Meet Allison Korn | Jeweler

We had the good fortune of connecting with Allison Korn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Allison, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started my jewelry business many years ago with hardly any experience making jewelry. It sounds funny, but I knew that this was what I needed to do. I had always done creative things in my life- I was a musician, I loved to draw and dance- but I had always pushed those creative passions to the side to do what I thought was expected of me. It was when I was in the middle of getting a masters degree in anthropology and pregnant with my second son that I got to my breaking point. I had had enough of academic thinking and wanted to live my life expressing my creativity from my heart. Since I knew I wanted to design and make jewelry, I took the steps I needed to to learn how to make silver jewelry.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I make silver jewelry and consider my pieces wearable stories that are inspired by nature, poetry, and people’s stories of resilience. I want my jewelry to empower, connect and heal so that the person wearing it knows that they are supported in their own life path, connected to others, not alone. I also have a line of birthing jewelry- jewelry that celebrates and honors the process of birth. My jewelry is meaningful and I am also learning the inherent worth of bringing something beautiful to life and sharing it with the world.

When I began making jewelry I had so much to learn. The thing that was most challenging for me was putting myself and my creations out there for everyone to see. The first time I sold my jewelry at a farmers’ market I was so nervous I was shaking. Would anyone like what I made? Were my prices too high? What did I even think I was doing?

Over time, I became more confident. I got used to bringing my work to shows. I gained more experience and skills. My jewelry began to be juried into galleries and higher-end shows. It was a lot of work. And I would still get nervous and doubt myself. But I also began recognizing that self-doubt, acknowledging it, and moving on, not letting it stop me from doing the scary things I knew I needed to do.

Right now what I’m most excited about is working with gemstones and incorporating them into my jewelry. I’ve always been drawn to stones and right now I’m beginning to design and sell jewelry with different incredible stones- turquoise, jasper, sapphire, agate, opalized wood. After working by myself as a jeweler for such a long time, working with stones now feels like a collaboration- each stone brings its own energy and ideas into the design process.

I’m incredibly grateful to be able to do work that I love. It’s truly a privilege.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Brattleboro, Vermont, one of the most magical places I’ve ever been. It’s a small town full of life and community, surrounded by mountains and forests. If you were to come to Brattleboro in the summer, I’d say you definitely need to visit the farmer’s market – one of the biggest in the state, filled with organic farmers, crafters, and food. You’d need to take a stroll down Main Street, with its shops and cafes. You should grab your hiking shoes and hike up Mt. Wantastiquet to take in the view of the town below and the surrounding mountains, then get your bathing suit on and jump in a river at one of the many swimming holes. If it’s winter and the conditions were right, I’d tell you to bring a pair of ice skates and join all the skaters on the frozen lake called the Retreat Meadows. You should definitely bring your skis or snowboard and hop onto the t-bar at the five-dollar, volunteer run ski hill at Memorial Park. And you can warm up at night with a drink at the restaurant and bar, Echo.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I could not do the work I do without the support of my husband, Marco. He encourages me when I’m feeling scared of taking new risks, he helps me pack up orders when things get busy, he helps me organize when I feel overwhelmed, he builds my displays for shows and he holds down the fort with the kids when I’m off selling my jewelry. I am incredibly lucky and grateful to have him by my side.

Website: www.allisonkorndesigns.com

Instagram: instagram.com/allisonkorndesigns

Facebook: Facebook.com/allisonkorndesigns

Image Credits
all mine, except for the portrait of me, which is by Marco Yunga Tacuri