Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie Jordan
Hi Jackie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I live in Kansas City, Missouri with my husband and I love to travel, golf, read, exercise, and I’m passionate about designing jewelry!
I love the process of transforming raw materials into beautiful and distinctive wearable art, and I am forever evolving in this field. I enjoy learning and experimenting with different techniques to take my craft in new directions. Every day brings a stream of ideas, challenges and rewards, making this endeavor so much more that just making jewelry
This was not my first love however.
I was born a creative, forever finding joy and inspiration from craft, design, materials, built and natural environments. This innate spirit translated to a fascination for interiors and a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Kent State University.
I was fortunate to spend my career in the corporate world in roles related to that education and love for design. My last decade in that setting was the most rewarding, as I directed the color marketing efforts for America’s largest paint company. My role included researching and presenting color and design forecasts and trends, developing tools for professionals and consumers, designing and art directing interior spaces, and the most fun of all, developing and naming new paint colors! Yep, that’s a real job!
In the midst of those years I uncovered a hidden talent for designing and fabricating jewelry. Thanks to the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Scottsdale, AZ, I registered for a jewelry making class with an amazing instructor and that is where my passion was sparked.
This creative venture ebbed and flowed as I continued a career that was filled with inspirational journeys, feeding my passion for color and design and in turn influencing my jewelry aesthetic. Retiring after thirty successful years opened the door to starting this small business that brings me such joy.
I have a wonderful dedicated studio in my home. It is filled with the tools of the trade, some still on a wish list, along with an office area and creative planning and photography space. It’s small but it works for me.
My goal is for everyone to appreciate handmade, unique, jewelry that never goes out of style.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was a road that I paved on my own time and I had the freedom to do so after retiring from the corporate world.
I can’t say that I had any insurmountable struggles along the way, but the most important challenge was to myself. Should I start this small business or just keep it a hobby. A question I pondered for quite a while as I dove back into jewelry making and taking classes again.
I had fellow jewelers and so many friends who spoke highly of my jewelry, along with strangers who would compliment me on what I was wearing. They gave me the courage to move ahead with this little dream.
I made the decision to register my business as an LLC, and then began the arduous work of building a web site. Not being tech savvy, this took me several months to complete it to my satisfaction. I still can’t believe I actually did it on my own! Making it visible and generating sales from it is an ongoing challenge.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
During this beautiful journey, that now spans over two decades, I discovered how tremendously rewarding it is to take a flat sheet of silver, a spool of wire, stones, gems and found objects and transform them into something special, wearable, interesting and attractive.
Overall I think my love of architecture, graphic design, simple geometric and organic lines, minimalism and movement inspires most of my work. My aesthetic is modern and designed for women who love the same things I do, who do not want to conform to fads and trends, but instead want to adorn themselves with art jewelry that never goes out of style. I like to think my jewelry is for women who want to make a statement without “making a statement”.
I primarily work in sterling silver, some gold, as well as semi precious stones and gems on occasion. I also create pieces in enamel which has its own unique style. All of my jewelry is either a brushed or oxidized finish as I am not a fan of super shiny jewelry. I especially love using freshwater, textured and baroque pearls because they are perfectly imperfect!
My work is all hand made right down to the ear wires. I feel like its cheating to buy a premade circle of silver or an ear wire when I can make one myself. Does that add time to the process? Of course, but that’s the difference between hand made and mass produced.
I am most proud of the affiliation I have with Kansas City’s Nelson Atkins Museum Store. This is jewelry from my collection that is curated by the buyer at Nelson Atkins. This extraordinary opportunity happened by mere chance. You just never know how a simple conversation with a stranger can lead to something so significant.
Long story short, I was at Crate and Barrel, a sales person commented on my jewelry, I gave her a business card just in case she was interested in seeing more of my work. Months later I get an email from the Nelson Atkins saying they were interested in my Jewelry. Initially I thought this was surely a scam, but after investigating I learned this was a legitimate request. I met with the buyer who selected several pieces on the spot and has ordered jewelry periodically since this first meeting. I asked how she learned about my jewelry and her friend that works at Crate and Barrel gave her my name! Proud is not a big enough word to express my feelings.
There are so many fabulous jewelers in Kansas City that it is hard to pinpoint what exactly sets me apart from this class of amazing artists. I can say that my work is unique and it’s jewelry that I like to make and wear myself. When I sell a piece, it makes me truly happy that someone appreciates handmade jewelry and my aesthetic.
How do you think about luck?
I do believe in luck, good and bad, and being in the right place at the right time.
It all started with graduating from college and trying to find my place in the working world. My degree in interior design led me to a job that put me in the right place at the right time. A simple conversation influenced me to apply for a position at a paint company, not a typical choice with a design degree, and the rest of my 30 year career was spent there.
It is the company where I met my husband, and where I had many opportunities to create my career path. I also held positions there that were not creative, and I did not feel lucky then, but those made me crave and seek a creative outlet which led me to jewelry.
The Nelson Atkins affiliation was certainly luck, divine intervention, being in the right place at the right time, and of course having a jewelry style they felt would make sense in their museum store.
I would tell anyone that skills, hard work and experience can get you far, but luck may get you something you never expected.
Pricing:
- My prices range from 40$ to over 300$ and everywhere in between
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jackiejordanstudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackiejordanstudio/
