(To skip to press go here, the current team go here, lockets are here, FAQs here, and more stories here.)
My eldest sister and I started The Locket Sisters from the kitchen table of our childhood home. We’d been working together for three years building a successful boutique portrait studio in the Art District of Northeast Minneapolis, and this idea was an evolution of that work.
Before any of this, Amy had been searching for a locket company to hold a photo of her kids while she was traveling the world as a model. She wanted it to be well made but ALSO have the photo work all done for her. At the time, it didn't exist, so she asked (told?) me to try to solve this dilemma. I've always loved making jewelry, so like a good little sis I got to work. I remember bringing her samples that we'd refine and tweak until we landed on the process we currently have, which includes protecting the photograph under a clear resin. We first offered them to our photography clients, then decided to take a chance and offer them to everyone.
What I didn't anticipate back then was that while the quality might draw you in, it's the energy of the lockets that brings you closer. You can *feel* our lockets as much as you see them. They reflect back to you some of your deepest connections and so much meaning. Our jewelry is like a little vessel for love to be felt in a new way. It passes through our studio for a short time, and we do our best to give it all the Light it deserves.
From the inside, five+ years later, its that unexpected connection to you, this little window into your humanity, that keeps me profoundly inspired each day.
In March 2020 Amy made the decision to focus on other parts of her career. This, at a time when the world was already upside down as the COVID pandemic had just begun, was a feeling of grief, excitement, fear, exhilaration, manic inspiration, and a lot of hard work. Owning a jewelry company has always been a dream of mine, and I never really thought it would actually happen, but now, right at my fingertips, was my own jewelry business to shape and mold exactly as I could feel it in my body.
I remember that Mother’s Day of 2020 when supply chains were upside down and I had no idea if this business would survive, I counted the chains we had in stock and figured if I ran out of those, scrambling to find a new vendor (since ours was shut down in California) would be a problem I’d gladly solve as it’d mean we were still alive and business was thriving.
I threw some bogus goal numbers at the wall, and got back to the daily grind. Within a couple weeks, the chains were gone and people were buying lockets faster than I could keep up. Of course they were, it seems so obvious now that I can see it from the outside. People missed one another those first few months, and this was something meaningful you could ship to someone you love that symbolized connection and love.
In the years following, I got to work making The Locket Sisters a healthy company. I took business classes and branding classes and brought Mandy on full-time. I asked for help professionally and personally, I cut bangs and started getting bang trims, I presented my work live on TV a handful of times. I made sure to build it in a way that is complementary to my life outside of this studio, too, so that I keep that I never resent the work and always respect it.
Ultimately, this work has held a mirror up to me, stretched and challenged me, and taught me about humanity in the most beautiful way. Sometimes it still surprises me to think that I took a leap all those years ago – it’s as though The Locket Sisters and I were looking for one another, and finally, we clicked.
I remain infinitely grateful for every single person who ahs given us a chance, and trusted us to make a sacred locket on their behalf. We hold closely the words you share with us in your orders, so that you may feel the energy we put into each piece when you hold it close to our heart.
Thank you for being here. Thank you thank you thank you for letting us do this work.
Warmly,
Allyssa
