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Gary Helwig was born August 13, 1948. He attended public schools in Northern Virginia through High School and then attended Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Washington where he received a Batchelor of Science in Physical Oceanography. After college Mr. Helwig received a commission in the US Navy where he served until 1979. After leaving the US Navy, Mr. Helwig held several jobs as a systems engineer and telecommunications engineer. Ultimately, Mr. Helwig was responsible for designing Marriott International’s telecommunications network to thousands of hotels, and for designing the network and telecommunications infrastructure for several Internet companies. Mr. Helwig, apart from his career as a telecommunications engineer, developed the WigJig family of jewelry tools starting in the middle 1990s. During this period, Mr. Helwig designed and successfully submitted three patents for jewelry making tools. The WigJig tools were developed because Mr. Helwig’s mother, Marj Helwig, was making and teaching students how to make jewelry. The WigJig jewelry making tools allowed Marj and her students to be more consistent and make more repeatable and professional jewelry items. In 1995, both mother and son combined to make the company Helwig Industries, doing business as WigJig.com. In 2000, Mr. Helwig left his career as a telecommunications engineer to work on WigJig.com full time. Mr. Helwig has helped to develop WigJig.com to the point where the company now has over 2,700 free web pages with designs, tips, techniques and step-by-step instructions for making jewelry with wire, beads, gemstones, jewelry making kits and jewelry making supplies. WigJig.com now has hundreds of designs for earrings, bracelets, necklaces and ring and other jewelry projects. WigJig.com also has several new jewelry making kits that are an ideal way for beginners to get started in making jewelry with wire, beads and gemstones. Finally, Mr. Helwig plans on retiring from running WigJIg.com within the next few years to pursue his hobbies of bicycle riding and kayaking. |
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