Usually it's a customer, standing inside our independent fine jewelry store in Denver's LoHi neighborhood, moving from one designer's case to another and noticing how little the work has in common. They ask me how I choose the independent jewelry designers we carry at Universal Deco, and the honest answer is that I go by feeling before anything else.
I've seen so much beautiful jewelry over the years. Genuinely, so much of it. But beautiful isn't the same thing as soulful, and not every piece I've looked at has both. Before anything makes it into this store, it has to make me feel something. I want jewelry with heart, jewelry that came from somewhere real inside the person who made it.
The person matters just as much as the piece. I want to work with kind people, and that part really isn't negotiable for me. And then there's the craftsmanship, which has to be there too, because these are pieces people are going to wear for years, sometimes for the rest of their lives.
Why Independent Jewelry Designers Matter
Independent jewelry designers give us a completely fresh perspective on what jewelry can even be. They're designing through their own artistic lens and their own experiences, instead of trying to copy what's already out there or fold themselves into whatever's trending.
Carrying their work is really a celebration of independent thought. Of families. Of dreamers who decided their idea was worth chasing.
What Exhibiting My Own Jewelry Taught Me
Before I opened a store, I was the one on the other side of this relationship, traveling and exhibiting my own jewelry around the world. That's actually how I met so many of the designers we carry now. It gave me a front-row seat to a whole community of jewelry artists I genuinely loved being around.
It also taught me what not to do. We hear too many terrible stories in this industry about stores that don't take care of their designers, work mishandled, communication that just stops, artists treated like inventory instead of people. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be a good partner, the kind of partner I would have wanted myself when I was the one sending my jewelry out into the world.
My designers trusting me is really important to me. When I first told my designer friends I was opening a store and so many of them wanted to be part of it right away, it made me feel so loved and respected, because they trusted me to show their work exactly the way they wanted it shown.
I know every one of them personally. Most I met while exhibiting my own jewelry, some from my time as president of a local jewelry association chapter, and a few from when I opened my very first store.
Meet the Independent Jewelry Designers at Universal Deco
Universal Deco is an independent fine jewelry store and atelier in Denver featuring jewelry from a curated group of independent designers from Colorado and across the United States. Our collection includes one-of-a-kind and limited-production fine jewelry handcrafted in gold, platinum and sterling silver, with natural gemstones and diamonds.
I asked myself what I actually love about each of these artists, not the polished version, just the honest one-sentence answer. Here's what I came up with.
Annie Fensterstock
I love that her work is whimsical and playful, and I love her use of color. Made in New York, hand fabricated in 18k and 22k gold and platinum, it brings this old goldsmithing tradition into something that feels completely alive.
Avery Lee Design
She does her own lapidary work. Avery actually cuts her own gemstones for her designs, working out of Denver with recycled and Fairmined metals. She's just so talented, and I mean that every time I say it.
Cat Janiga Jewelry
Her work is bold and thoughtful, just like she is. Cat has been handcrafting fine jewelry in Denver for over fifteen years, and honestly, that's the whole reason her pieces work as well as they do.
Dan-Yell Jewelry
Her work is so beautiful. It's minimalistic and yet so sculptural, made in Brooklyn, softening geometric forms into something that feels both ancient and modern at once.
Emanuela Duca
Her work has an old world rawness to it, like the rawness of the beginning of civilization, yet with a modern refinement. Sculpted in wax and forged in sterling silver and 18k gold, shaped by a Roman and New York identity at once, it's one of the harder things to describe and one of my favorites to look at.
Le Conte Jewelry
Her work is so playful. I love that it's inspired by an artist's paintbrush stroke, made in Los Angeles, and you can genuinely feel that movement in the finished piece.
Saintly Fine
Her work is whimsical in a very delicate, romantic way. Handcrafted in Boulder by Samantha Chang, it's designed to catch the light or chime softly, a small reminder to slow down during your day.
Tamsin Rasor Fine Jewelry
Tamsin's work is bold and decadent. It's what you buy that friend who has everything. Made in New York City and drawing on the language of Art Deco, it's colorful luxury, basically a perfume that makes you feel like a million bucks.
Alongside all of them sits my own Universal Deco jewelry, handcrafted here in Denver and built on the same values that shape everything else in this room.
Why Buy Jewelry From an Independent Designer?
The jewelry we carry in this store was dreamed up by beautiful, kind souls and brought to life by artists' hands. You can really feel the heart and love each designer puts into their work. So much of it is one of a kind or made in extremely limited runs. Nothing here is mass produced.
When you buy jewelry from an independent designer, you're choosing something created from an artist's own point of view and supporting the people, hands and ideas behind the piece.
What I Want You to Feel When You Walk Through
I want your mind to be blown, honestly. I want your knowledge of jewelry to grow, so you can see what a big deal it actually is to buy fine jewelry directly from the artist who made it.
Because why wear something that hundreds of thousands of other people in the world are already wearing? Why not wear something as unique as you are?
There is only one you.
Come Meet Them in Person in Denver's LoHi Neighborhood
You can browse every designer we carry on our Designers page, shop pieces available now in our Ready to Ship collection, or start a custom design of your own. Read more about how the store came to be on our About page.
But if you're in Denver, come see the work in person. Try things on. Ask us who made something. We love telling you about these artists.
Universal Deco
1600 Boulder St
Denver, Colorado 80211
Wednesday by appointment
Thursday through Saturday, 12–6pm
