Kendra Renee and her team! arrow

Metalsmith Kendra Renee Bryant creates modern fine jewelry in her San Francisco, CA studio. Each piece is entirely handmade, starting out as a pencil on paper sketch, or occasionally, a daydream over a Manhattan. Then Kendra brings the design to life in precious metals using old-school techniques—think hammering on an anvil and carving wax models for casting.

Her work is designed to delight and inspire, and be striking and cool, an aesthetic developed over a lifetime of making messes and then making art out of cleaning them up. It’s minimal, but demands a double take. It’s easy to wear, but never ordinary. It’s a little piece of what makes you you—in fact, you might feel naked without it.

In her own words:

My jewelry comes from my deep need to express myself without raising my voice. I have always been a quiet person, definitely introverted, at times shy. I was never the girl to draw attention to herself in a group. I found the most pleasure and enjoyment from making things and being creative—activities that are strictly solo. Being quiet, though, I felt I was getting overlooked. People seemed to think I was fragile, maybe a little boring, sweet. They bought me a lot of pastel sweaters and told me I was a nice girl. And I knew that they weren’t really seeing the whole picture.

I really hate pastels.

Through jewelry making, I finally had a way to communicate to the people around me that I have countless ideas, a bold sense of design, and a bit of attitude. And I could express that without having to stand up on a chair, or wave my arms and shout. My designs are the outward reflection of my inner life that would otherwise remain hidden—textured, bold, and a little wild.

Kendra’s work is meant to be worn often—not saved for a special occasion. We ship out each piece with the hope that it might become someone’s favorite piece of jewelry. Something they wear every single day. Something they feel comfortable in, something they connect with, something they feel seen in.

We love seeing photos of you wearing and loving our jewelry. Tag us on Instagram @kendrareneejd, or email us your photos!  It completely makes our day every time.

Chris Neff

Stones are a special thing. You’ve got an heirloom diamond that we’re resetting? You’re ready to propose to the woman of your dreams (with the sparkly rock of her dreams)? There’s only one man we trust with those precious little jewels, and that man is named Chris Neff. Chris is old-school cool, with a studio full of vintage tools and a fabrication know-how that will set your mind reeling. If you have a piece of Kendra Renee Jewelry with a stone in it, you can bet your ass Chris Neff had his paws on it. You are most likely find him artfully smoking on the corner of 18th and Treat. If he’s not there, try him over at ChrisNeffGoldsmith.com.

Jena Hounshell

Casting artist Jena Hounshell is probably the biggest (and cutest) bad-ass we know. This girl melts metal all day long in her San Francisco-based workshop. Jena takes our original wax carvings and creates a plaster mold into which she casually pours a crucible of molten silver or gold. Told ya. Bad ass. The mold gets blown to smithereens, but we’re left with beautiful metal components just begging to be finished. We’ve tried other casting companies all around the country, and it is our humble opinion that Jena beats the pants off them. Go see her in action at 833 Market Street Unit #513. Bring her a beer- she deserves it.