Etsy Features Anueva Jewelry and Jennifer Vinje in Interview

 

“I wanted to create a shop where the theme is: Old things are made new again,” says Jennifer Vinje. “Whether that’s an old diamond reset or old gold reclaimed, or even a customer’s old jewelry, I can repurpose that, too.” It’s what led the Seattle jewelry maker to name her Etsy shop Anueva, a twist on the Spanish word nueva, meaning new.

The designer’s dedication to repurposing materials is nothing new, however. Jennifer, who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, says respect for the environment has long been a way of life. So has a love of handmade. “My parents are both really artistic, creative people and we would go to art festivals and craft fairs all the time,” she says. “They would find paintings and pottery and I would find the jewelry.”

Turning that passion into a business is a more recent development: Jennifer, who’d been working in the PR world, opened her shop earlier this year. Now she works from her home making organic-looking rings, necklaces, and earrings on a workbench her husband helped her build, with a view of a huge evergreen through her window. It’s fitting, as Jennifer plants a tree for every customer’s purchase since partnering with an organization called Plant-It 2020.

Read on to find out more about this eco-friendly maker and the inspiration behind her collection here.