Step into the sparkling world of Tiffany & Co. with Sara Schoenlank, a Jewelry Designer on the High Jewelry team. High Jewelry is characterized as being the crème de la crème in the luxury world, using the most perfect precious stones possible and pushing the art of jewelry to new heights at every turn.
Our conversation with Sara is a journey through her personal evolution from art school, interning in Italy under a master goldsmith, to now designing in the high jewelry space. She shares details of her intricate design process, sharing the delicate balance between imagination and craftsmanship that is poured into every necklace and brooch — creations that eventually grace the world's most glamorous red carpets and runways.
Peek inside the sparkling world of Tiffany & Co's 2023 Blue Book collection where Sara reveals the inspiration behind the enchanting "Sea Anemone" kinetic pieces and the "Pisces brooch" that are redefining modern elegance. Most importantly, she imparts invaluable wisdom for budding designers on how to nurture creativity in the digital era.
More from Sara:
https://www.saraschoenlank.com/
https://www.instagram.com/saraschoenlankjewelry/
Send feedback or learn more about the podcast: punchmark.com/loupe
Learn about Punchmark's website platform: punchmark.com
Step into the sparkling world of Tiffany & Co. with Sara Schoenlank, a Jewelry Designer on the High Jewelry team. High Jewelry is characterized as being the crème de la crème in the luxury world, using the most perfect precious stones possible and pushing the art of jewelry to new heights at every turn.
Our conversation with Sara is a journey through her personal evolution from art school, interning in Italy under a master goldsmith, to now designing in the high jewelry space. She shares details of her intricate design process, sharing the delicate balance between imagination and craftsmanship that is poured into every necklace and brooch — creations that eventually grace the world's most glamorous red carpets and runways.
Peek inside the sparkling world of Tiffany & Co's 2023 Blue Book collection where Sara reveals the inspiration behind the enchanting "Sea Anemone" kinetic pieces and the "Pisces brooch" that are redefining modern elegance. Most importantly, she imparts invaluable wisdom for budding designers on how to nurture creativity in the digital era.
More from Sara:
https://www.saraschoenlank.com/
https://www.instagram.com/saraschoenlankjewelry/
Send feedback or learn more about the podcast: punchmark.com/loupe
Learn about Punchmark's website platform: punchmark.com
Welcome back everybody to In the Loop. What is up everybody? My name is Michael Burpo. Thanks again for listening to In the Loop this week. I am so freaking excited for this episode.
Speaker 1:I got a chance to speak with Sarah Shorenlink, who is a jewelry designer at Tiffany Co. I hope I don't need to describe who Tiffany Co is, but they are one of the leaders in jewelry design, but also in high jewelry, which is what Sarah specifically works for, and we talk all about some of the projects that she's been a part of, how she got her start in jewelry design, some of the things that she looks at to stay inspired but not derivative, and it's just a really cool talk. Before we jumped on the mic, sarah had mentioned that she couldn't go too deep into a lot of the topics because some of them were either covered by NDA or they were in progress. I don't dive into specifics that often, but we do get a ton of cool information about what the day-to-day of a Tiffany Co designer is like.
Speaker 1:This is one of my favorite interviews I've gotten a chance to do and I hope you check out Sarah on Instagram or on her website if you want to follow along for what she's been designing and if you're new here, if this is your first In the Loop episode, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave us a review. It's the best way to help us grow. Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy this interview. Bye.
Speaker 2:Punchmark's own success comes from the fact that we have a much deeper need and obligation to help our friends succeed. Whether you're looking for better e-commerce performance, business growth or campaigns that drive traffic and sales, punchmark's website and marketing services were made just for you. It's never too late to transform your business and stitch together your digital and physical worlds in a way that achieves tremendous growth and results. Schedule a guided demo today at punchmarkcom.
Speaker 1:And now back to the show. What is up everybody? I'm joined by Sarah Shownlink, a jewelry designer for Tiffany and Co. How are you doing today, sarah?
Speaker 3:I am great. How are you, Mike?
