Ten Minutes with Jewelry Designer Teresa Robinson

Earthy  yet ethereal. Rough yet fluid.  Organic yet geologic. Teresa Robinsons’s stone&honey line is a study in the beauty of opposites. The year-old collection features thin slices of variegated agate—oceanic blues, woodland greens, desert umbers– -overlaid with geometric tracings in silver or gold. The pendants are bold enough to take center stage, yet airy enough to be just right for summer’s bare necklines. Robinson also offers pendants of unadorned (but not plain!) slivers of agate,  delicate slices of amethyst, and her handcrafted honeycombs and pinwheels . If flora and fauna are more your thing, then check out smallthings, Robinson’s premiere line, offering charming cameos,  earrings, and other adornments in a variety of wonderfully wee shapes inspired—according to the designer— by “stuff that I think is cute.” Read on to find out what else is on Teresa Robinson’s mind these days.

Oligoville: I know you have two brands–how are they different from each other, and what do you think sets them apart from your competition?

Teresa Robinson: smallthings was my first line, which i started about seven years ago.  All of the smallthings work is much more delicate than stone&honey, and very image based.  Most of the the work in the smallthings line consists of hand cut images layered over stained glass, with a major focus on natural imagery: birds, flowers, and insects.

I started stone&honey as a side project about a year ago really. I got a little bored in the studio one day and started fooling around with agates and abstract images.  It was sort of one of those things that was just weird enough to work!  So the stone&honey work is much more modern and organic, and I have a lot more freedom to take it in new directions.

Oligoville: How did your career or interest in design begin?

Teresa: While i was getting my art degree in college, I took six months off to study in Mexico.  The plan was to live there, learn Spanish, and paint.  I took a jewelry design class on a whim, and I was hooked.  For the next six months I spent far more time in the jewelry studio than painting, and worked with a great group of people down there.  When I returned to school we didn’t have a jewelry program, so I finished up my studio art degree and went on my merry way to Portland, Oregon.  After a couple years though, I was still thinking about jewelry, so i got myself a torch, pulled out my silver scraps from Mexico, and got to work!  I started selling work at a couple of local shops on consignment, and quickly realized that I would much rather be making jewelry than schlepping through my day job. So I threw caution to the wind, got a proper studio, quit my job, and that was that!

Oligoville: What’s your design inspiration?

Teresa: smallthings  is really inspired by the natural world around us every day and–to be honest–stuff that i think is cute! stone&honey is much more ethereal, I think.  The stones and imagery still feel really nature-based, but with a more modern bent.  I like the idea of repeating patterns, and the contrast between crisp linear metal and the more rough natural stones.

Oligoville: Describe a typical day for you.

Lately, my days are getting less and less typical.  I have two people who work with me part time: Becca does production work on the smallthings line, and Shelley does all of our final assembly, shipping, and keeping me on track!

Most days find me getting to the studio just a little later than I should, spending the morning dealing with the administrative end of things, emails, etc., and then afternoons are devoted to design and production.  All of our work is still made by hand. All the metal is hand cut, so it’s pretty labor intensive. I tend to focus more on the stone&honey work these days, unless I’m doing a new collection for smallthings.

Oligoville: Describe your fashion style.

Teresa: Pretty laid back I suppose.  The sad fact is that making jewelry is rather dirty work, so my weekday wardrobe is pretty basic–jeans,
t-shirts, cardigans, and flats.  And the truth of it is, I don’t wear a ton of jewelry!  I tend to get stuck on certain pieces and then wear them to death.  I’m of the mind that it’s best to have on one really great bold piece of jewelry than a whole bunch of little stuff.

When I do get to actually play dress up a little more, I’ve been really into jumpsuits these days!  I have this amazing hooded denim wide-leg 1970’s number that’s pretty fantastic, but that requires a rather special occasion.

Oligoville: Tell us about some unexpected setbacks you have faced since starting your business and what you’ve learned from the experience.

