We were lucky to catch up with Kristen Kramlich recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kristen, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I usually jump into things like a maniac, & then let it evolve from there. When I first started making jewelry, it was a completely different situation. I had the stability of a really good job & I was making jewelry from plastic and crystals. My first necklace was a little plastic bow barrette that I drilled holes in & wire wrapped dangling crystals to. I started buying nice stones & making higher end beaded jewelry. In about a year, I had my sights set on metalwork. I bought a metal stamping kit on Etsy & realized that the only way that this was going to make me happy was evolution. This is about the time when I realized I was dreaming of all the things I could make with metal. As I sat at the desk in my office at my cushy job, all I wanted was to go home so I could make jewelry. About this time I made the choice to leave the corporate world for good & make my hobby a business. I jumped into it with both feet, & 13 years later I’m still here. With every collection, I add a new skill & technique. I never know what new direction the next collection will head. Sometimes I dream an image that fuels the theme & sometimes global or personal events determine the feel. I sketch ideas, images, or words in my sketchbook & eventually I translate it into wearable design. At least half of the pieces from the first round of ideas don’t make it into the collection.
After I make prototypes for the pieces, then I get to do a photo shoot. I very purposely choose models for these shoots. My photographer and I spend hours going over feel & vision for the day. I create wardrobe & design hair & makeup. With jewelry & photography, we make magic. Through all of these steps, a collection is born.
With each new season comes line sheets to wholesale accounts, applications to art shows, updates to websites, and social media blasts so people will see all the work I’ve put into the new collection. Then, your soul goes out on display. A little dramatic, I get it, but that’s how it feels every time an artist puts their work out for evaluation & consumption. The end step is giving yourself to the public.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a self-taught designer. My skills have grown because I get bored & have an internal drive to get better & be more. fLuxe Jewelry is named for my need to ebb & flow, to be who I am in the moment and then change. fLuxe Jewelry is inclusive & current. It encourages people to be who they are, and who they want to be; if that changes, that’s okay too. (Trust me, I get it.) The most important thing, is fLuxe Jewelry encourages you to be uniquely yourself, whoever that is. There is nothing more beautiful.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My life and career have had so many pivots. For brevity, I’ll focus on career pivots. I have always been an artistic and inquisitive person. I started sewing & designing clothes at a young age. My sisters & I would have “art days” where we would just make things for each other when we were very young. We would draw each other pictures, make sculptures & write each other letters. Our Barbie dolls would go on epic adventures that never included shopping or dating.
In my senior year of high school, I took a psychology class and a humanities class from the same teacher. She fueled my love of art & the human mind. I decided on psychology. When I started college, I was convinced that I was going to be the world’s best psychiatrist. I was (& honestly still am) completely fascinated by the human mind & why we do the things we do. I poured myself into books & case studies. As I was finishing my junior year of college, my personal life started crumbling. I made choices, as young people do, & I decided that maybe I wasn’t the best person to give others advice in their personal life.
At this time, I gave up on my dream of understanding the individual & focused on understanding masses. I secured my spot in a reputable MBA program. I got an MBA in marketing & got hired in by an impressive global company. Your girl was going to climb the corporate ladder. I could do that, right? I started to climb, but the more I was inducted into the corporate culture, the more I realized it was not for me. I had lovely people with me along the way, that not only were my mentors, but truly my friends. People who were smart, empathetic, amazing people; my people. If only they were the ones who dictated corporate culture.
I ended up leaving the corporate world in search of something better. I was looking for a daily existence that valued humans; that cared about what was inside of us, what we could be. And here we are. I have a life where I can value others, & others value me, not for the monetary value I add to a project, but for who I am & what I add metaphysically & philosophically to our existence.
Yep, that’s what that little circle necklace you bought from me last month means to me.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I’ve been around for a while. I back everything I sell, & I’ve personally made it all. Part of the joy is interacting with my customers & getting to know what they want, & who they are. I feel like I have also let my customers know who I am, both through my art & through individual interactions. When you offer a quality product & give yourself fully to your customer, a community bond is created.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.fluxejewelry.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluxejewelry/

Image Credits
All photography by Eric Xydis of LabL Arts Models: Sonja Fulbright, Andrea Swalwell, & Kristina Xydis