Speaker 1:I'm doing very well. I'm so excited to get a chance to speak with you. A lot of people who have listened to this show for a long time will know that I'm a big fan of Tiffany and Co. I've talked about your guys' work pretty often. It's kind of like my one of the pinnacles, I think, of what jewelry design is right now. Can you kind of describe what it is that you do for them and how you ended up in that position?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I am a designer on the high jewelry team at Tiffany and Co, so I design high jewelry, and the average person that I come across has never heard of it before, unless you're in the industry or really interested in luxury fashion. But I will say it's likely you have seen high jewelry before on the red carpet worn by celebrities like the Oscars, the Emmys, so I would describe it as the creme de la creme of jewelry, and so I design these pieces that are one-of-a-kind and incredibly unique and innovative using the highest quality materials available. So for Tiffany's annual high jewelry collection, it's called Blue Book.
Speaker 1:Oh, cool, yeah, and when you are designing these kind of pieces I know this is probably getting a little bit ahead of ourselves Do you know who's going to wear this piece typically ahead of time? Or is it like just design the most beautiful thing and they'll find someone to wear it?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I have no idea who they're going to. Wow crazy. Yeah, I know it is crazy.
Speaker 1:So what led to you being in this position? I'm assuming you went to school for jewelry design of some sort, or how did you end up in that position?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I did take the art school route. I majored in MJCC, which is metals, jewelry and CADCAM, temple University Tyler School of Art, and my senior year, tiffany was offering a design internship through my program which is how they find their design interns just through art schools globally and I got it. So I started and I was put on the custom design team and the high jewelry design team and I had a little sprinkle everywhere in the design department and gradually I was pulled away from custom design and everything else and pulled towards high jewelry. So around after six months of being an intern I was offered a full-time decision as an associate designer on high jewelry. And then COVID happened and yeah, so a few years later I was then promoted to designer and here we are.
Speaker 1:Man, that's so exciting. I mean just high jewelry in general. It's definitely one of those fields that I feel like is it's almost so different than what we're dealing with With a lot of the people I'm speaking to in the loop is, you know, retailers and they're selling what we might call either fashion jewelry, a luxury jewelry or things like that, but high jewelry in particular, I'm assuming because of the fact that there is this really boutique and, like you know, customized process, the process behind the actual design probably is a little bit more on-compassing. Do you start, you know, I guess, with concept images or what kind of? How do you begin with the design of your jewelry? Is it, I guess, sketching? Is it you jump right into the cat, or how does that kind of begin?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so well. Firstly, I do start with a lot of research and I research for inspiration. I'll make a vision board and a mood board and just to kind of conceptualize and visualize my ideas. And then I go on to sketching and I will sketch figurative drawings, very rough, to try to explore a concept. And I'll typically start with the necklace, because everything for me derives from the necklace.
Speaker 1:Oh cool, I never knew that. That's a really cool idea.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. That's how I personally like to go about it. The necklace is the showstopper, so you want to put the most work and attention to detail into the necklace and get that perfect so that you can then delineate from there.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:To the rest of the pieces. Yeah, so there is a lot of sketching and there's a lot of refining, and then you scan these pieces into the computer and you're on Photoshop rendering and drawing on there and then you know it's just more revisions, more revisions and if needed we will take it into CAD and design it three dimensionally printed to understand how it's working in the round. Yeah, that's.
Speaker 1:Man, that's so, so exciting. I love hearing kind of like the process behind the things that you know are items that I might be looking up to, or hearing about the design process for companies that I admire. It's so fascinating to hear that they are actually relatively close to the process that a lot of people are undergoing. It's not like you guys are doing some like super fancy ritual that somehow pops out these beautiful pieces of jewelry. It's more like, you know, just reiterations and reimagining and pushing what is possible and kind of, yeah, just making sure that you never accept things just because that's the first way you did it. It's always having different options as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I feel like it's considered a classic design process. You know, I mean, it's not the same as art school for not being yelled at or, you know, being spoken too harshly, but, um, yeah, it's. It's very helpful and constructive. You learn a lot. It's great, right? I enjoy that part of the process. That's what I look forward to, honestly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I also wonder how long is like a timeline for you, because you do hear a lot of the times, with a lot of these, you know, either more luxury goods or just like bigger brands A lot of times. For example, I know that Nike is designing they're designing, I believe, five seasons out, so that's a year and a quarter away from where we currently are and that's when they start actually, you know, projecting what is going to be going to be the next season. How long is like a typical, you know, project process for you? Is that, like you know, six months a year? How long does that typically take?
