Ivory Jacks is a family owned and operated company that has been in business for over 30 years. Ivory Jacks specializes in eco conscious mammoth and fossil walrus ivory jewelry, beads, carvings and raw material.

As a child, Kurt Tripp, owner and Ivory Jacks visionary, would see mammoth tusks that had been unearthed by the spring floods on the banks of the Yukon River near his childhood home of Fairbanks, Alaska. Kurt would play around these immense tusks and bones that had been collected by his Grandfather, a riverboat pilot, and his Father, an avid rock hound. He was curious about what they were and where they came from, how long they had been buried for and what the massive creature looked like that had carried them. Unbeknownst to young Kurt, this profound fascination ultimately led to the business he would create with his wife, Francine, years later.

During summer breaks from college in Seattle, Kurt would travel back to Alaska and work on the Trans Alaskan Pipeline. In 1978 after working a year on the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay, Kurt had finally accumulated enough capital to start a business buying and wholesaling scrimshawed ivory art and jewelry. Looking for more ivory to scrimshaw led to dealing in Alaska native arts and crafts, fossil walrus ivory, woolly mammoth ivory and bones as well as ancient Eskimo artifacts.

Ivory Jacks has grown over the years and currently carries over 1,000 unique products. The popular Ivory Jacks jewelry line incorporates mammoth and fossil walrus ivories, naturally shed moose antler, 14kt gold, sterling silver and precious and semi precious stones. Pieces are available both set, for boutiques and gift shops, and unset, for jewelry designers.

Kurt and Francine currently reside near Seattle and have three daughters, Courtney, Carli and Hannah, with whom they enjoy traveling and watching football games with in their free time. Courtney is a jewelry designer for Ivory Jacks and owns her self titled jewelry line, Carli is an elementary PE teacher and NFL cheerleader, and Hannah currently attends college and is also a cheerleader.