Artisan turns her talents into a business

MORRILL, Maine (WABI) – Katharine Mason founder and operator of Katharine Jane Jewelry started her journey of creating her own business over a decade ago

“I first started making jewelry when I was traveling through South America, I met a group of artisans who took me under their wing and we just traveled around the country mostly Chile and Argentina. We stripped down electrical wires and use the copper in them to make wire wrapped jewelry and we would collect seeds and beads along our travels and incorporate them into our jewelry,” Mason said.

At first it was a fun hobby but has grown in the last 10 years

“Once I got back from traveling, I just started using silver and learning on my own, and then I was fortunate enough to meet a goldsmith who took me under her wing and really taught me about soldering and helped me get to the next level,” said Mason.

She’s always had a passion for creating art but did know it would become her career one day

Mason explained, “I didn’t think of it as okay, this is what I’m working towards to being a jeweler full time until I just kept learning more and more and then I realized like I’m actually getting pretty good at this and then you know, just started selling and then it just kind of came naturally like I if I put more time and energy into this then it can become real professions.”

While her skills and connections helped escalate her business she believes success is about more than that.

“You can make a living off of your art or your creative ambitions. If you just put your energy towards it. You don’t have to just do something just to make money you know, you can do something you love,” said Mason.

Outside of being a jeweler Katharine is a stay at home mom and she designs a lot of her jewelry with that in mind.

“As a working person It’s nice to not worry about losing your jewelry so I prioritize making them comfortable and wearable. People can just have a go to and not think about it and they’re comfortable and cute” Mason said.

Along with being practical she says she always thinks of the environment when creating her work.

“I use all recycled metals and all the stones that I use I work very hard to make sure they’re ethically sourced, which is not an easy thing to do because there’s a huge gem market and it’s really hard to filter through where they come from who’s cutting the stones, who’s mining the stones. There’s a lot to it. So I spend a lot of time doing background checks and trying to find stones that are you know, reliably sourced,” Mason explained.

“I just want to feel good about what I’m making and have the people who wear it also feel good about buying it from me and wearing it and know that you know, they’re making a positive impact on the world,” Mason adds.

While she has her line of everyday wear, many of her pieces are one of a kind.

“Because of the uniqueness of stones also, it’s really hard to make the same thing twice and I’ve kind of had to embrace that where everything i basically unique.”

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