Speaker 3:It takes longer than a year. So to see a design from start to finish, in terms of completion and having the tangible design in front of you, it's a long time.
Speaker 1:Will you ever get to see the finished product? Do you ever get to actually see something that you got a chance to work on and they like bring it in?
Speaker 3:Yeah, of course, it's so much fun when you are told up. The pieces you worked on are here.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's going to be so cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's so much fun.
Speaker 1:So I guess, maybe just to go back to kind of your starting point, I was looking on your portfolio website and kind of just peeking through kind of your earlier work and I saw that you had interned in Rome as well and of course Rome is very well known for their gold jewelry. I think that they're considered like the center for gold and leather in the world. Can you share a little bit about your experience in training in Italy?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I studied abroad for a summer in between my junior and senior year and I wanted to take a class that would benefit my program, but they didn't offer anything in design or jewelry, of course. So I went the internship route and found someone offering an internship through my program's connections and it was a lot of fun. It was a great experience. It was really interesting to be working with Italians who spoke little to no English, but we're sitting there designing and working together and you can understand them. You can understand each other because what we're doing is the same, even though you can't speak the same language. So I still learned so much just by observing.
Speaker 3:And Palo was a master goldsmith who knew so many techniques and little details and textures that he would add to these pieces. It was just so meticulous and unique. It was wonderful to watch. And then I would say, even though it's not jewelry related, I really enjoyed the environment of that studio because it was. It was just lovely. Honestly, it was so refreshing to experience in a professional setting where people encourage you to take a walk when you're frustrated. And if you're frustrated with a startling job, just go take a walk. And if you're lacking design inspiration, go take a walk and get a gelato and that's just. It's so refreshing to see that and hear that and be encouraged to do that, because growing up in America you have this idea of corporate life and structure and it was nice to experience that and be able to take that home with me.
Speaker 1:For sure, and you know it's so good. That's part of I think that's 95% of what I took back. I also studied. I studied in Barcelona and the. You know what did I study there? I don't remember, but what I do remember is, yeah, like the pieces of culture that I took back, you know like, hey, it's okay, like it's not wasted time to spend an entire afternoon at a cafe drinking coffee and whatever, sketching or drinking wine and talking with your friends. It's not wasted time, it's actually, you know, doing something for you, and I think that that's kind of like one of those things Sometimes I feel like we overlook in, yeah, like at least in major cities. I mean, tiffany and Co is based out of New York City, so I can only imagine it's probably quite different than the environment that you're living in in Italy as well.
Speaker 3:It is different, but it also has its perks at the same time, you know, surrounded by these creative, bubbly, sparkly people who are brilliant and so gifted and talented. So it's just such a joy to be in this environment too. I will say they are very different of course, but but they're special in their own ways. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Got the best bagels in the world there, though, so you guys got something right. All right, everybody. We're going to take a quick break and hear a word from our sponsor Yee-haw Just kidding, that's so silly. Punchmark is going to be at the IGO Dallas conference from March 10th until March 12th, and, if you haven't yet already, make sure you make an appointment and stop by and hear the latest and greatest about the Punchmark platform. We've also got new digital marketing options for stores of any size. We're really excited to show them to you. Make sure you stop by and also mention that you love In the Loop. It really makes me look good, and you can do that. Just go to punchmarkcom, slash appointments or punchmarkcom, and in the top right book my appointment. You'll see it very easy. Hopefully. You see you guys out there and back to the show, and we're back.
Speaker 1:So I'm like, like I said, I'm a huge fan of Tiffany and Co. I follow your guys' releases quite a bit. I'm also I'd mentioned this before when we first met that I am a huge fan of eSports, and Tiffany and Co is actually rather, I guess, integrated into that right now. Recently, they redesigned what's called the Summoners Cup. It's kind of like the big trophies, sort of like the Stanley Cup for NHL, but it's the major trophy for the number one eSport right now, which is League of Legends, and it's, I guess, an eternity trophy. So they engrave the names of each winner each year and they kind of add on to it every single time, and that was created by your guys' group as well.
