Today we’d like to introduce you to Larissa Loden.
Hi Larissa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I started designing after my high school art teacher left a beaded necklace on my graduation chair. Until that time I thought jewelry just came from Claire’s. After that necklace, I started designing my own jewelry. While going to college I would make jewelry and sell it at weekend art fairs. This continued when I became an art teacher until it came to a point when I had two employees and was still working that I decided to go full-time as a jewelry designer. That was 6 years ago. Now we are a company of 11 and I can wait to see what the future holds.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nope, never a smooth road. Owning a business has been filled with lots of ups and downs. The biggest struggle is most of owning a business you can make plans but the world does not go as planned. I think COVID-19 showed us that. When the stay at home orders happened I had to figure out to make a product that was entirely handmade in our NE Minneapolis studio and somehow figure out how to let people at home make it. But there have been so many hurdles aside from COVID-19. I feel like owning a business has just made me a professional problem solver.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Larissa Loden Jewelry is made for badasses by badasses. We’re crafting unique artist-designed pieces at affordable prices, small business warm fuzzies included. Whether you’re headed to a concert, the conference room, or the couch, we’ve got the perfect handmade piece to help you be your most bold, brave, radiant, perfectly imperfect, forward-thinking self. As seen in Marie Claire, Refinery29, HuffPost, USA Today, and over 600 retailers nationwide.
Larissa Loden has been designing and creating beautiful handmade jewelry for over 15 years. Each piece sold supports a woman/mother/artist-owned small business that gives over 5% of its profits to nonprofits that we’re passionate about.
Our team of artisans and creators skillfully blend innovative and traditional techniques to transform our hand-drawn designs into handmade jewelry fit for badasses. This modern-day alchemy includes lasering our own acrylic pieces, cutting designs into metal, wire wrapping, stamping, soldering, and stringing.
Every Larissa Loden piece is Midwest-made with care and swears. Our styles are unique, including custom-cut natural gemstones, custom metal pieces, and limited-edition special collaborations with other artists we admire. Our designs range from minimalist to maximalist, but are always artist-driven at an affordable price point.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I have many but I remember I once drew up artwork and put it in a frame (that my parents were selling their gift store) so I could get an ice cream cone if someone bought it. Just as my dad was taking me away to something my mom came running out from the store with a $5 bill and said someone bought your drawing. At the moment I was so proud that someone would want to own something that I created and I could feed myself from that. And I think that planted a little seed in me to what my company now has become.
Pricing:
- Range $15-$80
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@larissaloden.com
- Website: www.larissaloden.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/larissaloden
- Facebook: facebook.com/larissalodenjewelry
- Twitter: @larissaloden
Image Credits
Garrett Born
Amy Diep