Teresa: Well, the most recent setback has been the economy.  Things have definitely slowed down for us this year.  I’ve been really fortunate in that I’ve never had to do much marketing.  We were always so busy with referrals and word of mouth (and one or two well placed ads)  that I never even had time for it.  So the big lesson this year is marketing, marketing, marketing.  It’s actually a little hard for me to actively promote myself, because I’m a pretty shy person, so I’m learning to put myself out there a little more these days.

Oligoville: What has been the most rewarding part of your career?

Teresa: Working for myself is amazing.  I feel really lucky that I managed to make something that people like enough that it supports me financially.  I will always always make things, whether it’s jewelry, other art, even little projects around the house.  Being able to make a living from the things that I make is immensely rewarding.

Oligoville: Tell us where you expect to see your business in the next five years.

Teresa: Hmmm, this is a tough one!  These days, it’s hard to know where I’ll be next week!  I would just really like to continue making new work, and evolving both lines.  I’ve always wanted to do a higher end collection, so hopefully I’ll be able to make that happen a little bit down the road.

Oligoville:  What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Teresa: This is totally cliche, but if you want to start a design business, or start making a living off of what you do, just go for it!  I think that one of the factors that made things click for me at first was that I just decided that this would be my job, and even in the very beginning, when I had hardly any orders, I was at the studio making things every day.  If you stick to it, and you’ve got a good eye for things, something great will happen eventually.

The other thing i would say is, if you really want to make a living of this, pricing, pricing, pricing!  Make sure you are being realistic about how much time goes into your work, and are paying yourself accordingly.  Your time and design skills are worth something!  Don’t be afraid to price your work accordingly.

Oligoville: What song never fails to make you happy?

Teresa: These days:  “Scenic World” by Beirut.And um, Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”  I can’t help it!  It’s just so gooood!

Terry Graziano Makes Beautiful Hats

Terry Graziano makes “beautiful multifunctional hats for women using eco-friendly mill-end surplus fabrics.” A 15-year veteran hat designer, Graziano personally handcrafts each hat with individualized care and attention in her New York City studio. Each hat is purposefully designed to be worn in many different ways allowing its wearer to custom-create her hat to fit her mood and outfit. Eclectic and eco-savvy, Terry uses only surplus fabrics. Every hat is silk-lined for comfort and adjustable for big heads to small heads. “For me, it’s all about flexibility. A shirt, a skirt, a pair of pants: these can be worn many ways— why should hats be any different?” They shouldn’t! Thank you for artistically and eco-friendlily teaching us that, Ms. Graziano!

Headlines This Week 6/26

Photo courtesy of Popgloss.com

• Christina Ricci on June 19, Victoria Beckham on June 10, and Megan Fox.Trends don’t always go from the runway to the masses overnight. And looking, um, cold is no exception. Popgloss.com
• Previously stereotyped by pajamas and pillow fights, movie nights are finally getting a touch of glamour thanks to the almost impossible to find nature of The September Issue. Set for release in September, fashion insiders are so desperate to see the film they have resorted to bootlegging! FashionIndie.com
• Milan Men’s Fashion Week just wrapped up, so don’t miss the last batch of our mantastic spring 2010 runway slideshows from Italy. As you can see, short shorts are definitely in. NYMag.com

Photo courtesy of NYMag.com

• Harem pants have to be one of the funniest trends of ‘09. To be super clear, here’s the definition. Do a ShopStyle search of “harem” + “pants” and you’ll be very entertained — I was. But some are more outrageous than others… FabSugar.com
• Rumor has it that Patricia Field might part ways with the Sex and the City sequel, over creative differences with Sarah Jessica Parker. Fashionista.com
• Goodbye, Sweetface. J. Lo’s contemporary sportswear brand is on “hiatus” until it finds an “entirely new fashion point of view.” We’re guessing that means it wasn’t doing so hot. Style.com

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