Crystal Wise
If you saw country music singer Miranda Lambert present or perform on the CMA, ACM, or CMT awards over the past two years, you also saw Shannon “Mud” Lowery — or at least a small piece of him.
Lowery is a jewelry-maker whose works of sterling silver and turquoise have caught the eyes of the famed country singer, along with 28,000 others who follow the 32-year-old artist on Instagram. Lambert has worn several pieces of Lowery’s jewelry on various country music awards shows.
When they go on sale every Sunday night on his website, his pieces — bracelets, earrings, necklaces, cuffs, watchbands and other forms of body bling — sell out in minutes, sometimes seconds. Such success has led to a deal with Cavender’s, which will begin carrying his jewelry in the coming months.
Surprisingly, Lowery has no formal training. Everything he learned, he says, he learned by doing it, over and over. If there’s a savant in the jewelry world, it’s this quirky, 32-year-old dude who lives in the Chapel Hill area of Fort Worth and goes by the nickname, “Mud.”
While making new pieces for Lambert, the multitalented Native American artist shared with us his love for bling, his heritage and, of all things, Nudie Suits.
Crystal Wise
FW: How’s it going?
Lowery: Good, just kinda busy. If you hear some clinking in the background, I’m trying to cut some silver. Right before you called, I got a call to make some more jewelry for Miranda Lambert to wear.
Crystal Wise
FW: What are you going to make?
Lowery: I don’t know yet. I was going to ask you what I should make.
Crystal Wise
FW: I bet she’d like some nice earrings.
Lowery: I think I’m going to make her some hoops and a big necklace.
Crystal Wise
FW: How’d you come to do work with her?
Lowery: Social media. Tiffany Gifford, who’s her stylist, saw something I posted on my Instagram and thought my jewelry would be a good fit for another group she worked with, Maddie & Tea. After Tiffany and I got to know each other a bit, we started working together on Miranda. Miranda and I aren’t best friends or anything, but she did invite me and some friends backstage to her last show at Billy Bob’s, which I thought was super nice of her.
(Subsequently, all the pieces Lowery was working on during our call were worn by Lambert at the CMT Music Awards in early April.)
Crystal Wise
FW: How did you learn the art and business of jewelry-making?
Lowery: From my parents. When we were little kids, my dad used to carve wooden duck decoys that he would sometimes sell. While he was doing that, he would let us paint on the leftover pieces of wood. That kind of gave me the confidence to sell stuff that I can make. And I think that being a small-business owner, you have to learn how to set boundaries and come up with policies that protect you and your business, and I think I got that from my mom — she’s always taught us to stick up for ourselves.
Crystal Wise
FW: What attracted you to jewelry?
Lowery: I’m Native American. I belong to the Lumbee tribe. When I was very young, I remember my grandmother would buy traditional Native American jewelry, usually turquoise pieces, for my family. I was always fascinated with it — the cool colors, the shininess of the silver, you knew it was something special. That attraction never left me.
Crystal Wise
FW: Was there a particular artist — a jewelry-maker or otherwise — who inspired you?
Lowery: I was thinking about this: Is there a silversmith I look up to? To be honest, I don’t. There wasn’t an artist, either. I’m just surrounded by people who took what they loved and made a career out of it. Here’s an example: I had a friend who was into hunting and fishing, and he started an airboat company. It started out as a small business, and it’s blown up — he’s got hundreds of employees now. Another guy I know started a firearms company that got into Walmart. He was just this guy who took his passion seriously. That’s what inspires me, just regular people who aren’t millionaires or anything, who turn their likes into careers.
FW: When it comes to the jewelry you make, what’s your vibe?
Lowery: I describe it as a modern spin on traditional turquoise jewelry. I love to mix gemstones with turquoise — that’s kinda what I’m known for. They’re a good meeting point for someone who doesn’t want to do too Western or too traditional but somewhere in between. At the same time, the other thing I try to do with my jewelry is make sure it has enough tradition to it to where you could pair it with traditional antique pieces. This isn’t your grandmother’s jewelry, but it’ll look great with it.
FW: Is there a piece you’re most proud of?
Lowery: A turquoise, crescent-shaped necklace called the Squash Blossom. My father-in-law bought it from me for my mother-in-law as a present. It got me on the ACM awards. Miranda wore it for one of her performances. I remember my phone blowing up for months after that — people asking, ‘Was that your piece?’ I did interviews with other magazines and podcasts. It shaped my career. Mickey Guyton wore it on the cover of Billboard. People ask if I’d sell it, but the answer’s no. It was a gift. My family is gracious enough to let people borrow it.
FW: Where did you grow up?
Lowery: I grew up in Coco Beach, Florida, and then I moved to Fort Worth about.....
FW: Oh, wow. “I Dream of Jeannie”!
Lowery: I knew you were going to say that! Everybody says that. Everybody except people in Coco Beach. I lived there for 21 years, and no one ever mentioned that show, and then I move to Fort Worth and everybody’s like, “I Dream of Jeannie, I Dream of Jeannie.”
FW: That’s the only time anyone’s ever heard of it! Anyway, sorry, dude. I interrupted you.
Lowery: I moved to Fort Worth in the October of 2013. I’m married and I have a baby. Well, he’s not a baby anymore. My wife, Lauren, is from Granbury, and she does a lot of modeling for me on social. I was the marketing manager for Tony Lama boots for a while. I have a long history in the Western world. Now I work at Lockheed in supply chain management as my day job, and I make jewelry on the side. I’ve been making it for about seven years now. I also do acrylic painting and graphic design — stuff like that. When people ask, I just say I’m an artist.
FW: What were you like in college?
Lowery: I graduated from the University of Florida. I was in a Christian fraternity. I played rugby. I think that’s where my nickname, Mud, came from. Maybe I was caked in mud one day. I don’t remember. I just remember I needed a name for my jewelry business one day, and “Shannon Lowery” was already taken on Instagram.
FW: Tell me about the Lumbee tribe.
Lowery: They’re based in North Carolina in a small town called Pembroke. It’s a very large tribe — the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River. My dad’s from there. We go back a lot to visit. They have their own communities, not native land. One of their largest industries is farming. They have their own dialect. It’s called Lumb. The communities used to be broken up based on what church you went to. That wasn’t that long ago. My grandmother is still alive, and she remembers that time. When my grandmother’s sister died, she couldn’t go visit her. She wasn’t allowed. But that was years ago. I love talking and learning about Lumbee. You should Google “Battle of Hayes Pond,” and you can read about how my ancestors ran the KKK out of their town.
FW: I have to ask you about the Nudie Suits. I’ve seen one that looks just like something Porter Wagoner would have worn.
Lowery: They are definitely inspired by people like him — Porter Wagoner, old, old-school country singers, the whole “Hee Haw” scene. But you know what — Embroidered suits are coming back, especially in Nashville. I really like the way they look, and I like how I look in them. I’m really a pretty shy person, and I never posted about myself that much. But during the pandemic, I got a little bored and wanted to do something new. So, my wife and I made one of those suits and made a bunch of videos of me doing weird stuff, and the videos took off! If you run the photo of me in an old vintage Cadillac, you’ll see the suit that I made for this story. I was like, “If I’m going to be in Fort Worth Magazine, I gotta make a suit for the occasion.”
Shannon “Mud” Lowery can be reached at mudlowery.com or on Instagram at instagram.com/mudlowery.
Fashion Credits
Boots: R Watson Boots
Black jacket and blue outfit: H Bar C
Hats: Keith Maddox’s hat from American Hat Company and Chieffalo americana
Light blue suit and jewelry: Mud Lowery
Car: Keith A. Kidwill Family Trust
