About

MAURA HUNTER
OWNER & FOUNDER

I founded Vulpecula Jewelry in 2013 as a way to share the magic of vintage and antique jewelry with kindred spirits. “Vulpecula” is the fox constellation in the northern sky, and is Latin for “Little Fox”. Having grown up outside of a national park, foxes were frequent visitors in my yard and in my travels. They are a favorite motif of mine in antique jewelry, and I think I’ve also always felt a bit of kinship with them since we share the same hair color.

I have a background in marketing and management, spending a few years in merchandising and buying for Anthropologie shortly before opening my own business.

In 2022, I now have 10+ years experience working with vintage and antique jewelry, and more recently, designing antique-inspired original collections like Blazon. Fortunately after all this time, I never tire of hunting for new (old) treasures, deciphering mysterious inscriptions, identifying eras and learning about the symbolism behind these incredibly special and interesting pieces.

Some of my favorite pieces are talismans offering strength, courage, protection, optimism and hope. These pieces are oftentimes the inspiration for our Vulpecula original collections as I hope to share these powerful messages with others.

So many things inspire my collections, like my love for my friends and family, my Irish, Scottish and English heritage, classic and modern art, flora and fauna, mythology and spirituality, color and shape, talisman and symbolism, sentiment and history. In fact, one of my favorite pastimes is going down research rabbit-holes (is there such a thing as too much research?)

All fanatical research aside, it’s also OK to appreciate these pieces for purely aesthetic reasons, too. Sometimes we fall in love with a piece because it evokes a memory, mood, emotion or identity we want to embrace, or simply because our eye finds it beautiful. We do it too, and that’s why we offer pieces across many eras and in various degrees of fineness. It’s why we offer gold and diamond antique Victorian rings dating to the early 1800’s as well as demi-fine triple gold plated Monet statement necklaces from the 1980’s. It’s up to you to assign meaning to your pieces, (or not), but we will always relay its story as we see it as a service to you, our clients, and as means of honoring the jewelry itself.

Vulpecula is heirloom jewelry
for the curatorial eye.
We encourage you to wear
what you love—no rules.

Artwork:
James Cassie
Balmoral Castle
c. 1850-1874

Courtesy of Aberdeen City Council