THE CULTUR E
Crafted
HANDCRAFTED Erin McDermott talks jewelry, inspirations, her process, and embracing the challenges. words and interview SUNNY HUBLER photo courtesy ERIN MCDERMOT T by ARIANA CL ARE Erin McDermott’s love of jewelry-making started young—really young. At four years old, her mother had a glass fishbowl in the kitchen to keep all sorts of random items— anything that didn’t have a “home,” from sea glass, to marbles, leather buttons, spools of thread, and wooden beads. The toddler-aged Erin would sort through to find her favorite items and then spend hours threading various treasures on leather cords to make necklaces. “I once heard that you should think about what you really enjoyed doing as a child and that is what you are destined to do...I think that was it for me,” she explains. Now, all these years later, Erin runs her own business from a studio attached to her home and her real passion is effused
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in all she does. She’s as excited to share her jewelry as she is to sit down and do the hard work of making it. The studio is a sleek, stylish space where finished pieces are displayed right alongside the process: heaps of beads, leather, gems, and thread. Each day, once she gets her two little ones up and ready, she walks right over from the house, and from there her days are filled to the brim with everything from administrative work to meeting with clients, working with brides to designing bridal jewelry, knocking out wholesale orders, and preparing for shows. At the same time, she has her customers coming in and out all day to shop. As busy as it gets, Erin says other than being with her young family, there’s really nothing she likes more.