Longview woman designs jewelry for Miss Universe contestant. By Kristen Barton

Longview woman designs jewelry for Miss Universe contestant. By Kristen Barton

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in The Longview News Journal 

When Miss Iceland walked the runway of the recent Miss Universe pageant, she was wearing earrings designed by Longview’s Theresa Guck, who started her jewelry business just this year.

Miss Universe Iceland

In January, Guck founded IXXIA Jewelry, which she said is deeply rooted in her Catholic faith. The business was barely one month old before a designer contacted her about the Miss Universe contest.

“I think it’s God’s way of telling me and encouraging me to keep on doing it,” Guck said. “A month later, a designer saw my designs and asked me if I would be part of the (Miss Iceland) team.”

She then designed the earrings Miss Iceland wore during the pageant. She said she also designed jewelry for other contestants at other events. Guck said she was not a big fan of pageants, but her experience at Miss Universe was “wonderful.”

“You can see the people put their heart and soul in this,” she said. “People think it’s just about how beautiful they are, but if you talk to them, they each have platforms to makes changes in the world. The empowerment of the women is strong, and the women supporting other women is there.” She said the experience was inspirational, and she felt welcomed by the organization.

“What I see is not only an opportunity for me, but to share love and kindness and happiness to others,” Guck said. “It’s not about her wearing the jewelry — it’s a first step of getting the message out there.”

She said the name for the business came from a recurring dream as well as her own research. “I’ve been dreaming the same dream for two years. I kind of ignored it but during COVID, I sat down and thought, ‘What is the meaning of this word.’ So I did research,” she said. “During my dream, there’s a little girl that would hand me a paper and it was written with ‘IXXIA.’ And she kept giving it to me.”

During her research, Guck said she found several meanings for the word.

She said if you remove one X, “ixia” is a flower in South Africa that represents happiness. In Greece, “ixxi” is a way to spell Jesus Christ. In Chinese, “xia” means a glow of the sunrise.

All those meanings of the word led her to believe it was a sign she needed to use the name for her jewelry business, Guck said.

“For me, once you focus really on the message the Lord has given you and you allow Him to use you, things get better,” she said. “He sends you the right people and guides you the right places. There’s no way this was by chance. I believe everything happens for a reason.”

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