July 22, 2019
Guest: Susan Crow, East Fourth Street Jewelry/Susan Crow Studio
The path to building a jewelry business focused on sustainability is different for every jeweler. Some jewelers make sustainable practices the cornerstone of their businesses right from the get-go. Others, like Susan Crow, owner of East Fourth Street Jewelry, in Northfield, Minnesota, learn about it later in their careers, deciding to transform the way that they do business. After a number of years working as a jewelry designer as well as a product designer in the consumer home goods industry, Crow became increasingly concerned about the environmental and ethical issues she saw in overseas manufacturing. She began to wonder if there was a different path to take. She decided that it was time for a change.
Today, Crow is recognized in the industry for integrating sustainability into her design process and business. She’s also the Responsible Practices Distinction winner in the 2019 MJSA Vision Awards. Along with making jewelry in her low-impact, environmentally conscious studio, she serves on the board of sustainably-minded organizations Ethical Metalsmiths and the Minnesota Jewelry Arts Guild. She is also licensed to make jewelry from FAIRMINED gold and silver by the Alliance for Responsible Mining.
In this episode, Crow shares her journey and discusses the challenges and overall rewards of building a responsible supply chain and adopting green processes.