Written by Brian Bushard
Photography by Kit Noble
For the past 10 years, Katherine Jetter has been selling her jewelry at her shop on Centre Street, The Vault. But unlike most jewelry stores, she is not only selling her own jewelry, but the earrings, bracelets and rings of 30 other couture jewelers. This month, she is showcasing those jewelers at a residency at Ten Easy Street, which runs through August 15. “The purpose is to celebrate our community and create a place to bring all of our clients into a social environment where they can get to know each other and experience all the things I love and curate on a deeper level in a social environment,” Jetter said. “I love bringing people together and curating, so I have curated some incredible experiences.”
How did you get into the world of jewelry making?
I didn’t come from a multi-generational jewelry house where I had the privilege of growing up with a safe full of gems and access to everything. I’m completely self-made, and the only way that I could shine in a very saturated industry was to really teach myself to be an expert on specific subjects, so that I could really come from a place of knowledge.
What did that process look like for you?
I studied and studied books on the history of jewelry making. I went to every possible trade show I could find. I’ve been going to the Tucson Gem Show since I was 24 years old and I ask 10,000 questions. The thing that really made me learn was that I was never afraid to say what I didn’t know—why is this amethyst a $10 per-carat stone, and why is this amethyst a $200 per-carat stone?
I found allies and friends in the industry that would help teach me and educate me. As a young 20-year-old, I found people who loved their craft who were excited to teach a young person what they knew. I would do everything from finding the rock to going to the mines. That is what I think really is different about me. I made it my business to be an expert and to study what I’m selling, so that I’m not just a designer who’s taking pretty objects and putting them together. I’m being very thoughtful about everything from the ground up—where it starts, how it’s made, the engineering of the piece and the execution.
When you’re selling a product, if you don’t understand from the ground up the integrity of the piece, it’s a very different sales process than if you’re coming at it from a place of workmanship. Even though I specialize in certain avenues, I also recognize that there’s something for everybody, and if it’s not something that I’m making, I still want to find you. I love doing that; it really is what excites me. I’ve never had an ego around it being my way or the highway. If I don’t make what you’re looking for, I will find the expert that does.
You say that each piece of jewelry tells a story. How do you go about selecting the pieces you sell, and how do you tell their stories?
It’s just the 10,000-hour rule of studying and studying and studying collections, constantly being up to speed with what each designer is doing and picking what their true DNA is.
For me, I think it comes from a place of being very community focused. I’m really proud of all of the designers that we carry; they’re my friends. They’re people that I’ve stood alongside and at trade shows. We know what the hustle is. We know the pain points of what we’ve had to go through. We share trade secrets with each other on which jeweler can fix something. Where can you make something better? Where can you source this special chain from that nobody can find? Where did you see that rare Alexandrite at the gem show that I can’t find? I want to tell their stories. That’s what’s special as a designer carrying other designers. We celebrate their stories. We celebrate where they’ve come from and explain to the customer why they make the collection they do and what their techniques are. Our customers can buy anything anywhere. They’re very well traveled. They’re very international. They have access to all the top places in the world, and a lot of my clients choose to come here because of the experience, which is this joyful celebration of art.
