Barbara Clarke

Born and raised in a small fishing village north of Dublin,Ireland, Barbara studied Industrial Microbiology at University College Dublin. She arrived  on Nantucket 1991 and spent the first seven years here making Nantucket Lightship Baskets at Nantucket Basketworks.  In 1998, she returned to Ireland to study jewelry design and production in Kilkenny, graduating with distinction in two [...]

Born and raised in a small fishing village north of Dublin,Ireland, Barbara studied Industrial Microbiology at University College Dublin. She arrived  on Nantucket 1991 and spent the first seven years here making Nantucket Lightship Baskets at Nantucket Basketworks.  In 1998, she returned to Ireland to study jewelry design and production in Kilkenny, graduating with distinction in two years. 

After a year’s experience with renowned Paris jeweler Rosset Gaulejac, she returned to Nantucket and opened Foolsgold, a jewelry store in the downtown area.  Due to rising costs of precious metals and rent, Barbara closed the doors in 2004 and began a new career in Real Estate.  She joined Jordan Real Estate in 2010 where she specializes in both sales and rentals and is a member of The Cape and Islands Association of Realtors.

She and her husband, Carl, have three boys and are active members of the Nantucket community.  The annual Thanksgiving Day “Cold Turkey Plunge” was Barbara’s original idea, and this popular event has raised over a half-million dollars to benefit Nantucket’s Children’s Library. She has served on the Board of The Friends of Nantucket Public Schools and continues to head the annual NPS Bike-A-Thon and Sustainable Nantucket. 

In her leisure time, Barbara enjoys swimming and biking and long walks in the moors with her family.  She continues to make jewelry and her designs can be seen at The Nantucket Looms.