Rapaport Magazine
Retail

Designer Lines

By Amber Michelle
Linking Generations

Mother and daughter designers Karen Mardjetko and Stevie Mardjetko founded their Chicago-based jewelry company — StevieWren — in 2015. The pair travel the world sourcing stones, gathering ideas and discovering artisans to make the jewelry. Their design aesthetic is meant to fit the style of both the Boomer and Millennial generations with a modern take on classic forms. Karen, and her daughter Stevie, talked to Rapaport Magazine editor in chief, Amber Michelle, about their unique approach to designing.
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Bridging the gap
Stevie Mardjetko:
Our collection bridges the aesthetic gap between age groups. Boomers are still the ones buying most of the fine jewelry. We want to be up to date but not so trendy that the jewelry is only for a 25-year-old. We sell to 50- and 60-year-olds, but also to younger customers.

Karen Mardjetko:
The Millennial generation has gotten stuck in a disposable jewelry theme. We want them to invest in jewelry they can keep and wear. My generation bought gold necklaces in high school. We want to cross generations and be both playful and long lasting. Stevie and I have fun working together. We bring different elements to designing a piece. She pulls me forward to where her generation is and I bring her to where mine is. We meet in the middle and that is what makes our jewelry special. We have a classic look, but it works for Millennials, too.

creating a brand
SM: We both have firm views on what we like and don’t like in design. Sometimes I think a piece won’t sell because I don’t like it and it ends up being a best seller. We learn from our different viewpoints and we create a brand that is fresh and new that is right for the marketplace right now. Mom came from a business background and brings that strength. I went to art school in Boston. I do the technology side, the marketing. We have a clear separation of our skill sets, but we have balance.

KM: The business started so we would have something to share and I wanted Stevie to have a viable business that she could do and that we could do together. Originally, it was going to be a lifestyle brand, but we thought, “Do we really want to ship tables?” So we landed on jewelry.

perfect fit
SM: We’ve traveled a lot. My mom is good at sourcing. She always found bazaars and antique stores. We’d bring things back from those places and we started making jewelry. People would stop us and ask about our pieces.

KM: Now we work with companies where we can bring our energy and spirit and collaborate with them to design what will work for their store. We look at the space and design what will fit in their environment, we talk to the store owners to find out what they are trying to do and then we design what will fit their store.

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - June 2017. To subscribe click here.
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