by Kim Redo-Thacker | Photos courtesy of Craig Kime
If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. Craig Kime has not worked a day. He started out polishing rocks with his parents, who were in the business, and progressed into cutting and polishing stones.
“I was interested in it, and it was fun. I wasn’t big into studying books, but I was into polishing rocks,” Kime recalled. Before long, he wanted to make jewelry with the stones he had perfected. Because he was only in his teens, his folks would not allow him to use a torch without them present. So he got some wire and made brands and other items.
Why did Kime choose custom jewelry as a profession? “Everything just comes natural to me. I think about it in the morning and when I go to bed. I get to play every day. I look forward to each day.”
A Working Partnership
When Kime, a Shawnee-Potawatomi, reached about 25 years old, he partnered with Jim Thompson, who had moved from Coffeyville, Kansas, to Oklahoma.
Kime said, “Jim was like having a second father. He established Wire Works at the 1964–1965 World’s Fair in New York City. In 1968, he began to work at rodeos and stock shows. Since then, Wire Works has not missed a year in the western industry. At the Houston Rodeo, producers and entertainers came to have custom names made for their hats.” The business grew exponentially from there.
“Jim and I were partners for many years,” Kime said. “When he retired, he handed over the bulk of the business. He still came to some shows after he retired, but he slowed down a lot.” Sadly, Thompson passed away some years ago.
A Balance of Travel and Home
Kime lost his first wife 13 years ago after 33 years of marriage. He continued to travel, and in 2012, he met the woman who became his current wife, Cheryl. She is a barrel racer and team roper. She didn’t know the jewelry business but apparently got a crash course.
When the couple met, the travel pattern of Wire Works Custom Jewelry resembled the song “I’ve Been Everywhere” popularized by Johnny Cash. Constant travel included trips to the All American Quarter Horse Association Congress in Ohio, the American Quarter Horse Association World Championship Show in Oklahoma City, and much of the United States.
“As we got older, we started to slow down quite a bit. We used to go all the time. Now, we only travel six months out of the year,” said Kime. Based in Billings, Oklahoma, the Kimes have learned that it is pleasant to be at home with their horses and work on new projects. That is what semiretirement looks like. Yet they still travel to Texas and around Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming, and of course Nevada to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR).
Kime said, “Our current schedule starts in January at Denver’s National Western Stock Show and Rodeo. Then we travel to San Antonio, then on to the Lazy E in Guthrie, Oklahoma, for the cinch timed-event championship, followed by the Bob Feist Invitational team roping and the Little Britches Rodeo. My wife takes care of that one while I head to the Greeley Stampede Rodeo in Colorado.”
Next are Cheyenne Frontier Days and the Missouri State Fair. A monthlong vacation follows. Then it’s back to the Tulsa State Fair and then the Lazy E for the Jeff Smith World Cup finals (team roping) and the Barrel Futurities of America. The year ends in Las Vegas at the WNFR.
Simply thinking about that “slower” schedule tires most folks out.
A Satisfying Career
This year marks Kime’s forty-second year in the business, but the roots go even farther back. “My dad started setting up at the National Finals Rodeo in 1969. We have the longest run of any business at the NFR,” Kime said.
Highlights of Kime’s career include being on the set of the 1980 film Urban Cowboy. “We went in and made jewelry. Then everybody wanted their names on their hats!”
Kime has also made brand jewelry for singers John Michael Montgomery, Sammy Kershaw, Gary Allan, and Michael Martin Murphey.
Kime gets the most satisfaction out of his customers’ reactions. He recalled, “I was at an event. Three administrators were at my booth. They were leaning toward having the big businesses come in who rented larger booth spaces for more money. But as I explained to them, my business is custom. With my business, each piece is unique.
“About that time, a young lady came by to pick up her necklace. She jumped up and down thanking me. She was that excited. The three ladies then told me, ‘Now we get it. We want you back.’ I ended up returning to that convention for thirty-some years.”
Be sure to visit the Wire Works Custom Jewelry booth the next time you are at an event. Chances are you will find something you like. If not, Kime can design just about anything. For more information, check out wireworkscustom-
jewelry.com.
