Getting started collecting handmade jewelry, featuring a favorite local maker!
Hi there, my jolly treasure seeker. As I write this, it's raining and grey outside. A good day to stay cozy inside and look over your personal hoard of pleasing small things. On that note, I'd like to invite you to take a peak at some pieces from my collection, what I like about 'em, and a bit about who made them! This post is the first in what will be a mini series about handmade jewelry—what kinds are out there, what's involved in making and selling, how you can find pieces and artists, and more. Hope you enjoy this first installment, and keep an eye out for the rest!
Why handmade for jewelry?
I love nice looking accessories as much as anyone (who also happens to be into them), but I have a special fond glow in my heart for picking up a piece handmade by an independent artist, for a lot of different reasons. We're well past the days when you could only get jewelry handcrafted by artisan tradesfolk, and maybe then only if you weren't a peasant, which you most likely were.
There's a whole world out there of types of pieces to buy and places to buy them from—brick and mortar to online storefront, pocket change mass-produced to painstakingly atelier-crafted. If you delve deeper into these channels, there are definitely questions we can raise about the ecological and human impacts of certain ways of producing and selling fashion accessories, as with any industry. I'm not the best qualified person to examine this in depth at the moment, so we'll stick with a different focus for this series.
Without calculating out and factoring in all of the widescale behind-the-scenes ethics in detail, I just want to note that I own pieces from a wide range of sources—tourist shop rings, one-of-a-kind artist pieces, trendy online impulse buys, both cheap and pricier vintage finds. I buy things I like, and that encompasses all kinds of things.
So I don't judge you for not keeping your accessory drawers, hooks, or repurposed containers "pure" with only locally handmade jewelry. Instead, I'd love to discuss what I personally love about some pieces I own, and my joy for buying handmade. And I hope it might inspire you and help you with seeking out artist jewelry more (if you aren't already hooked) along the way.
So! I'd say that some of my key reasons why it's amazing to buy handmade jewelry from independent artists are:
Getting something beautifully designed with lots of care and thought
Directly supporting independent artists
Owning a unique piece with a story
I’ll talk a lot more about each of these points throughout the post, so let's start bringing on the pieces from my personal collection!
Microcosms of natural beauty with Sudify
If you’ve been following my Instagram style posts for a while, you’ve probably seen this name come up many times, since I love rocking my Sudify pieces as everyday accessories that easily make a variety of outfits pop.
I first encountered Sudify's work at Winterland, an exhibition and market exploring local makers, hosted by everyone's good art buds, Light Grey Art Lab in Minneapolis (a place to definitely check out). It was fascinating to see all the artisan products made by local creators out of ceramic, metal, wood, botanicals, and more. Everything from reclaimed wood furniture to handmade incredible-smelling soaps was showcased. Sudify's jewelry was among those featured treasures, and I lit up like Christmas seeing the display. I loved looking at all their pieces in person, catching light through the resin and the tiny plant wisps within, and it took a while to carefully choose the one for me.
This piece was my first by Sudify—a long chain with a diamond-shaped wood frame and local Minnesotan lichen suspended in clear resin at the center. It quickly became a favorite go-to of mine—I love how it looks a little witchy (love me that witch aesthetique) but also not too loud, very approachable as an everyday necklace. It’s also a breeze to throw on last second, since the chain is long enough I can just loop it over my head.
I get tons of compliments on it. People often don’t catch quite what it is at first, then want a closer look and ask more about it. I always tell 'em what it is and who I got it from. Request from a creative: do indie artists a favor and please throw us a quick plug if someone compliments something we’ve made! Sending even one more person our way helps directly support us—our rent, our bills, our food, and our cat's food for the week—so it’s very appreciated. We don’t have the resources huge brands do to launch big ad campaigns or stock at brick and mortars across the country, so word of mouth is crucial. I bet you probably already enjoy getting tailored recs from a friend who knows what you like, so pay it forward and send some business to artists you enjoy!
Sudify (Susan Storck) is a local MN maker and proud self-declared plant freak who's studied horticulture and archived for an herbarium, like some kind of plant wizard. Her pieces are easily recognizable—lovely little specimens of plant life, carefully preserved in clear resin and framed in striking lasercut geometric wood or acrylic, or metal. The contrast of simple precise shapes with delicate, minutely intricate organic forms just works well as an accessory statement that has something strong to say, without screaming it.
My second piece was this necklace—shorter and lighter chain with more delicate little links, wooden semicircular frame, bright colorful confetti-shower of flower petals. Bought from Sudify in person at No Coast Craft-o-Rama, a holiday craft market at Midtown Global Market where I did a lot of my holiday gift shopping last year. This necklace has a daintier feel—understated, elegant, bit of whimsy.
I tend to wear this as less of an everyday necklace, pairing it instead with slightly dressier outfits when I want to look put together but not too stiff, like when attending wedding venue appointments and trying my best to seem as responsible an adult as possible. Here, I thought it added a nice friendly pop to a casual burgundy sweater, with a navy and red windowpane blazer over it.
My third Sudify piece I bought online just recently, because I really liked this batch of magenta-red sea bits. Yes, its overall design looks rather similar to that first necklace I got. If you find something you really love wearing that you know works well for you and that you get lots of use out of, I’m cool with you buying another in a different color. No shame.
