With The Gold Hammer, Siedra Loeffler envisions a jewelry store where customers not only find new designers to wear and love, but where the designers themselves also build a community that supports creativity and fosters emerging artists.
The contemporary fine jewelry shop on Main Street in New York’s Finger Lakes region opened today. Loeffler sees The Gold Hammer as opportunity to explore retail, forge strong bonds with the community, and tell the stories of the people who make the objects we collectively desire.
“Objects hold stories—I find that that’s where I’m super intrigued by jewelry,” Loeffler says. “You wear the story on your body—by me being there, knowing the artist and knowing the piece, I get to share the stories of the pieces.”
Loeffler has worked as a designer and bench jeweler for about 12 years. Over the past five years, she has concentrated on building her own brand and work. With sustainability in mind, Loeffler says she focuses on creating metal keepsakes that have sculptural curves, fragmented lines, and subtle movement.
Her early retail experiences in gift and craft shows revealed how important conversations with customers are to her work. Those face-to-face experiences are more valuable than ever to the jeweler, especially as the coronavirus pandemic limited how often—or how many—people could get together.
“What I really enjoyed about those retail experiences is meeting clients who are going to wear your jewelry and getting good feedback about the work I’ve been making,” Loeffler says. “I’m an in-person kind of person.”
Moving to Ithaca, N.Y., also changed how Loeffler felt about producing and selling jewelry. Her ability to open the retail store happened organically—she knew the storefront was available and wanted a space for emerging and queer artists to create a community for makers as well as customers. They’d all learn about and from one another within this small shop.
Loeffler contacted her mentors and friends—fellow jewelers from San Francisco, where she formerly lived, as well as those she has met from around the country. They’ll display their jewelry along with her own work in The Gold Hammer, and Loeffler will supply the stories of how they work and why. They’ll all still be on social media and sold online, but this physical space will give customers another window into the jewelry they choose to buy and wear, Loeffler says.
Hilary Finck: The Gold Hammer will feature Finck’s Capture collection, which Loeffler calls “exquisite.” Her work seems to capture gems in wire and is a combination of organic and industrial, Loeffler says. The balance of rough against polished is what makes each piece unique and mesmerizing.
Sam Woehrmann: Loeffler describes Woehrmann as a jeweler who loves to work with big, colorful gemstones. His love of mathematics shows in his work’s geometric and industrial shapes. His work is on the finer end of jewelry within The Gold Hammer, including 22k gold and sterling silver, Loeffler says.
M. Rose Studio: Loeffler describes this San Francisco artist as organic, using cast pieces and objects such as animal teeth, bones, and vertebrae with different stones, gold, and sterling silver.
Woll Jewelry: Another San Francisco artist, Woll creates playful, colorful acrylic jewelry that is all handmade. Inspired by vintage clothing and accessories, her styling is fun, playful and all-around excellent, Loeffler say—and it brings that “California brightness” to The Gold Hammer.
Monica Marcella: This Los Angeles–based jeweler, who works mostly in gemstones and metal, is dedicated to creating future heirlooms with her designs, Loeffler says.
Over time, Loeffler says The Gold Hammer will feature 10 or more artists within the store, which is a mix of art deco and contemporary in its design and logo along with hand-crafted wood cases made by local artisans.
“These are not only jewelers I admire—they are my friends. I love them and want to support what they do,” Loeffler says. “I’m excited to curate their work and showcase it the best that I can.”
Top: Siedra Loeffler opened The Gold Hammer as a space to highlight emerging and queer jewelry designers (photos courtesy of Siedra Loeffler and The Gold Hammer).
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