Since 1986, Mary DeMarco and Buddy Wolfe have been designing and crafting their handmade La Contessa pewter jewelry and giftware in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland.  They had always admired the creative products they saw in the markets where they sold their items, and Buddy was inspired to open a store with an eco-friendly theme and have a gallery to showcase their own nature inspired jewelry and gifts. In 1994, they opened the gallery named La Terra, which means the earth in Italian, in the front of their studio on Falls Road. Mary now marvels at how Buddy was ahead of his time with the idea of opening an eco-friendly gift gallery, selling products made from found objects, recycled materials, organic clothing, natural soaps, candles and home décor items, with a heavy emphasis on their own line of handmade products. In 2009, they sold the building where their studio and gallery had been for 20 years. La Terra moved to the Village of Cross Keys, just two miles north on Falls Road; La Contessa’s studio joined other local artisans in the nearby Clipper Mill complex. This fall, Mary and Buddy will open a second La Terra gift gallery in the front of their new studio in Clipper Mill.