Meet Sisterfriend, The Fine Jewelry Brand That Will Bring You Joy

It began with an alien ring for Sisterfriend, a Philadelphia-based model that gives high-quality jewellery in playful kinds. (Therefore, the Tiny Alien Ring you can get in 10-karat gold or sterling silver with eyes product of opal, sapphire, or pearl.) Pals and now co-founders Lisa Maita and Kelli Mercado-Waldron initially created the design upon the request of Mercado-Waldron, a buyer-turned-stylist, who requested Maita — who’s climbed the ranks of the jewellery business within the metropolis’s Jewelers' Row since she was 16 years previous — to create a hoop within the form of an alien for her.

“It might be actually cool if we made a few these rings, simply due to the preliminary funding within the mould and design,” remembers Mercado-Waldron. “And that type of began the fireplace — this concept of constructing one thing that was actually cute, but in addition of high-quality high quality that I may have ceaselessly.”

When individuals consider jewellery heirlooms, the kinds are apparent: an engagement or a marriage ring; a pair of diamond earrings; or a designer watch. Basically, the items are timeless and basic, however what makes, say, persimmon-inspired studs or a pendant resembling sunglasses (created from rose gold and pink topaz stones) any much less significant or useful? Plus, it’s that pleasant shock issue that actually defines a Sisterfriend piece.

“I have been within the jewellery enterprise for therefore lengthy, making issues that I actually have by no means seen earlier than. My boss, who's been working because the '60s, and even different individuals because the '70s, are like, ‘What? I can not even consider that you simply're doing this,’” says Maita. “We really feel prefer it's not one thing that lots of people have seen and even know what to assume initially, and that is how we prefer it. The shock is actually fantastic, and individuals are like, ‘Why?’ And it is simply, as a result of we are able to, and right here we go.”

Mercado-Waldron and Maita first met by way of mutual buddies and bonded over their Filipino heritage and shared love for related aesthetics — all issues tiny, cute, and kawaii — which occur to be a big supply of inspiration for his or her designs. There’s the Mah Jong Tile Charm and Dice Cage Charm, full with its personal three mini cube, that pay homage to their households enjoying video games and the Philippines’s playing tradition. Pendants formed like mango slices and Spam are a few of their favourite snacks, whereas a nameplate is adorned with the Filipino greeting “Mabuhay.”

Nostalgia additionally performs a big position in Sisterfriend’s jewellery, tapping into childhood reminiscences and Japan’s beloved “miniaturism” toys (think dollhouse-sized, well, everything). “Playmobil was, I might say, for me, the beginning of my mini journey, as a result of there's a little bit parrot in my play set, after which additionally little cups and a little bit pitcher in it. It actually set me off,” says Maita. “Having the ability to faux to pour one thing that was so teeny tiny, and between my pointer finger and my thumb, it was simply so loopy.” (Sisterfriend affords its personal pitcher pendant complete with a briolette diamond as a drop of water, in addition to an ice tray and rice paddle.)

For the model’s newest drop, the duo are providing items centered round meals, together with a set of limited-edition charms within the form of a dumpling, tinned fish, a peanut, a platter of sushi, a fortune cookie, an egg in a skillet, and extra. “All of it harks again to that candy, tiny, valuable factor,” provides Mercado-Waldron. “However it was additionally essential for us for it to be one thing that you might maintain on to ceaselessly.”

Sisterfriend has been round since February 2020, simply forward of when the novel coronavirus was declared a worldwide pandemic. They'd massive plans for a launch get together, like renting out a complete ground of a banquet corridor in Chinatown. “We positively began a enterprise at a very difficult time. Gold was at an all-time excessive, COVID hit, and everyone was dropping their jobs,” says Mercado-Waldron. “It was tremendous scary. We had been planning within the background for such a very long time, and once we lastly launched, it type of was a whirlwind of issues that occurred instantly after that. However we simply rolled with the punches and continued to do what we wanted to do.”

However because the world slowly begins to open up once more, Sisterfriend can lastly deliver their vigorous presence offline. In early Could, Mercado-Waldron and Maita hosted a pop-up at store and occasion area Art In The Age in Philadelphia’s Previous Metropolis. It was a “fairly main factor” for them, particularly because it was one of many first customer-facing occasions for the model. Sooner or later, the 2 hope that they'll open up a spot of their very own.

“I do know Lisa and I dream about sooner or later having a brick-and-mortar. I got here from a retail atmosphere, and I really actually love working in shops, and love seeing prospects, and I do know that it is type of a dream for us to have the ability to have an area to work and create and have prospects are available in,” says Mercado-Waldron.

“We had been in Chinatown the opposite day, and I pointed at an open storefront, and I used to be like, ‘Kelli, that is our place, that sun-soaked window proper there,’” remembers Maita. “However critically, the place that was once there had big plushies of Good day Kitty and Rilakkuma, so what if we simply imitated that, after which all the plushies are carrying our jewellery?”