16 S T U F F • 2 0 1 7
World famous, out of Leominster
Ploof's studio has five full-time employees in
Leominster, but he calls on other experts in the field
of jewelry making throughout the manufacturing
process, depending on the complexity of each
piece.
It is hard to believe Ploof 's first forge was once
constructed from a 55-gallon drum, some fire
bricks and a hair dryer. Now, Ploof is an industry
leader. His work appears in countless jewelry pub-
lications like Inside Weddings and InStore, and his
talented team has been featured on popular televi-
sion and radio shows like CNN and NPR.
Chris Ploof Designs is primarily a wholesale
manufacturer, working with retailers as well as
other jewelry manufacturers.
"The primary avenue to reach customers in our
industry has always been trade shows, but Chris
actually took a very different route for the first 10
years of the business, focusing instead on research-
ing and seeking out the best retailers and other
Continued from page 15
FACTOI D S
12%
Portion of all private
Worcester County
employment that are
a manufacturing jobs.
Cool Stuff
Made Here
P H O T O S / N A T H A N F I S K E
420
Number of industrial
production
managers in Central
Massachusetts,
making an average
of $107,460 annually.
Increase in
Worcester County
manufacturing jobs
in the last five years,
as the industry
has expanded and
brought back jobs
from overseas.
4%
Ploof meteorite rings can be paired with diamonds, yellow
gold, red gold, platinum, white gold and yellow gold.
