Jennifer Sarkilahti // Odette New York
Jewelry designer Jennifer Sarkilahti shows us around her Greenpoint studio, home to her beautiful, sophisticated line, Odette New York.
Jennifer’s (now former!) studio is a special place, filled with dreamy light, amazing scents (she shares the space with the sisters behind MCMC fragrances), and her gorgeous designs. I asked her to share some insights on her previous life as a painter, her dream client, and some super useful info on how to clean and store your jewelry.
Editor’s note: This interview and photo shoot took place in Brooklyn, way back before the pandemic began! While I’ve retained the majority of the original interview as it was completed a few years ago, you’ll see a few updates in the text and a few additional questions at the end that Jennifer kindly answered just this month.
Earrings: Rough Crystal Quartz Demi Ligne, Bracelets: Pivot Cuff, Square Cuff and Wishbone, Rings: Pilo Ring, Crystal Quartz Klint Ring, Tether Ring, Similar, Necklaces: 14k mini Amuletum Necklace, similar, and Monogram Charms, Necklace in Jennifer’s hands: Oblique Collar, Dress: Rachel Comey
Tell me a bit about yourself. Where did you grow up, where did you study, when did you come to New York, where have you settled?
I grew up in a suburban neighborhood in Northern Virginia just outside of Washington DC. My childhood was relatively quiet and peaceful but as I grew older, I was drawn to the energy of New York City. I made a plan to move there shortly after I finished my MFA in Painting at George Mason University.
I first lived in a tiny ground floor apartment in the East 80s in Manhattan while continuing to paint and searching for jobs in the art world. I rented a studio nearby for my painting but it was dark, cold (and a basement!) so I didn’t renew the lease after the first year.
I did a few small jobs here and there. I remember in the winter of 2005 I worked on the installation of Christo and Jeanne-Claude art installation The Gates in Central Park. It was freezing cold outside and we would report to our post before dawn where we would spend all day digging trenches and installing hundreds of gates in the name of art! I have fond memories of that gig and how committed Christo and Jeanne-Claude (and all of us!) were to seeing their vision through.
One day I was in midtown Manhattan and I walked by a store selling beads and materials and picked up a few supplies. At first, I was just making myself a few things to wear. I learned to wire-wrap and started putting things together. My new hobby started taking over the tiny kitchen table in my apartment. We moved to Brooklyn shortly after where we’ve been settled for the past 12 years. I’ve worked out of my studio in Greenpoint for almost 10 years.
Earrings: Rough Crystal Quartz Demi Ligne, Bracelets: Pivot Cuff, Square Cuff and Wishbone, Rings: Pilo Ring, Crystal Quartz Klint Ring, Tether Ring, Similar, Necklaces: 14k mini Amuletum Necklace, similar, and Monogram Charms, Necklace in Jennifer’s hands: Oblique Collar, Dress: Rachel Comey
How did you become a jewelry designer? Where have you worked?
I became a jewelry designer by accident. I had studied fine arts so the design background was there but I had to learn how to do everything else. But New York has a way of making you feel like anything is possible. And so, I just kept going. I worked as a production assistant for a young designer in the garment district for a few years and learned a lot about the jewelry business just by being there. In my free time I would buy supplies and keep working with them until I learned how to wax carve and assemble jewelry.
Tell me about Odette New York – where the name comes from, how the brand started, and how you now see it.
Nearly fifteen years ago when I started making jewelry, I chose to name the brand Odette because I was still painting under my name. I can’t remember where I first heard it, Swan Lake perhaps? I thought it was simple and pretty but hadn’t given much thought to it. If only I had known that I would still be using it years later!
Jennifer Sarkilahti at work in her Brooklyn studio, with gorgeous Aalto cuffs on the table.
Who is the kind of woman who wears Odette jewelry?
I hope everyone would want to wear Odette. But especially someone who appreciates the subtle nuance that comes from something made by human hands. That’s one distinction I love with the lost wax process. Every mark is mirrored into metal so there is an organic feeling you can’t quite replicate with CAD or machines.
Who would you like to have as a client?
Michelle Obama.
Updated response: It happened! She wore our Helene Hoops on her first press tour!
An inspiring mood board from Odette New York.
What is your vision for the brand? Where do you see Odette in 5 years?
Entering my fifteenth year of making jewelry I think about this often. I still find it thrilling the moment I see what I carved into wax turn into metal. I hope I always do. Sometimes I’m curious about working larger or in a different medium so I try to stay open to that. But jewelry is so meaningful to people, I think there will always be space to explore new directions within it.
The artist behind Odette New York in her former Greenpoint studio.
Any tips on how to store jewelry?
To keep jewelry from developing a patina, store in small polybags. Dangle the clasp just out of the bag to keep the chain from tangling.
