Shop the Virtual Jewelry and Accessory Makers Mart this October

Amy Torello

Mexico City, Mexico
Materials: Solid Sterling, Fine Silver plated over Bronze, 24K Gold plated over Bronze, or Mixed Metals over Bronze

Amy Torello uses a variety of methods to bring her ideas into life. Embracing both traditional hand crafting skills as well as modern technologies such as 3D printing and custom colored resins, she strives to create something that brings true joy to the women who wear her collections. Finding inspiration everywhere, she is particularly fascinated with the relationships between color, texture, movement, and form. Her jewelry involves mixed metals over bronze, coated with a clear lacquer to keep the sparkly finish clean and bright.

Beth Novak Enamels

St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Materials: Enamel on Copper, Sterling Silver

Beth Novak grew up in an artistic home believing that just about anything is inspiration. She is originally from Wisconsin, where she attended the University Wisconsin–Stout and got a degree in studio art, with a concentration in art metals. Novak has since lived in St. Louis Park for the last 17 years, and after experimenting with many different mediums, she has returned to her first love: metals. Her works include enamel on copper and sterling silver. She loves to explore texture and color and finds that both silver and copper allow her to do so. Novak often manipulates the copper before enameling it, to accentuate the layers and texture under the enamel. The patina she finishes her pieces off with is quite durable and has a wonderful depth of color.

BMF Jewelry

Ely, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling Silver, Semi-Precious Stones

As a child, Brittany Foster spent a lot of time mucking around a little swamp she had in her family’s front yard. She learned to notice nature, and was a collector of shells and rocks. At 12 years-old she participated in her first jewelry class, which gave her skills with tools such as hammers and torches. After college, she built a business making custom projects and then moved to a small town near a swamp similar to her childhood. She describes her work as having elements of both her experiences in the city and swamp, architectural and natural.

Bridget Clark Design

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling Silver, 24-Karat Gold, Semi-Precious Stones

Bridget Clark came into jewelry design after a career in science. She had passions in art and science, which led her to study science in college. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in clinical laboratory science, she worked in toxicology for several years. In 1998, she decided to leave for a more creative pursuit and set up a studio in her home. Exploring metalsmithing through classes and mentorship, a complex, three-dimensional and asymmetrical body of work emerged. Clark recognized elements of science and biology in her work, noting a botanical and marine aesthetic with an industrial edge. Clark is currently a charter board member of the Minnesota Jewelry Artists Guild (MNJAG) and is working to build community within the craft and engage the greater public with their awareness of the work, value and satisfaction of being a collector.

Dottir Jewelry

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials Used: Sterling Silver, Brass

Dottir is a Minneapolis-based jewelry line by artist Meghan Nelson. She uses silver and brass to create work that focuses on clean lines, geometric shapes, and elegant forms. Ranging from the perfect everyday pair of posts to the dramatic statement collar, her pieces strive for wearability and functionality. All elements of her jewelry are hand-fabricated in her Seward studio.

Emily Madland Jewelry

Materials: Sterling silver, semi-precious stones

Emily Madland is a Minneapolis-based jewelry artist. She creates hand-forged sterling silver and gemstone pieces in her home studio. She is inspired by balance, how colors play together, shapes found in the natural world, and negative space. In addition to making jewelry, Emily loves being with her daughters, reading, bicycling, being outdoors, and works her other job as a school social worker.

Foat Design
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Sustainable fabrics

Twin sisters Kaja and Zoë Foat have shared a lot in life — a last name, a love of color and nature and a vision for a more ethical world. In 2002, at a time when women’s active wear was unflattering, environmental concerns were negligible and style was homogenized, they followed that shared vision to create FOAT. The goal was to offer a refreshing, eco-conscious alternative in women’s fashion, starting with yoga apparel. Since then, they have expanded their designs to additional lines of one-of-a-kind garments and wedding gowns. Every FOAT garment has a story to tell. Each piece begins as an idea, inspired by the unique fabrics and materials they source and salvage from sustainable suppliers and vintage shops. The Foats develop new designs almost weekly, based on the new materials they discover, to create very limited edition runs, each with a history and story all its own. All of the production work is then completed by hand—drawing, cutting, assembling and sewing every garment in studio.

Helen Wang Jewelry

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Semi-Precious Stones, Mixed Precious Metals

Wang creates each deftly designed one-of-a kind or limited-edition piece with the person who will eventually wear it in mind. Whether it’s a druzy quartz marquis earring or the vintage luxury feel of a genuine Swarovski crystal bridal choker, Wang’s hands create the jewelry to reflect her vision of the consumer.

Jac & Violet

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: polymer clay, brass, gold foil

For Andrea, it is the greatest thrill to get lost in shapes, textures, and pallets that will ultimately result in a deliberate piece of bold self-expression. Andrea has been designing and making jewelry since she was six years old. Informed by her years of formal training and personal exploration, Andrea takes a mixed media approach when it comes to wearable art. For her, this allows the process to be incredibly organic and for each one-of-a-kind piece to almost magically create itself. Jac & Violet is named after the artist’s grandmothers – Jacqueline & Violet, and each collection is named after a woman she loves, respects, and is inspired by. With these influences, each one-of-a-kind piece is infused with plenty of good mojo that she hopes empowers the wearer to step out in bold confidence.

Julie Meyer Handbags

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Cowhide, Top-Grain Leather

Since 2008, Julie Meyer has been crafting bags in small quantities from her Minneapolis studio. Each bag is constructed with skilled workmanship using top-grain leather, hair-on cowhides and finished with full-interior linings. Meyer enjoys turning raw materials into functional items people love using. Julie Meyer Handbags are designed to be used every day and to last a lifetime.

