ABOUT

J. Sterling Jewelry began in a little apartment just outside of Manhattan Beach, California. 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.

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. 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. Find the perfect piece for you today.