Now, if you only wear the exact same short sleeved top or pair of chinos in ten different colors over and over, then it may be a sign you could use a wardrobe revamp. It could very much also be a sign that you face the common problem of struggling to find pieces that you like and that also fit you, no matter what store you try, so you grabbed onto the godsend that is one miraculous piece of clothing in this world that hasn’t deeply failed you, which: same, I feel that. (A revamp would still be a good idea but you could probably benefit from some help in how to approach that, which I intend to explore in later posts. Hang in there, friend.)
I love the first Sudify necklace I bought and it goes with so many things that I decided to get a similar one but from a different batch with different flora samples. Besides, if you look closer at these fellas, the wood frames are different and the plant samples inside? Those are very different. Like a fingerprint. Even pieces within the same batch that feature the same types of plants are all distinct.
The neat thing about Sudify’s work, to me, is I think it beautifully captures a sense of story, place, and specificity. It not only celebrates and offers a way to preserve the beauty nature creates, it also calls attention to the tiny, nuanced but vast differences between different plants, plant life in different regions, the same plant in different seasons. Time, place, growth, life, and human artistry came together to make each of these pieces that could not have been made precisely the same by any other combination of factors.
I love that my first lichen necklace is local, a small piece of the earth of Minnesota that I can carry around. I also love that this new piece has bits from both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. There's something very American about a coast to coast journey (and fun fact: I, personally, was an East Coast baby, a West Coast adolescent, and am now a Midwestern fumbling adult). Beyond the beautiful organic forms, the vivid colors, the texture of the arrangements, there's a story there. There are little stories everywhere if you look around.
Where do I go for sweet artisan accessories?
So, let's say I've got you stoked to acquire some cool handmade jewelry of your own, but you aren't really familiar with sources for finding some. You can't find indie artist designs just walking into a big name retailer (except in the too-frequent and maddening case of corporations stealing from designers with no compensation; art theft is a huge problem and it needs to be crushed).
Here are some sources and methods I use to hunt handmade finds:
Locally - buy in person at fairs, markets, local shops
Follow artists online - find the platform an artist uses most frequently for work
Browse Etsy - search for any kind of style or piece you want
Hybrid - maybe some combination of the above, i.e. meeting an artist in person, then following them on Instagram to keep up with their work
Could be literally anywhere - keep an eye out!
You can't predict every place you might bump into an artist or work that resonates with you. I have a friend whose chiropractor periodically hosts mini markets featuring local makers. I've been in cafes that keep a small stock of local artist pieces as well.
Wrapping up
I hope this introductory post to my Some art is for wearing miniseries has given you some inspiration to seek out some great handmade jewelry for your wardrobe, and basic ideas for how to go about it!
It's so refreshing and rewarding to look beyond the manufactured mainstream and explore unique pieces that clearly present a story and an artist's voice, interests, craft. And there's such a human connection there, knowing you are able to receive something one-of-a-kind while giving your money directly to the person who designed and made it. Buying someone a future sandwich or helping them out with their rent, instead of shuffling away into some CEO's yacht fund, far removed from the artistic process involved.
And there are tons of ways to find handmade jewelry, both specific pieces and artists whose style will really resonate you and inspire you to follow along with their work. You can still find artisans in person like we've been doing since the beginning, but you can also find, follow, and purchase from them online from wherever you are. There's a whole vibrant varied world of handmade jewelry out there.
In the coming series installments, I'll take a closer look at everything I've discussed here, plus a lot more. Next post, we'll check out another artist I love while deep diving into thoughts about artistic evolution and experimentation, following artists on social media, and the business and true value of handmade jewelry.
Do you have any jewelry artists you love who you'd like to shout-out? Or particular pieces you love to rock? I'm always on the lookout for cool artists and accessories finds! If you haven't currently explored handmade jewelry, try dipping a toe in—look up local craft fairs, do an Etsy search, ask your friends for recs! I promise the water's great.
As always, I heartily welcome any thoughts, questions, or stories with wide open, soft, good-for-hugs arms. May your hoard of little treasures flourish and bring you small joys, my seeker.
Where to find Sudify jewelry
Sites and social media:
Website: https://www.sudify.net/ - more about the artist, events she attends, newsletter sign-up, and the scoop on custom orders (including bridal!)
Direct shop link: https://www.sudify.net/shop - if not working, shop's likely closed for in-person events; check IG for shop status updates
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sudify/ - primary platform; pretty pictures & arrangements, event scheduling, shop announcements
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sudify/ - there are some tiny quick behind-the-scenes video clips here and I thought that was neat :]
Tips:
If you're in MN, definitely try seeing Sudify's table at a local fair or market! Her table set-ups are super fun to browse and we're blessed here with many fantastic art events. You're bind to find other cool people and likely pick up some other things while you're there.
All three of my pieces shown here are wood frame pendant necklaces, but Sudify also offers lots of other stuff! Rings with precious tiny baby plant bubbles, earrings, acrylic and metal frames, all kinds of shapes—teardrops, circles, hexagons, rectangles, pointy triangle boys with circles on top. See for yourself!
If you're sticking to online buys only, for sure follow her Insta to know when shop updates are scheduled and when the occasional sale pops up. There tend to be batches of pieces made from the same selection of plantstuffs, so check all of them out if you want to make sure you've found just the arrangement for you.
Check out her Custom Orders (subscribe to the newsletter to get updates on availability). I've never done this, but I imagine it's awesome. You could get lovely bits from your wedding bouquet preserved as beautiful jewelry, and that's probably one of the dopest things you can do with a bouquet post-wedding.
Comments