Gators, Magnolias, and Unicorn Horn Shells: Meet the New Orleans Designer Turning Southern Nature Into Jewelry
In addition to designing custom pieces for her namesake jewelry line, Sarah Killen is opening the door for other artisans in New Orleans to learn closely guarded metal-working secrets, passed down for generations. Image: Lavinia Spalding
Just like the custom metal jewelry pieces she crafts, Sarah Killen is a true original. The rural Louisiana native’s namesake jewelry line features Southern-inspired rings, necklaces, bracelets, and assorted “accouterments” that are wearable works of art. We caught up with Sarah to talk creativity, exploration, and forging a future by preserving the past. Catch her pop-up at The Chloe Nashville on Oct. 2 at 4 p.m.
Did you always want to be an artist?
I’ve always been artistic, but the ’90s were not a time to say you could make a career out of art. Living in LA in my early 20s opened my eyes. I was in school at LSU, and made a snap decision with a friend over winter break. We packed up a 25-foot U-Haul and told our parents we were going to live in San Diego and go to UCSC. We went to Hollywood instead. I was finally in a place where there was no preconceived notion of who I was. It really shaped who I would become.
What lured you back?
Mom got in a car accident in 2003, and I came back to take care of her before eventually moving to New Orleans. I knew I needed to explore my creative side without judgment, and your hometown sometimes decides who you are. After Katrina, I felt a call to stay.
About a year after the storm, I was feeling pretty lost about what to do next. One day, I was sitting on my couch thinking, “I need a sign.” The next day, I got two pieces of mail: One was my artist permit to sell my art in Jackson Square. The other was my Saints season tickets. I thought, “Okay, I guess I’m staying!” It changed the whole trajectory of my life.
What led you to jewelry design?
My friend Katie Logan and I started Saint Claude in 2008. We didn’t know what we were doing. We just wanted a space where we could explore all mediums. We started SeeScoutSleep [now By Scout] in 2010 after the oil spill, with 10 percent of profits going to coastal restoration. We designed cool dog beds, leashes, things like that. Things I wanted to see in everyday life.
Eventually, we sold that company to a European distributor, and I continued to work on Saint Claude solo. Jewelry kept becoming a focus for me, so I ran with it. Back in the days of Lucky magazine, an actress friend of mine mentioned my designs in her interview, and it took off from there.
Which celebrity would you love to see your pieces on?
My 13-year-old and I are obsessed with Olivia Dean. Her lyrics make me cry. I can’t get over how those words are coming from a 26-year-old, wise beyond her years.
Where do you find inspiration?
Nature will always be my number one inspiration. The colors, textures, and patterns. Antique stores are my happy place. I love old books, and I’m a big collector. My house is like a cabinet of curiosities filled with all of my treasures.
Can you describe your design philosophy?
I easily have 10 or more things going on at one time. I have little zones set up all over my studio, and I leave them until the idea comes to me. I need a lot of quiet and alone time to be with my thoughts. Nothing excites me more than when the dots connect and I think, “Oh! That’s what I was trying to make.” I’m more about quality than quantity.
What led you to work in brass?
If you’re a self-funded business, like I’ve always been, the cost of materials is really important. I couldn’t afford to dream in gold, so I started working in brass. Now I’m working more in custom designs, which gives me a chance to dream bigger. I get to work with my mentors to figure out how to create the ideas that people come to me with. I’ve been working with my mentors for years, kind of bugging these old-timers.
My metal caster is 83. I’m learning things from him that he learned from his father, who was a jeweler, and his stepfather, who was a jeweler in Guadalajara. Three generations of knowledge are being handed to me. The one-on-one learning from these masters gets me excited.
What’s next for you?
I’m in the process of opening another studio space downstairs, where I’ll put all of the metal casting equipment my mentor is giving me. I want it to be a community space to give access to aspiring artists. My mentors have given me so much, and it’s important to pay that forward. Jewelry is a very closed, male-dominated business. Nobody wants to give away their secrets.
I had this unused space, and I thought, “Am I gatekeeping by holding this space and equipment and not offering it?” I’m calling it Manticore Studios. A manticore is a half-lion, half-scorpion, man-eating mythical creature in Persian culture. It seems fitting for a metal studio.
New Orleans is a woman. The number of beautiful, talented women who live here is unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else. I need to pay that forward and create opportunities that didn’t exist for me.
What would you be if you weren’t a jewelry designer?
I always wanted to be a musician, but I’m not brave enough. I play the bass, and I love to sing with my cousin. I don’t know if it’s because we’re related or what, but our voices just blend into one. In our younger, wilder years, we’d end up in dark bars writing lyrics on bar napkins. My husband is a musician in the band Galactic, and I love to play the blues with him. I want to start a family band, but they won’t take me seriously.
What’s your favorite NOLA neighborhood to spend an afternoon in?
New Orleans is very small, and you could easily hit up every neighborhood in one day. Yesterday I left my house in the Irish Channel, worked in my studio in the Lower Garden District, went way uptown to my friend’s new store opening, B.Viz Designs, and headed to the Quarter to Doris Metropolitan to have dinner — all while driving maybe six miles?
What’s your best piece of advice?
Time is your greatest commodity; spend it accordingly.
LIGHTNING ROUND
What’s your go-to restaurant when visitors are in town? La Crêpe Nanou. It always hits. Cold martini, mussels and frites, and salad tropicale. Perfect trifecta.
Favorite travel destination? I will always be dreaming of Paris — it is where I believe I have lived many lives before. Something clicks with me there.
What’s on your playlist? WWOZ is our local radio station, and I tell people it was 37 percent of the reason why I moved here. It’s been on in my house for over 20 years, all day, every day. I remember hearing the first moments when they came back on the air after Katrina and bursting into tears and thinking, “Okay, we’re going to be okay.” I will never ever forget that feeling.
Last great book you read? Currently reading David Sedaris. He cracks me up. Theo of Golden by Levi Allen, before that.
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Beth Clayton
For over 20 years, Beth Clayton has either been working in a newsroom or pitching one. A natural storyteller and word nerd from the moment she could pick up a pencil, she earned her journalism degree from Butler University and spent the next decade as a writer, reporter, and editor. She now lives in Louisville, KY with her husband, three kids, and a very bad dog, and loves immersing herself in old lady hobbies such as houseplants and macrame.
