It’s candy season!
The goodies started trickling into stores before summer came to a close, and you might have been tempted to come away early with a bag or two of Halloween sweets—let’s be honest, did they even make it to October?
Now candy is practically unavoidable, and the temptations stretch from here till New Year’s. Trick-or-treat variety packs, candy corn, chocolate turkeys (yes, they’re a thing), candy canes, peppermint bark—we’re living in sweetopia for a few months.
Some have the superpower to resist, but such magic was not bestowed on yours truly. Still, I’d take my candy in the form of wearable rather than edible goods any day, and the latest release from New York-based Tejen is precisely what the season demands.
Do you ever visit one of those old country stores (they’re sometimes done as pop-ups at autumnal events) and take in all the confections of yesteryear? You’d inevitably find rock candy there. In a variety of bright colors, this crystallized sugar on a stick is irresistible to kids and adults alike.
Turns out that in jewelry form, the same is true. Tejen’s Rock Sugar collection is an ode to rock candy and the carefree vibes associated with it. The brand’s creative director Mark Kroeker has cooked up delicious confections in 18k yellow gold with diamonds and Australian opals.
Kroeker admits that this sugary sweet endeavor is a bit of a departure from Tejen’s typical minimalism, but “I felt it was time to lighten up, time to create an irresistibly decadent direction, something that felt indulgent, like a sugar rush,” he tells JCK.
Rock Sugar’s creation stems from the “laced links” style found in an early line from the brand, High Deco. “I wanted to find the right time to introduce a fully realized collection using the technique,” Kroeker says. “At that time, not even the slightest thought of candy inspiration was in my head.
“Rock Sugar and the creative direction it inspired fell into place—that aha! moment—only after I spent a couple weeks trying to come up with a name for the collection. Once that was set, I had a rush of inspiration, enlarging the collection with pieces specifically inspired by the name, like the Rock Sugar Stick earrings [pictured above], my interpretation of crystallized sugar stir sticks,” Kroeker tells us.
“Some of my favorite pieces were designed after Rock Sugar became the official name for the release, including the addition of the Australian white opals. I like the tough but sweet vibe the collection’s name embodies,” he says.
Since its release on Sept. 1, Rock Sugar has met with wonderful reactions from clients and press, Kroeker says (how could they not?). As for holiday predictions, he is looking to Rock Sugar’s smaller pieces such as the bar studs, pictured above, and link ring to be the collection’s best sellers during the season.
Founded in 2015, Tejen is celebrating its 10th anniversary next year—I don’t need to tell jewelers that a decade in business is a huge deal. “I’m just now starting to realize that staying in business, at this level, for so long, does deserve a celebration,” Kroeker says. I have a lot of people to thank—a lot of wonderful, giving, talented people, clients, and friends that give me this opportunity, this life.
“As Tejen approaches its 10th anniversary, I see the brand evolve with more focus on one-of-a-kind pieces, objet d’art without limitations, for our collectors,” he adds. “Fine jewelry will remain at the core of the brand, as Tejen expands into other luxury categories—a slow growth that maintains our distinct identity and continues to set us apart in a crowded field.”
Top: Rock Sugar candy drop arc earrings in 18k yellow gold with Australian white opal and 1.4 cts. t.w. diamonds, $14,800; Tejen
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