Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Sides. The founder of Loveweld, the first welded jewelry company, that focuses solely on creating a quality permanent jewelry experience.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m the founder of Love Weld™. I have always had a fascination with color, pattern and texture, often collecting swatches and found objects of all kinds as a child. After college, this fascination evolved into jewelry creation locally in Austin, TX and for the past decade this obsession has taken me around the globe. From Latin America to Asia, I have had the opportunity to take a seat with metal smiths, master dyers, weavers, ceramicists and other craftsmen that have been practicing their trade for generations, learning the intricacies of their trades and observing their creative process. After traveling the globe to design and study specifically artisan jewelry craft, I became fascinated with the sentimentality that oftentimes is intertwined with jewelry and its wearer. Love Weld™ Studio was born from that fascination.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The majority of my career has been designing product for others.
As a creative, the main challenge has been to trust my vision and being willing to put aside fears when putting my work out for public view. Often in the design industry, you are asked to create in order to hit very specific metrics or needs of the business while also still needing to put your own self/style into the work. This can be a hard tension at times.
I’ve had to learn to separate myself from work at certain times in the process to objectively take in praise & criticism to then learn and adapt. It gets easier over time to compartmentalize, but for me that vulnerability remains.
I do think having my work constantly picked apart, analyzed, looked at different angles has made me a more conscientious business owner, open to input and being willing to adapt.
We’ve been impressed with Love Weld™, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Sarahsides.co is my passion project as a creative, that I do on the side.
The first Love Weld™ event was a galantines gathering in my garage studio with my best friends in 2020! It was magical and I knew that this was too special to not be shared! That’s where Love Weld™ Studio comes in…
The studio is a special venue where the artist builds with her client a custom 14k gold jewelry item and welds it permanently to their person using special technology, often to celebrate a forever bond. Think of it as a grown up 14k gold friendship bracelet! We are now expanding beyond Austin’s city limits into places like Denver, CO, Albuquerque, NM, & Denton, Texas. It’s a joy to get to celebrate Love—life’s greatest gift—with so many, first here in Austin and who knows where else.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
The best way to find a mentor is being willing to take entry-level jobs. Early on, I went from doing my own thing–semi-successfully–to being a design assistant. The amount I was able to learn working under someone was exponentially more beneficial than me trying to figure it out on my own. If what someone is doing intrigues you reach out, see if you can lend a helping hand. The worst they can do is say no.
For networking, follow the spark. If someone, or an organization, peaks your interest, reach out. You never know what might come from letting curiosity be your compass.