We recently connected with Alex Henderson and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Alex thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
When you look at the jewelry industry it is overwhelmingly saturated with product and it’s hard to break through all the noise. With what I’m creating it’s not just jewelry, it’s wearable pieces of artwork that are much larger and more bold than the standard idea of jewelry.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I got into my craft when I was around 16 years old participating in summer classes at the O’more College of Design, specifically their jewelry design course. Through that program I discovered a passion for creating the unexpected and recycling materials. Eventually I ended up back at O’more for all four years of college where I studied fashion design. Gaining knowledge about myself and my field of study I realized I didn’t want to sew for the rest of my life, but I still wanted to create. The idea of wearable art jumped out. I could still create clothing or costumes without sewing anything at all. Then the idea for my thesis project, Common Thread, was born. I spent the whole summer if my senior year designing outfits made of unconventional materials like metal and chains. As of now I am most proud of the fact that every piece that I create is one of a kind. While my designs have formal patterns, each piece will be unique due to the nature of the materials and the assembly process.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
As I stated before I went to college to study Fashion design, in that program I met some of the most amazing friends and seamstresses. It was one of the best times of my life and also the most stressful because while you’re in an art program you can’t help but compare you skills to your peers. For a while I was extremely down on myself because I felt like I would never measure up to my classmates in the field. I throughly thought about dropping out all together and getting another degree, but a friend helped me change my perspective. I might not be the best seamstress out there but I could run circles around the other girls with a pair of pliers and a piece of chain. So with a change of perspective I pivoted my direction. I started making wearable art pieces and it felt like the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders and I actually enjoyed my time working in the studio again.
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
One of my favorite marketing stories actually happened a few days ago. I was at the local renaissance festival wearing two of my pieces and a lady pulled me aside to chat. She asked where I’d gotten my outfit and I told her that I’d made it, the shock on her face made me laugh a little. Then she took a photo of me and asked if I would do commission work because her daughter would love my work. I told her absolutely, and gave her my information so we could get in touch. It was really uplifting to have someone recognize how interesting the pieces are because it is a huge struggle to find the target market for something so different and one of a kind.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Photographer: Jami-Lyn Fehr Model: Sarah Manz