We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Poterala and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Authenticity.

I approach life and business with the same innate responsibility to being honest, attuned, dependable, and true to my self and to my values. I truly believe that being ‘different’ is something to celebrate and that sentiment runs throughout my business, my life, and my aesthetic as an artist.

I intentionally ignore trends, which makes my work feel more distinctive. With clients, I reject the aggressive sales tactics and rationalizations that have become the standard in my industry, and try to provide as transparent a process as possible, which makes the experience unique. I prioritize listening and make an intentional effort to stay true to the individual sensitivities and desires of my clients.

After years of working with custom design clients and meeting collectors in person, I truly believe this is a major factor in what makes people respond to my pieces and process. It may very well be what makes clients choose my work over other jewelry artists who also make beautiful objects.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I craft distinctive jewelry objects inspired by flora and fauna that speak of and to the adventurous. I work primarily in recycled gold and silver, precious and semi-precious gems, and utilize both traditional and contemporary processes and techniques.

As an artist, I am particularly interested in and excited by unexpected, often overlooked surfaces and textures as well as the visual and textural outcomes of natural growth and decay processes. My work is informed by observations in nature, and sometimes specific animals, plants, or objects, but it is not a direct representation of these things. My pieces often have familiar elements — forms or surfaces — that trigger memories or images, reminding people of specific encounters, places, objects, or times.

My path to jewelry was unexpected as it unraveled in real time, but in hindsight makes perfect sense. I took to the materials and working processes instantly as a high school student in my very first metals course (that I ironically didn’t want to take). I never seriously considered any other fields after taking that first class, and I followed this passion through 7 years of college and graduate school.

I come from a lineage that includes engineers, artist/makers, metalworking, business owners, and educators. As a very young girl, I seemed to naturally inherit my grandmother’s obsession for jewelry as well as an affinity for modifying (or reinventing) everything that I can trace through my father back to her as well. It seems natural that I ended up making things (that sometimes require more engineering than I’d like) out of metal that mostly fit the ‘jewelry’ format, and that I both own my own business and teach as well.

My transition from student to the owner of my current business, Katie Poterala Studio, was not immediate or without challenges. I began showing work with professional galleries while still a graduate student and continued after I finished school. Alongside setting up a studio in Greenville (SC), I began teaching part time at Winthrop University and working as a bench jeweler for a mom and pop store in town. I continued to make work for galleries, showed larger works in juried and curated shows, volunteered for a national organization, and taught community classes. After years of juggling so many different paths, I learned to start saying ‘no’ and that ‘more’ is certainly not always better. My burnout led to ending opportunities that no longer served me, one thing at a time.

In 2018, I transitioned into an opportunity that was developing simultaneously alongside my other activities — the chance to expand my already established custom design and teaching practice and move into a larger, more professional retail studio space with another jewelry artist. In 2019, our brick and mortar space opened in downtown Greenville, SC — MAKE MADE Jewelry. I co-owned and operated this beautiful space for almost 5 years, where we functioned as a retail jewelry gallery, a custom design studio, and teaching space. We served wonderful clientele and worked on countless sentimental projects and engagement rings with clients from all over the upstate and beyond. We survived Covid and grew to thrive afterward, and nurtured a small but lovely group of students. Although this venture was not hard, it was also not easy. Challenge after challenge — mostly unrelated to jewelry, finances, or the nature of the business itself — forced this business to come to a necessary close in early 2024. The cliche’ lesson from this adventure was again hard learned, but easily accepted: not everything is made to last.

I am currently operating out of a beautiful new studio space, just a few miles from my former space, having returned to the core studio practice I started in 2012. My studio practice is again at the forefront after having to take a bit of a back seat to my other venture, and I am thrilled to be back at the jeweler’s bench exclusively, working on custom projects and beautiful one of a kind pieces. The future is bright for my very small business, and I am thankful to have had the opportunities and challenges that have led me to my current role.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would spend some time in AND out of the city!

Top of my list would be spending a day OUT of town at Lake Jocassee — my all time favorite spot in the upstate. A boat is a must to get the full experience.
We’d definitely spend a day taking the Swamp Rabbit Trail (a few steps from my new studio doorstep!) to Falls Park and/or to Travelers Rest. If headed downtown, we’d stop at Swamp Rabbit Cafe for a bite, and if Traveler’s Rest we’d have to stop for crepes at Tandem.
We’d spend an evening exploring downtown — with a definite stop for drinks at Up on the Roof and dinner at Between the Trees, Nose Dive (a gluten free favorite), or Grill Marks.
A day around town would include shopping downtown and exploring the village– we’d be sure to visit Custard and Page & Post.
A lower-key-than-downtown, but still memorable dinner night would take us to either Restaurant 17 or Patterson Kitchen + Bar.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This shoutout should go to Courtney Starrett, Doug McAbee, and Shaun Cassidy — all former professors I had in undergraduate school at Winthrop University.

These three influences together, but in very different ways, solidified and refined my work ethic, supported risk taking, encouraged creative problem solving, and motivated me to keep raising the bar on my personal expectations.

Website: www.katiepoterala.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortheloveofbling/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katie.poterala.jewelry

Image Credits
Katie Poterala Christa Rene Photography Demi Mabry Photography

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