Karin Jacobson Design

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling Silver, Topaz, White Quartz and other Lab Grown Gems

Karin Jacobson is committed to meticulously crafted, art jewelry and wedding rings. Each piece is hand-fabricated and focuses on ethically sourced materials. This collection was inspired by Origami and Kirigami, (a variation of origami that includes cutting of the paper). She wanted to try to take flat shapes and fold them into voluminous 3D forms. Metal does not fold the same way that paper does, but to Jacobson, these pieces capture the spirit of the form.

Les Bags

Materials: Wool felt, cotton canvas, leather

Les Bags are handmade by Laurie Sorenson, a maker with over a decade of experience in making bags, totes, purses, and jewelry. After her two sons moved out of the house, she began creating her signature line of waxed canvas tote bags and merino wool felt, experimenting with different styles, designs, and unique touches to create a bag that was beautiful to look at and hardworking enough to stand up to daily wear and tear.

Makwa Studio

St. Paul, Minnesota
Materials: Wool

Maggie Thompson (Fond Du Lac Ojibwe) started Makwa Studio in 2014. Makwa pronounced like “Mukwa” means “bear” in the Ojibwe language. Makwa Studio is a creative space with a focus on textiles, art and fashion. Much of the work is influenced by Thompson’s Native heritage where she brings subtle cultural references to her patterns and design work. Makwa strives to use luxury yarns specializing in the use of wool that is sourced from a U.S. mill. Each item is designed, hand-loomed and shipped from the studio in Northeast Minneapolis at the Northrup King Building. Makwa is passionate about creating high-quality made goods, and how its practice contributes to the discussion of contemporary Native art and fashion.

Metalarchill

Materials: Sterling silver, resin, polymer

Juan Alejandro Fried Ortiz de Zarate is an architect and artist whose work reflects the diversity of his ancestry, his urban experiences, and a new home in the countryside. He studied art history and architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Minnesota. As an architect and urban designer, he completed award-winning designs for public agencies and community groups. As an emerging artist, he continues his study of form, space, and materials on a more intimate scale.

ROX Jewelry

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: semi-precious stones, pearl, sterling silver, brass

Robyne Robinson creates exotic, one-of-a-kind, affordable jewelry created with semi-precious stone, pearl, and artisan brass and silver. They are made for men and women for the environmentally conscious consumer. Her jewelry is sold at exclusive museums, jewelers and boutiques worldwide.

Silvercocoon

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: wood, acrylic, sterling silver, 14k gold-fill

Fascinated with things and how they are made, Tia Keobounpheng incorporates architectural design to create pieces made from wood, acrylic, and metal. Color, texture, repetition, and light are important considerations in her work whose forms and compositions respond to the natural and man-made world around her. Practicality and simplicity transcend her work in any medium or scale.

Solid Design Studios

Edina, Minnesota
Materials Used: Semi-precious stones, gold plate, sterling silver

Designer Megan Wiley started Solid Design Studios after spending a decade in women’s fashion and accessories while covering style as a magazine editor and working for some of the Twin Cities’ most revered boutiques. Her jewelry and accessories embrace a refined yet playful aesthetic, translating seamlessly from day to evening. Each piece is made by hand in Edina, Minnesota, and is named after a street in this Minneapolis suburb.

Studio-Emma

Materials: Acrylic, sterling silver, gold plate

Emma Carroll is a jewelry and product designer from Southeast Iowa who currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2012, she graduated with a Masters in Design from The Peter Behrens School of Art/FH Düsseldorf in Germany. After moving back to the US, she has taught at several colleges and currently teaches in St. Paul. Emma is designer with a sensitivity to detail, technology and material combinations. Her passion lies in connecting colleges with corporate sponsorship and bringing innovation out of the classroom and into society.

Vikse Designs

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Semi-Precious Stones, Sterling Silver, Gold, Leather and Feathers

Jeannie Trelles first began making jewelry in junior high school, a hobby that turned into a business in 2009. Her work is influenced by her love of travel, nature, and fashion. As her business has grown, so has her desire to learn new skills to further her ability and to realize her creative vision. After taking metalsmithing and lapidary classes, her work has developed from the beading and crocheted work she started out with. She enjoys using a variety of natural materials in her work, including semi-precious stones, sterling silver, gold, leather and feathers.

Willa Burke Wilson
St. Paul, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling Silver, oxidized sterling silver, 14 kt. Gold

Willa Burke Wilson studied jewelry and metalsmithing at Iowa State University and has been creating unique pieces of jewelry ever since. She loves to work with her hands by piercing, sawing, etching and soldering the metal. She finds inspiration from shapes that she sees in everyday life, and tries to recreate her favorite shapes in abstract ways with unexpected details. In her off time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.

Yen Chee Design

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Materials: Sterling Silver, Quartz Crystal, Onyx and Tourmalinated Quartz

Yen-Ying Chee has always been drawn to creating clean, unique, modern jewelry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston University, as well as a bachelor of science in interior design from the University of Minnesota. Prior to working as a full-time jewelry designer and mom, she worked as a commercial interior designer at architecture firms for over a decade. These experiences greatly influenced the “miniature sculptures” she creates. Besides being inspired by her travels, furniture, and architecture, Chee’s designs often come from a deeper spiritual place within. She is especially drawn to working with clear quartz crystals due to their natural beauty and healing properties. Clear quartz known as “universal crystals” are completely natural and from the earth, believed for centuries to attract positive energy that enhances the mind, body, and spirit.