“I picked the name Dogeared out of the thesaurus!  When that first department store wanted to carry my stuff, I had to choose a name for my business.  My best friend and I got out the thesaurus and randomly tried out various words.  “Dogeared” was unusual and I liked it.” — Marcia Maizel-Clarke

Dogeared Creator Marcia Maizel-Clarke

Selling her handmade jewelry 1991 at the flea market in Pasadena, Marcia Maizel-Clarke recognized a need for positive, insightful, and personal jewelry . . . jewelry that speaks to its wearer.  A year later, Dogeared was born.  Now after 21 years, the brand has blazed a trail of designs with subtle classics,  eclectic and unexpected statements of jewelry that reflect love, kindness, and consciousness.

Interviewed by Tonya Carmouche (Bold)
Responses by Marcia Maizel-Clarke

What do you love most about creating your own jewelry?

I love that the jewelry we make resonates with our customers beyond the aesthetics.  Jewelry is a very personal medium to begin with, and then a lot of our best-selling collections have big concepts behind them: Karma, Faith, Infinity, Make a Wish.  We spend as much time thinking about why customers want to wear the jewelry as we do about what they’ll be wearing. To know that a necklace I was inspired to make can then inspire the woman who wears it is awesome on all kinds of levels.

How did you get your start in jewelry designing, and what have you learned over the course of being a designer?

I’ve loved art and being creative ever since I was a kid, so it was an intuitive path for me to find myself on.  Not long after I started making jewelry, I began selling it at the Rose Bowl flea market in Pasadena.  A friend of mine who worked for a department store loved my stuff, and she helped me get Dogeared into ten of their locations.  The rest was history!

I could fill a book with what I’ve learned during my career, but some of the highlights would be trust your gut instincts, and keep moving forward.  Trusting your gut is important, whether you’re dealing with the creative process, your career, love, or life in general.  If you have to force things, you’ve probably stopped listening to your inner voice and veered off-track somewhere along the way as a result. And you have to keep moving forward. If something isn’t flowing, try a new path, a new idea, a new design.  Just do something!  Forward motion!

What are some of your favorite materials to work and create with?

I love using recycled materials because it fits in with Dogeared’s overall mission and B-Corp values.

Where does the name of your company come from?

True story:  I picked the name Dogeared out of the thesaurus!  When that first department store wanted to carry my stuff, I had to choose a name for my business.  My best friend and I got out the thesaurus and randomly tried out various words.  “Dogeared” was unusual and I liked it.   Plus the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  When you dog-ear the page of a book, you’re marking something you want to remember.  It’s the same with our jewelry.  Dogeared evolved into a brand that is about celebrating and remembering what matters most.

The “Forever Summer” summer collection is absolutely beautiful. What are some new pieces you are working on?

I like surprises, so I’ll just say this:  Keep an eye out for black and gold, and golden retrievers.

What do you want people to know about you?  

I want people to know that I truly believe in the power of love.  It sounds deceptively simple, I know.  Talking about love is easy. Living it often takes effort . . . but it’s so worth it.  When you act out of love—and that can be love for a person, an idea, your career, the planet, whatever—it’s it’s transformative and life-changing stuff.

Check out Dogeared’s fun summer additions to their “Forever Summer” collection, including the new limited edition “Sunset & Ocean” bracelets exclusive to www.dogeared.com.