What inspired the creation of your company, and when did it start?

The process we use, which was the starting point for Make Wilde, was created in 2014 with our making of gilded components for accessories showcased in the Gallatin Fashion Show at New York University.

What is your brand’s mission, and what causes drive you and your team?

Our driving force is creative expression: to create pieces of wearable art as unique as the people wearing them. Our mission is to activate sustainable business practices through our sourcing, production, and presentation.

How is your brand socially responsible?

In as many ways as possible: we make all the items ourselves; we make everything to-order, so there is no waste (and no left-over items that were produced for no reason). Also, we only source materials that are recycled, reclaimed, or manufactured / mined domestically, in USA factories or by local artisans. We also use USA-made recycled paper boxes & tissue paper when we ship our products.

What does your brand do to lower its ecological impact and/or promote environmental health and well-being?

We make sure to source 100% recycled metals from an eco facility in the USA, which prevents new precious metals from being extracted from the earth. We also reclaim many of our gemstones, from antique jewelry and earth science education materials, to reduce our impact.

Does your company perform animal testing and/or use animal-based ingredients in your products? Why or why not?

Nope — no need!

Where does your company make/manufacture your products, and why?

We make our products in our home studio in NYC — our mission is to make artful accessories, so mass-production doesn’t fit into that scheme.

Describe your design philosophy – how do you balance quality and affordability?

We aim to create affordable luxury for a growing community of conscious humans who desire items that reflect their own values, items that are as unique as they themselves are: as natural, as beautiful, as inspired. We maintain an affordable price range for an aesthetic that is typically reserved for once-in-a-lifetime purchases; our jewelry is crafted in a completely unique style, encasing our gems in free-form, lightweight sculptural settings, which we then gild with precious 23K gold or pure silver, providing the signature organic aesthetic of our pieces while maintaining affordability by avoiding solid metal forms.

Tell us a little about the ingredients/materials you use. Generally, why did you pick them over other options?

When searching for materials, we have these particular criteria:
Can we reuse this? Was it made in the USA? Is it recycled? Is it handmade? Is it non-toxic? Using these questions, and many more, we combine aspects and sift out our materials for the best-possible product.

What are the next steps for your company?

We hope to create more avenues for Make Wilde jewelry to reach people, through the web and in stores.

How do you view the future of conscious consumption?

We hope that as it becomes necessary to preserve our environment, it becomes a prerequisite for businesses to operate with some level of social responsibility, so conscious consumerism will just be consumerism.

As a parting sentiment, if you could only use one word to describe your brand ethos – what would it be?

…Wilde 🙂