GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Ryan Paevey Shares His Love of Creating Beautiful Works of Art With His Homemade Jewelry!
Daytime star Ryan Paevey (Nathan, GENERAL HOSPITAL) is a man of many talents. The motorcycle-riding gym rat who brings Detective Sexypants to life can build just about anything, capture breathtaking scenic photos, mix you a killer drink and even help you get that business of yours off the ground. These days, however, the artisan who launched the brand Fortunate Wanderer has gone crazy for making jewelry.
(Photo Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC)
The Birth of a Business
Since returning from shooting his Hallmark movie, Harvest Love, in Canada this summer, Paevey has been on a tear. âThereâs maybe a square inch of my coffee table thatâs not covered in scraps and crystals,â he chuckled to Soaps In Depth when we caught up with him. âI havenât showered yet today. This is the jewelerâs equivalent of Howard Hughes going crazy. Iâm crafting. As always. I spent some time looking at a couple of aesthetics I really liked and seeing if I could duplicate them â and it turns out, I can!â
Paeveyâs the type who needs to keep his hands busy at all times, and the former construction worker has GH fans to thank for turning him into a full-fledged craftsman. âI used to make simple braided bracelets,â he recounts. âThey were just little things for myself â nothing that would catch someoneâs eye. But weâd do meet-and-greet events all over the country, and people would comment, so I would just take them off my wrist, give them to people and tell them where the bracelets had traveled with me.â
Fans soon started asking where they could buy the bracelets, as well as the bikerâs gorgeous travel pics featured onInstagram. Thus Fortunate Wanderer was born⊠and Paevey dove down a jewelry-lined rabbit hole!
Learning Curve
The actor had actually been inspired to launch the site to sell his photography, but the jewelry line quickly took off. Only last year, he told Soaps In Depth that heâd probably get bored with the bling. Instead, heâs found a new passion. âIâd missed using tools and working with my hands, and it made me happy to be doing that again,â he says. âNow, I work at it daily, and the things I make have become increasingly more complex. What started as braiding cord turned into braiding metals and researching stones and metals and how to combine them. Iâve got some crazy pieces sitting on my table now â and Iâm pretty stoked about that!â
Since he started working with stones and crystals, Paevey admits heâs also gotten âa bit more metaphysical.â This summerâs eclipse even had him working on his roof. âI had this giant, beautiful piece of quartz from a road trip, and I thought the eclipse might put some good juju into the piece I was making. Then, because it was done during the eclipse, I didnât want to exchange it for money. I needed a better purpose for it.â
Not 30 minutes later, one of his regular customers E-mailed that her mother had just passed. âI knew immediately,â he smiled. âThatâs exactly who it was for. I let her know there was a little magic coming her way.â
Paevey hard at work creating more beauty for the world. (Photo Credit: Melissa Pagen)
Sharing Tools of the Trade
While Paevey also recently donated his remaining inventory to Irma and Harvey relief, donât misunderstand his giving nature: Fortunate Wanderer is a serious small business, and the owner is looking to succeed. âIâm enjoying this little journey, and Iâm fortunate itâs done well,â he says. âItâs taught me a lot â as did becoming an actor.â
Back when the bartender first signed up with GH, he actually paid his business manager an hourly rate to teach him the ropes. âThereâs so much we donât learn in school, so I invented my own little course,â he recalls. Now heâs helping his friends. âI donât know everything, but Iâm happy to share what little tidbits Iâve gained.â
âSomething for Everyoneâ
One lesson Paeveyâs learned is to offer jewelry at a variety of price points â especially now that heâs so skilled! âI try to mix it up,â he says. âThere are some pieces that are much more affordable, and then there are some crazy pieces I spent a lot of time, energy and materials on. Something for everyone.â
Except often, thereâs not actually enough for everyone You can check out his collections at FortunateWanderer.com (in The Lab) to see why Paeveyâs creations sell out so fast! And you can browse through some of his stunning creations in the photos below, including that unique creation birthed during the eclipse!
For more on your favorite GH stars, keep reading the ABC edition of Soaps In Depth magazine!
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