J. Sterling Jewelry is a bridge jewelry collection made from high-quality precious and semiprecious metals & materials. All items are hypoallergenic and lead & nickel free. Built on a foundation of empowerment, integrity, and simplicity J. Sterling Jewelry is a collection of classic, sophisticated jewels made just for you.
My name is Jessica Johnson and I am the creator & curator of J. Sterling Jewelry! A little bit about me: I’m a wiener dog mom to Banx and we live in California. I’m a lover of all things “woo-woo,” law of attraction, “witchy” & spiritual. I have a design background, along with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management & a Master’s degree in Business Administration. I also love to travel and go on adventures! My journey here has been complex, but full of heart & soul. I created this brand to simply do better. Do better for me, do better for other women, and do better for jewelry as a whole. It has always been extremely important to me to provide a quality product at a fair price. Not only that, I wanted to create jewelry that you can feel good about.
When I started J. Sterling Jewelry, it was as if I was answering a call from the Universe. And I didn’t recognize all of the things that kept leading me here. Through the growth of this business, I have realized my jewelry journey began a long time ago. I have no formal technical skill training in jewelry making, but I’ve come to understand certain pivotal moments in my life that have led me here.
J. Sterling Jewelry began in a little apartment, a happy accident that I now know was my destiny calling to me. I started beading bracelets as a way to cope with my chronic anxiety and also help manage my deteriorating mental health after finishing graduate school. I quickly realized this could become something beautiful and I wanted to share it with the world. Months later I had a conversation with a friend who told me she was going to be a vendor in a shopping event. I decided to take the leap of faith and join her in doing it. The catch: the event was in a completely different state across the country. However, I got it together & made things work! I had made the choice to invest & commit, and I was going to see it through completely. When it was all said & done, I didn’t sell a single piece of jewelry at that event. But it didn’t matter. A fire was lit inside of me and I wasn’t going to give up now. I went all-in on J. Sterling Jewelry after that trip and I’ve never looked back.
If someone would have told me this is what I’d be doing when I grew up, I never would have believed them. Yet now, when I look back on my life, I see the many connections to jewelry that have always been there along the way – and it makes complete sense. In high school, I was the Vice President of the Fashion Club (which still to this day makes no sense to me because I am not at all “fashionable,” but I digress) and we had to do some sort of fundraiser for something going on at the school. It was essentially a bake sale, most of the clubs selling cupcakes or cookies. But I wanted to do something different and being that we were a club about fashion, I decided to make jewelry for the fundraiser. It was nothing fancy but it was incredibly successful – all because I took the chance on thinking outside of the box.
Years later in college, while I was getting my design degree, I had to take a styling class in which we had to style a model & execute an editorial photoshoot as a final project. It was a group project, each person choosing a different element to handle for the process. Again I chose to make the jewelry & accessories the model would be wearing for the photo shoot. Once the project was done, I ended up selling those accessories on eBay and Etsy, which was just gaining popularity at the time. I never realized these patterns or my clear connection to jewelry making. It was never something I thought I was talented at or recognized that I was drawn to. I see now that was me dipping a proverbial toe into the pool that is jewelry making & design. Hindsight truly always is 20/20.
Before I ever created J. Sterling Jewelry, I used to work for a company that sold jewelry. The jewelry was so beautiful, but it wasn’t the best quality – and it wasn’t cheap either. I would see this jewelry just deteriorate right in front of my eyes as people paid hundreds – sometimes thousands – of dollars for these pieces! I knew they would maybe only get a couple wears out of them before they were ruined & tarnished. This just didn’t sit well with me. It put a bad taste in my mouth as an employee and as a consumer. Back then, I never thought that would be a defining moment for me. I ultimately quit that job and moved on after realizing, for many other reasons, it just wasn’t for me. Once I started making jewelry for J. Sterling Jewelry, I understood how much that actually impacted me & I wanted to do it better. It has always been extremely important to me to provide a quality product at a fair price. This is about so much more than just jewelry. We all know it – we don’t buy jewelry because we need it. We buy it because we love it, because it means something to us, because it makes us feel good – because it is about SO. MUCH. MORE. than just the jewelry itself! This is the foundation for J. Sterling Jewelry and I am honored to be sharing & building this journey with you.
I have lived a complicated life & faced many hardships, but every day I wake up and feel so blessed I get to be making jewels for all of your & sharing in this experience! I always knew I was meant to be an entrepreneur and this is truly a dream come true for me. I could never have imagined life would bring me here. My passion for this business is less about the jewelry itself and more about what it represents. Us women, we are powerful beings. We can build empires, leave lasting legacies. We can dream dreams, chase goals, and crush them with grace. For me, this is a representation of that power. It is a reminder to you that you can. Whatever it is, YOU CAN. We are not victims of our circumstances, but the creators of our reality. And every day I make these jewels just for you so that you never forget it.
My inspiration behind my collection comes from so many things! I am inspired by my own personal style & the things I love, mixed with my interests in mythology, spirituality, astrology, geometric shapes, color, and simply just cool, meaningful history or other fun facts. I love classic simplicity, minimal pops of color, sparkles, and dainty style. I love, love, love subtle, understated, luxurious beauty and it’s really what I strive to achieve with every look.
I believe in empowering other women, in the beauty of simplicity, in always exhibiting integrity – it’s not JUST jewelry, it’s the principle. So, it needs to be RIGHT. I work hard on every single aspect & detail because I want it to be right for YOU. & I wouldn’t have it any other way! Welcome to J. Sterling Jewelry. This would be nothing without you.
Thank you so much for choosing ME to make your jewels.
Xoxo & endless appreciation,