Maggie Stevenson, based on Jefferson Street, has a shy smile and big gift for making small things. Beautiful jewelry, to be precise. After working as a jeweler for Bitter Sweets NY and CatBird, she decided to create her own jewelry collection and run a business of her own. We gladly accepted an invitation to her little jewelry heaven/studio.
With pieces inspired by nature in hammered gold and silver, Maggie’s jewelry collection doesn’t look like anything you could find at Macy’s. “My favorite is my hibiscus collection and enameled rigs,” Maggie smiles. Maggie works exclusively with recycled metals and responsibly sourced jewels.
She recalls her beginnings with a laugh, “When I was 10, my sister took me to a bead store and I was hooked.” From then on, she didn’t stop beading and doing Macramé; even when the time came to pick a college, she picked the one that had metal smithing and jewelry making in the curriculum. “Once I took the intro class, I just couldn’t get enough and after I graduated I really wanted to do it for living, as opposed to just doing it as a hobby.”
“I moved to New York from Oregon, I got an internship at Bitter Sweets NY within the first week, and after two days the owner started to pay me because…” she pauses. I fill in the gap, “Because you were too good?”
Later on she was hired as a jeweler by CatBird in Williamsburg, and was making 300 to 500 pieces in a week. “So I’m really skilled in high production,” Maggie laughs. “I enjoyed the repetition, unlike some other jewelers who only like to make one custom piece and then move on.”
When Maggie talks about jewelry making, you can tell it is something she truly loves, and she gladly enumerates what she enjoys the most: forming, making her own chains and patinas, enameling…
Her favorite things about Bushwick are the good eats and good people. “It’s more of a strong community here. People are more friendly and they look at you when you walk around,” Maggie says. “I only heard from college kids who lived around here, but once I moved to Bushwick I found out that there is so much more. I feel very inspired when walking around, “ she adds with a smile.
