My Interview with Maya Brenner
1) How did you go about making this career choice? What was personally important and appealing to you about this career?
1) How did you go about making this career choice? What was personally important and appealing to you about this career?
As a child, I always loved stones and beads. I used to take apart my mother’s hippie turquoise jewelry and re-work it. I only viewed this as a hobby so when it came time to choose a career, I pursued a Master’s Degree in Social Work.
I was working with drug-addicted adolescents in NYC and started making jewelry at night to calm my nerves. I wore the necklaces and started getting stopped on the street with people asking to buy them and a business was born.
So, I guess this career kind of chose me!
2) What type of education did you have and knowing what you know now what route would you recommend for aspiring jewelry/accessory designers?
I’ve never had any formal training in jewelry design. I taught myself how to wire wrap and knot beads when I first started out. I did take a metal smith class at the YMCA but I didn’t love the tedious nature of it and enjoyed the design process much better.
3) What type of salary can you expect to make as a designer (or should we say jewelry artist)?
It obviously varies. I was making less than $30,000 a year in 1998 as a social worker and I easily made more than that with my jewelry business. But I was doing everything myself while working around the clock— so it probably came out to less than minimum wage!
4) What is your studio like to work in? (have a picture/video?)
I have a studio in the jewelry district in downtown Los Angeles that is the hub of Maya Brenner Designs. All the stock, shipping, customer service etc…is there. But unless I’m designing a specific piece or I have a meeting at the office-I mostly try to work from home.
5) What are the benefits of your career? What do you find most rewarding?
I love being my own boss and making my own work hours. I’m very proud of my accomplishments both in my own business and with Stella & Dot. It’s very rewarding to see people respond positively to jewelry that I’ve created.
6) What sacrifices did you have to make to have this career?
Being your own boss comes with a price. There were many very stressful times in my 13 years as a business owner. Balancing motherhood with running a business is always a challenge and there have definitely been times when I’ve had to choose and something always suffers a bit.
7) What are your main duties?
Designing, social media, decision-making…I’m fortunate to have amazing staff that do the daily minutia of running the office so I don’t have to anymore.
I know Maya will kill me, but I just have to share this DIY video with you!! This was made when stella & dot was know as Luxe Jewels. I love it!
OCTOBER BREAST CANCER AWARENESS:
$198
14k gold asymmetrical mini number necklace on a super-fine cable chain.
Fight breast cancer with this custom necklace designed by Maya Brenner for the Lifetime Original movie "Five". This groundbreaking original movie is an anthology of five short films exploring the impact of breast cancer on people’s lives directed by Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore, Patty Jenkins and Penelope Spheeris.
$50 of each purchase will be donated to benefit the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund (NBCC). To learn more about the film, please visit www.mylifetime.com/movies/five. To learn more about the NBCC please visit www.BreastCancerDeadline2020.org
Fight breast cancer with this custom necklace designed by Maya Brenner for the Lifetime Original movie "Five". This groundbreaking original movie is an anthology of five short films exploring the impact of breast cancer on people’s lives directed by Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore, Patty Jenkins and Penelope Spheeris.
$50 of each purchase will be donated to benefit the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund (NBCC). To learn more about the film, please visit www.mylifetime.com/movies/five. To learn more about the NBCC please visit www.BreastCancerDeadline2020.org
- Chain length: 16"
- Letter: 1/4"