How about keeping it clean and looking brand new?
We use solid materials so the surface can always be polished back to its bright state with a little elbow grease and a good polishing cloth.
Earrings: Tortue earrings, Bracelets: Square Cuff and Wishbone, Rings: Crystal Quartz Klint Ring, Tether Ring, Similar, Necklaces: 14k mini Amuletum Necklace, similar, and Monogram Charms, Piscine Charm and Peace Charm, Shirt and Jacket: Anaak, Jeans: Madewell.
And what about you, in your personal life? How would you describe your jewelry style?
I used to be a jewelry maximalist and would always wear large statement earrings and layer multiple cuffs and rings. Now that I have children, I wear fewer but more sentimental pieces.
Jennifer Sarkilahti of Odette New York making the Pivot Cuff.
What jewelry do you wear on a regular day?
Daily I wear either my engagement ring or a stack of bands I designed for my wedding, a necklace with my children’s initials L and M, along with a small fish charm and peace sign pendant. And I never take the rose gold Crescent Ring on my right hand off (currently not for sale).
Updated response: Still wearing my L&M and stack of rings. Still wearing the Crescent Ring now in gold. Now I wear 14K Mini Verrou hoops, a 14K Oval Signet Ring and layer a 14K anchor chain in with my charms.
Working on the Cutout Lunate Cuff. Earrings: Tortue earrings, Bracelets: Square Cuff and Wishbone, Rings: Crystal Quartz Klint Ring, Tether Ring, Similar, Necklaces: 14k mini Amuletum Necklace, similar, and Monogram Charms, Piscine Charm and Peace Charm, Shirt and Jacket: Anaak.
On a special occasion?
Definitely a large statement earring. In my current rotation are the Tortue earrings, the Plinth earrings, and the Astre earrings.
Updated: Currently love wearing Lalo and Mezzaluna earrings, Blanca Cuff and an Oblique Bangle.
Jennifer Sarkilahti working with wax in her studio.
In her Brooklyn apartment. Earrings: Tortue earrings, Bracelet: Onde Cuff, Necklaces: 14k mini Amuletum Necklace, similar, and Monogram Charms, Piscine Charm and Peace Charm, Rings: Odette.
Do you have any philosophy on how to accessorize? Do you plan the clothes first or the accessories first?
Probably clothes first because that’s a more difficult decision. Actually shoes! Jewelry is never a difficult decision!
Earrings: Tortue earrings, Bracelet: Onde Cuff, Necklaces: 14k mini Amuletum Necklace, similar, and Monogram Charms, Piscine Charm and Peace Charm, Rings: Odette.
What are your go-to jewelry brands? Do you find yourself only wearing your own work?
I wear mostly my work but I love vintage pieces as well. My dream piece would be Elsa Peretti’s Bone Cuff.
What is the most special piece of jewelry you own and why?
I have a few special pieces from my late grandmother Minerva. They are not valuable but they are incredibly sentimental to me. One is a bracelet made of Australian coins. My mother told me it was a gift from her first love who had drowned. My grandmother lived with us when I was a child but she had dementia, so I never really knew her. To later learn this tragic story about her fragile young love forever changed the way I remember her.
Holding a bracelet made of Australian coins, once owned by her grandmother Minerva.
Since we had our photoshoot, you have relocated from both your Brooklyn apartment and studio to a larger space. Besides giving your family more room to grow, how do you think that has affected you? Have you felt any changes and growth in Odette because of the move?
At the end of 2019, we moved an hour North of NYC to a small town in the lower Hudson Valley. This move was just before the pandemic and at the time it really felt like the closing of one chapter and the start of a new one. We’ve definitely grown during this time, change always seems to move things forward.
Jennifer showing us her jewelry collection in her Brooklyn apartment.
How is your new studio different?
I live and work out of a converted barn from the 1800s and my studio is in the brightest light-filled room. It’s perfect for intricate wax work.
Bracelets: Pivot Cuff, Square Cuff and Wishbone, Rings: Pilo Ring and Ligne Ring.
I think 2023 is a big year of change for many people, as we are recovering from the pandemic and finding life a bit different. What changes and plans do you have in store for Odette?
Yes, the pandemic has really shifted things. For me personally, it made me reevaluate running a business and what adds value to my life. When I look back, I’m proud of the body of work I’ve made thus far. Sometimes it’s important to stop and reflect. I never used to do that. I’m excited to continue to build on that work and I’m open to new projects and experiences.
Earrings: Astre earrings, Bracelet: Sabine Cuff, Oblique Cuff, Necklaces: 14k mini Amuletum Necklace, similar, and Monogram Charms, Piscine Charm and Peace Charm, Rings: Pilo ring, Odette.
Thank you so much, Jennifer!
