Ralph Dobbins holds up a piece of jewelry - a cross intertwined with multicolored beads and wire - and says, “It’s just beads and wire.”

Those who have seen the crosses that he designs and makes say there is much more to the story.

Under the umbrella of “koolhipfunkystuff,” Dobbins of LaGrange has been creating necklaces, pins and other pieces of jewelry for more than nine years, utilizing pieces of wire, copper, beads, gems, stones and other items found on the sides of roads, in parking lots and in the trash can. Dobbins has a day job - in retail management.

Dobbins and his wife, Marrie, work together in preparing the items. “We’ve done several shows already. One time, a lady came up and saw our name, ‘koolhipfunkystuff,’ and thought maybe the crosses and all were suncatchers.”

He started out making Christmas trees. As he was looking at the wires and the “squiggly lines,” the other pieces evolved. He has made flags, angels and a cornicopia piece because “Thanksgiving is my wife’s favorite holiday.”

Dobbins, 47, has a degree in art, but he remembers always being interested in drawing and designing.

“My mom had multiple sclerosis, and my dad pulled some strings and got me in the parochial school. I was like the token Baptist,” he recalled. “I remember in kindergarten when the sister got some butcher paper out and I got to draw this clown, and the whole class colored it in. That was in the mid-’60s.”

Looking at his pieces of work, Dobbins smiled at his unusual style.

“I guess I have always had a hard time ‘following the lines.’ I was looking into doing something and I asked Marrie about what women were wearing, and she gives me the ideas,” he said.

Dobbins, his wife, and two children, Rushton, 13 and Lily, 9, work together in gathering the materials, and his wife helps in stringing the beads.

He laughed.

“When we pull up in parking lots or at the red light, I am always looking around for things - like an old bottle cup that has been in the sun, pieces of wire, or things that we can use,” he said.

Dobbins gets teased at his work.

“I am always looking for things that we throw out, like Styrofoam or something, that might could be made into some piece of art. My co-workers will tease me by holding up a piece of Kleenex and ask if I want it.”

His creations are not haphazard.

“The process is very precise. The wire has to be just so, and, of course, the colors of the beads have to be planned. You have to be able to blend the beads,” he said.

Dobbins works in process with making his jewelry pieces.

“I don’t complete them one at a time, but I could have a dozen pieces going on,” he said.

“Koolhipfunkystuff” has a Facebook page “so we could show people the work we have,” he said.

People can order pieces by e-mailing Dobbins at koolhipfunkystuff@yahoo.com.

“I like the idea of making the crosses out of the junk I find, it kind of symbolizes what God has done for us, cleans us up, and makes something beautiful,” he said.

Becky Holland may be reached at bholland@lagrangenews.com and (706) 884-7311,ext. 229.