‘Love at First Melt’ for Jeweler Paloma Wilder

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Photo: Paloma Wilder - Instagram

Paloma Wilder

Paloma Wilder

Paloma Wilder has always worked in the arts, first in the theater and later behind the bench. She’s been “zapping” gold chain link bracelets on customers all over the Midwest and has softly opened her first studio and store space in Milwaukee. The plan is to take clients gradually before opening fully to the public, then incorporating yoga and other wellness practices in the space with other business owners she’s met along the way.

Tell us about yourself and your business. How did you get to where you are now?

As far as becoming a jeweler, I was trained by some of Milwaukee's finest goldsmiths: Robert DeVoe Peters was who I first apprenticed under, doing mostly shop work and some fabrication in sterling silver. Peters still works in Bay View teaching and making custom projects. But it was two incredible women, Vicki Rau and Suzy Gormican, who held down the shop at Power’s downtown for many years, that gave me my first lessons in soldering and brazing karat gold. 

So like most jewelers, I began working in silver and soon graduated to gold. I knew from the first time I worked on it … it was love at first melt. It just acts like butter under the flame. I was hooked!

My gilded dream started as a one woman show. The first studio I set up in was in an all-but-abandoned building with a leaky hole in the roof. I’m not sure how I did it, but I sold some big stones and heavy rings as the rain dripped in. No website, not much inventory, but a pad of paper and a room full of tools. It still starts with a pad of paper, but I’ve made a few upgrades. 

Today I have a small but mighty team that makes it all happen. Our most recent adventure, the Bond Bar, keeps us pretty busy. For a while we were hopping all over the Midwest doing pop-ups and bonding bracelets all weekend. Part of our plan in moving to the East Side was to give the Bracelet project a permanent home. We’ll still be partnering with some of our favourite businesses but now we’ll be doing some of the hosting here in our showroom. We’ll have an official Grand Celebration in the early spring once all our cases are in. 

Until then, we welcome everyone to stop in and watch as our shop evolves. Look to the website for upcoming info on programming for pop-ups and workshops! We have SATYA skin running a DIY mud-mask workshop, a date with MKE Yoga Social, and botanical based silk-dying on the books! Dates TBA.

In pandemic times, how did your business pivot to meet restrictions considering your business involves some physical contact?

By that point, a lot of my business was already moving online and through social media, so I just embraced it, and put a lot of effort into making connections on Instagram and Tiktoc. It was such an interesting time for personal connection. I made lots of phone calls, with clients and friends. It was tragic, sentimental, and in some cases, romantic. I have some clients who made the leap into a relationship when lockdown started and came out of the pandemic, engaged. A lot of rings were planned, and some rushed along when restrictions were lifted. Everyone was going through their jewelery boxes while cooped up at home and dreaming up a new use for grandma’s old wedding ring. 

The Bond Bar was certainly the wildest pandemic development for our business. Permanent bracelets went from just a twinkle in my eye to a twinkle on the wrists of jewellery fanatics all around the Midwest. Previous to the pandemic, I had soldered a few of these petite chains onto daring friends and select clients' wrists. You read that right, soldered with an open flame!

During lockdown, I was able to save up enough to buy a small tig welder and hatch my marketing plan. Now I could zap the bracelets on in a split second with just a spark! Once it was safe, I strapped on a mask and started taking appointments in my production studio. 

The first Christmas we could all hastily reunite was when the bracelets really took off. Every branch of every family tree seemed to find their way to my dusty studio in Riverworks to get their “permanent friendship bracelet”. I had one group who travelled from Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota to meet up in Milwaukee with the sole purpose of getting Bonded at my shop. It’s humbling and heart-warming. The sentimental significance of the bracelets to the wearer has really been the most enjoyable part of this whole project. Jewelry, and fine jewelry especially, is always personal. We've bonded teens in love, lovers splitting across coasts for work, the bigs and ills of an entire sorority, sisters, moms, and even grandpas! Some appointments have been real tear jerkers, putting on a bracelet that serves as a year token to a person in recovery always gets me going.  I think all of this could have happened regardless of the pandemic, but there’s something about a little golden reminder of a loved one that hits us differently now. 

What piece or product line are you most proud of?

I have a small series of Arch Pendants in the shop right now that have a little hidden detail on the back of each piece. One has moths with spiders slumbering on the backside, another arch frames a puffy-eyed heart with an aqua tear. I have a set of poet rings that are also my darlings—one features the classic poet Sappho and the other Rupi Kaur, a famed Instagram contemporary. 

In my business I’ve never worked as a typical designer, producing lines and campaigning the products en masse. I’ve preferred to work on each little piece as an independent sculpture. As we launch the shop, I’ll continue to keep the carving tools in the hands of my heart and create one-of-a-kind pieces while introducing an in-house selection of rings and gems for ceremonies and commitments. Our bracelets are fast but I still honor the slow jewelry movement and devote the time and intention into each keepsake we make here.

What was your vision for your recent store renovation?

My second studio was on the second floor of the Toy Factory, which I adore. There’s a charm in creating beautiful pieces of jewellery and making meaningful connections with people in concrete warehouses surrounded by rusted relics of industry. But with the amount of foot traffic we’ve had in the last year, I felt like it was time to find a home that’s just as bright and embellished as the jewelry in our cases. 

Our current spot in The Bentelsen building, has all the history and opulence anyone could ask for! We’re nested just above a lovely little restaurant called Strangetown, where you can go for an intimate bite and sip before making your way upstairs to gaze at gems or make your bracelet date. We have a lofted showroom complete with a spiral staircase. It’s cozy and bright. I’m hoping to create a space that’s a balance of playfulness and elegance. The far wing of the studio is devoted to production. Waxes are carved, and rings are born a step away from the showroom. 

Where do you see yourself and your business in the future?

I began this endeavour as an artist, and a one woman show. Today I have a group of craftsmen that I connect with to make the designs come to life. My philosophy of craftsmanship has evolved as the business has grown too! Now, I combine CAD renderings with hand-carved organic wax details to create rings that marry the precision and imperfection of our natural world. 

To follow the latest on what Paloma Wilder is creating or to make an appointment, you can go to her website or Instagram. 

Website: palomawilder.com

Instagram: instagram.com/paloma_wilder