry designer, William Hosick, helped to open the store before his passing in 2013. Eleanor’s son Mathew is also an important asset to the company, helping with office work while studying for a business degree.