Kathy and Hannah French, the mother-daughter business partners who cofounded Seelye Designs, say the results have been extraordinary since they decided to see if they could teach lost wax carving, the ancient technique they use in making jewelry, to others.
They began to offer in-person workshops in May 2023, and now host multiple events every month, either at Seelye Studio in Brooklyn (Hannah lives in New York City) or in Boulder, Colo., where Kathy lives. They’ve also added jewelry-making kits for people who want to make jewelry at home—ideal, Hannah says, as a fun activity for a date night, girls’ night, or bachelorette party.
“There’s something magic about creating jewelry together. It’s giving the consumer the opportunity to have a hand in their own purchase and jewelry design,” Hannah French says. “We’ve had couples design their own wedding bands as well as people who are celebrating milestone birthdays who used heirloom stones to make something truly special.”
Mother and daughter created Seelye Designs—”at our kitchen counter over the holidays, over a cup of coffee,” as Hannah recalls—in 2022 and opened the Brooklyn studio (at 61 Greenpoint Ave.) in May 2024. Seelye was the maiden name of Kathy’s great-grandmother, and it resonated as a name for their company because jewelry, much like a family name, is passed down from one generation to the next.
“It’s an ode to the women who have come before us, inspire us today, and the women who will follow. We think of it as the seed that was planted long ago and took a while to grow,” says Hannah, who moved to New York to study fashion after attending the University of Colorado Boulder.
In NYC, Hannah worked as a stylist and sales rep but became smitten with the jewelry industry. She completed comprehensive training at Studio Jewelers and found her groove with lost wax carving.
Kathy French also has a background in fashion. She’d owned and operated a clothing outlet, was regional sales manager for clothing brand Boden from 2005 to 2010, and served as store leader for Eileen Fisher from 2016 to 2022. She, too, had lived in New York— from 1990 to 1996, when she worked as a sales representative.
Shortly after the Frenches established Seelye Designs, Hannah noticed the popularity of “sip-and-paint” events where attendees painted pictures or premade pottery while enjoying a glass of wine. She brought an idea to her mom: Why not try that with jewelry? Hannah thought it could be “a clever way to market Seelye to our community, in a very competitive jewelry world, and showcase this art,” she says.
It was a risk, but they gave it a shot. The first workshop sold out within an hour of being announced, says Hannah, and it was a revelation.
“Just seeing the reaction of our guests was so moving. I remember the women exchanging emails so they could see one another again. They were being creative, chatting, and connecting,” Kathy says. “They were making something for themselves that was meaningful and special, and that hit home for us.”
Originally, Seelye held monthly pop-up workshops in different locations, and would bring in a chef and yoga or meditation instructor for them. “It became so clear what direction this needed to go and how powerful it was,” Hannah says. “We couldn’t keep enough workshops going. After a year of those where we were lugging cartons of materials all over the city, we found a studio space in Greenpoint near my apartment so we could have a home to host them.”
She says of the classes: “They are a magical way to link creativity and community. It really feels like these workshops were meant to be for us, even if it wasn’t a super methodical plan originally.”
To Kathy, Seelye’s workshops are grassroots marketing at its best. People buy ready-to-wear pieces from Seelye Designs, then return to do custom jewelry.
“It’s getting out in front of our clients and meeting them. They get to know us and we get to know them,” Kathy says. “It’s really pushed us forward.”
Top: Hannah and Kathy French live in different cities but created and run Seelye Designs together. (Photos courtesy of Seelye Designs)
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