When you shop small, an actual person does a little happy dance.
Now more than ever, it's important to shop small by supporting independent creators where you can. So this season we're thrilled to launch The Maker's Market, a curated hub of our favorite hand-selected artisan goods.
We’ve partnered with a handful of women-run small businesses to bring you a collection of handcrafted jewelry and home goods that will surely spark joy. The difference is in the details - each design showcases the craftsmanship and creativity these women bring to life through their one-of-a-kind designs. From handmade mugs to delicate upcycled gems, they're the perfect pieces to accompany you on all of your beach-bound adventures.
Read on for part 2 of our series highlighting these talented creators!
1. Aluminate Life
When an injury made former anesthesiologist Liz Lehman leave her career in healthcare, it opened a new door for her to pursue her passion project of candle making - and Aluminate Life was born. Mindful of wellness, Liz crafts her candles with clean ingredients for a therapeutic scent experience.
Hi Liz! Tell us how you got started making your designs:
The universe literally had to force me to sit still to set me on the path I was meant to be on. As a type A overachiever I constantly pushed the limits, never listened to my body, to be still was a fate worse than death. I am embarrassed to say I was the person who left yoga class before savasana. In my overdoing I tore my hamstring badly-I couldn't walk, I couldn't do. The universe had to sit me down on a frozen water bottle to be still, and in a moment of reflection, which was more like self pity, I found a blog on making candles. I had never read blogs before-who has time for that right? But I read this, and thought, you can make candles? As I needed a "something to do" I ordered a candle making kit that day, researched candle making and was appalled to learn about the chemicals and toxins in candles I had burned in my home and around my family. I started my kitchen candle experiment. Uniting my knowledge of medicine as a former anesthesiologist and holistic healing, and my desire to make a candle with purpose, I developed a beautiful coconut wax candle, scented with essential and natural oils, an eco-friendly cotton wick, infused with healing crystals and hand poured into a luxurious barware glass. My mission is to make products and provide education to improve your mind-body health and wellness in your sanctuary. That message is resonating, and not only am I still doctoring, but I am now walking the path of a candlemaker that my younger self knew I needed to be on.
What is your process like?
As a solopreneur, I wear many different hats. My favorite thing to do is to create new scents. It usually starts with a mood or feeling I am trying to create. I then pull my essential oils out, and just start experimenting, and smelling...a little of this, a touch of that, documenting the ingredients as I go. Once I have 5 tiny, and I mean 1 ml, amber vials filled with oils and numbered 1-5, I find friends, family and neighbors and ask them to smell the different perfume strips dipped in the oil. The collective favorite wins. I then pair a crystal with the benefits of the essential oils to get maximum healing potential.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
I am inspired by nature, and the feeling that is evoked in that moment. I blended my CALM candle by thinking about my most serene place. For me, that is by the water. I thought of how I feel sitting on a dock. My feet in the bay, the sun on my back, the sun reflecting off the water. A breeze blows my hair, and ruffles the water. I breathe in and smell the briny water and I am at peace. That feeling went into CALM.
Who is someone who inspires you and why?
Sheri Salata - she built a career working her way up at the Oprah Winfrey Show, and became the executive producer. She then went on to become the president of Oprah’s network. Then she walked away from a life of professional success to reinvent and re-write her own story to live her best dream life. She now shares her story to inspire women to get out of their own way to live their best life.
What's your favorite scent right now and why?
CALM. It was the best seller in 2020...go figure!
What makes your pieces special?
I make candles with a purpose. As a doctor my candles are created to heal. I use specific essential oils and pair them with the healing properties of a specific crystal to target common ailments, and make you feel better in your sanctuary.
What's your "L" space?
My L is sharing my knowledge with others. I am happy when I can educate others that they have the power to care for themselves so they can live their best life!
+ Follow Aluminate Life on Instagram here
2. Feast
With her jewelry line Feast, Philadelphia-based Adrienne Manno sets out to create sustainable and stylish gems. The line derives inspiration from a love of industrial design, combined with a passion for manipulating natural materials. Learn more about these dreamy pieces below!
Hi Adrienne! Tell us how you got started making your designs.
Feast was born out of a nostalgia of making. After a career in designing garments, I returned to my deep-rooted love of jewelry and working with my hands. I began sourcing and collecting materials in 2018, and that evolved into this ethical jewelry brand. Feast was named from my favorite word, signifying celebration and community, which are very important to me.
What is your process like?
Creating new capsule collections each season, gives Feast the freedom to grow and change, adapting to new inspirations and discoveries. I have a passion for collecting vintage and forgotten jewels from the past, and up-cycling them into the contemporary pieces in my collections. My eyes are always open to new inspirations, and I like to source new elements to keep evolving the brand.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
My inspiration comes from many places, ranging from metal-focused industrial shapes to the organic designs found in nature. I try to find a balance with the hard and soft elements, the yin and yang, in each piece I design.
Who is someone that inspires you and why?
Jewelry has always been a love-language I have used, marking worldly adventures and passing on family heirloom energies. My grandfather has always been my main source of creative inspiration - he was a taxidermist and later on taught himself the art of stained glass and fine jewelry. I would sketch ideas for him to make when I was little girl. He had a great taste level, strong work ethic, and very high standards which I try to apply to my own life.
What's your favorite piece right now?
My favorite piece, at the moment, are the Reims Spiral Earrings, because they are versatile, yet so easy to wear. I love wearing them with a structured tee and twill pants to pull together a look. After a year of tossing sweats on, it's nice to add easy touches, like a piece of jewelry, to help you feel polished.
What's your favorite way to style your pieces?
I love styling Feast as wear-everyday pieces, layering additional delicate pieces with the more chunky ones, to make it your own.
What's special about your materials?
Feast seeks to continue the process of making better choices, by practicing sustainable methods in creating. I work with a combination of deadstock, vintage and new chain link and other metal elements and love incorporating these pre-loved elements into the pieces I create to tell a new story. In working with baroque freshwater pearls, I find a lot of beauty in the odd, imperfect shapes that their origin brings to the pieces.
What's your "L" space?
My L comes from nature and the energy it provides. Growing up in New York near the Hudson, I found an escape in the mountains from an early age. I love being surrounded by nature and getting into the zone during a long hike. I found a huge re-connection to the earth, a few years ago, by hiking the Andes in Peru. Completely surrounded by a changing landscape, you begin to see everything in a new way - new colors and textures and changes from the shifting light. It was a magical experience that brought so much new inspiration to my work.
+ Follow Feast on Instagram here
3. Erin Fader
Cardiff, California-based Erin Fader creates jewelry styles that combine her SoCal lifestyle with her love of history. Many of her designs being with reclaimed objects and antique pieces. Read on to learn about her process!
Hi Erin! Tell us how you got started making your designs.
I was a photographer turned florist turned jewelry designer... I always loved working with my hands. In college I got a job at a vintage store and started taking apart old jewelry/vintage clothes and making accessories and jewelry! I fell in love with this process and decided then jewelry was my passion and it was what I wanted to do as a career!
What is your process like?
I always start with vintage inspo! I collect vintage jewelry from my travels all over the world. I usually start with a vision, draw it out, make a sample, and then tweak it until it’s perfect. For the dainty pieces like the collection LSPACE is carrying, I create the sample physically until I fall in love with it! We always test our pieces too on real women to make sure they are comfortable and of the highest quality!
Who is someone that inspires you and why?
My mother. She came from nothing, rose above her past, and is the hardest working most honest and trustworthy human being I have ever known.
What's your favorite piece right now?
I love the Treasure Island Necklace so much! She is everything! This piece is a lifetime treasure. You can look perfectly styled with just one necklace, and the quality is amazing because you can wear it in the water...what’s not to love?!
What makes your pieces unique?
The design process, our attention to detail, and our quality. We are hand making these pieces in our studio out of the best materials, which are also affordable! You can wear these pieces in the ocean, in the shower, unlike a lot of jewelry available at this price point. We are so proud!
What's your "L" space?
My happy place is my studio! My studio is a magical place I have created that inspires me with all my senses. Visually, emotionally, physically and even the smell - candles are always burning in here! What keeps me going is being able to empower women through my work. Erin Fader jewelry is the #everydayarmor the modern woman wears to conquer her day. I’m so grateful this is my journey!
+ Follow Erin Fader on Instagram here
+ Shop The Maker's Market here!