Speaker 1:They also did something for my favorite team, hunter Thieves. They made these rings. I guess. I was wondering. I know what it's kind of like in working for a super big company and you know there might be things that you never were involved in, but do you follow projects that are released by Tiffany that you weren't involved in, or is it kind of like heads down hard at work, just focused on your own projects as well?
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I do know you're speaking up. I have seen that trophy. I didn't maybe fully realize what it was, but I have seen it now that you describe it. Yeah, but we do get, of course, updates about Tiffany like what's happening, the newest release and special project we've been working on with whoever. So we do stay in the know typically, but it's not like I'm going out to search what is happening at Tiffany necessarily.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I guess related. It's one of those things what you're doing is just so innovative and it's almost like it's coming from something larger than jewelry design. It's more of like, and it's almost like experiential design. It seems like with what you're making, I guess with that it sometimes can be difficult to keep yourself, you know, inspired, but also not inspired by anything else you've seen. So how do you balance, for example, staying abreast of the latest in you know high jewelry design but also making it so that your work isn't, you know, derivative or anything like that?
Speaker 3:Mm, hmm. Well, it is definitely helpful working with the people I work with, because they are also doing the same thing and staying abreast of trends and they have experience working at these other high jewelry companies. So I we will talk about what's happening and to be aware of what is being done, what isn't being done, and so we can be aware in that sense. But I don't outwardly look at other high jewelry. That's being done for inspiration, for direct inspiration, for my pieces. For sure, I like to look at pieces, of course. They're beautiful, impressive. I want to see what Boucheron and Cartier are up to. Yeah, but I don't try to do that too often.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess it's kind of one of those things you we do website design and a lot of the times we are always looking, but it's also sometimes, if you look too much, it's kind of like it jumps off the screen and into your pocket and I feel like it makes it almost, too that becomes your reference source instead of like the other material that you've been looking at. So I definitely can kind of sympathize with that. It's tough because at the same time I do want to I am a fan, first of you know website design, the UX, and I do want to stay abreast of things, but at the same time I don't want it my designs that look exactly like something that already exists.
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely I. You know, if you see something too much, your brain just keeps going back to that design or motif or silhouette, and so I try to break free of that and look at. You know, sculptural art is a great one, and nature, of course I always go back to nature. Of course both of those things are very broad, but you find specific areas within those to really gain a lot of inspiration.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess that ties into the next topic I was hoping to speak with you about. So before we had jumped on, I was really interested in hearing about like any of the projects that you had been perhaps involved with. You had mentioned that you can get too deep into a lot of your. You know what you've been working on, but is it possible that you could kind of give us a kind of like an overview on any of the projects that you've been a part of at Tiffany?
Speaker 3:Yeah, sure. So the most recent collection that I worked on was released in 2023, the 2023 blue book called Aquarium. So I worked under the direction of my chief artistic officer, natalie Verde, and the collection I worked on was called See an Enemy. So I had so much fun with this because I specialize in making things as complicated as possible, naturally, and all of the spikes on these pieces unduly and move. They're all kinetic. As you move, the piece moves, and I had so much fun designing the layers and layers of details behind this piece with, of course, my team, and then to see it come to life and be on the red carpet and stuff. It was just so thrilling.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's so cool. So full disclosure to break the fourth wall. I'm looking at it right now. I just pulled it up, and these are exactly what you just described extremely complicated and very beautiful though man this is, it's incredible, though. I can definitely see what you mean, though, about taking inspiration from from nature, and I feel like nature's always changing and there's always more to see, so I guess that maybe is the best place to pull inspiration from it's. These are absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend anybody go and check out the Tiffany and Co Blue Book 2023. It's definitely worth your time.
Speaker 3:There are some amazing pieces in there, and any of the rest of the blue books in the past also highly recommend.
Speaker 1:So I'm just looking at it, there appears to be, man, probably 15 different different pieces, at least the ones that I'm looking at right now. Is this one of those kind of situations where you might start out by, you know, designing 50 pieces and then you cut it all the way down to 20 and then only 15 make the final cut? Or are you starting with a core of five, developing it all the way and then kind of iterating on top of that?
Speaker 3:Of course pieces can always get cut, but it's part of the design process to try different directions and different aesthetics, different silhouettes. So we will try everything we can and go from there. But we don't necessarily design all of these pieces and then wait for them to get cut, because that would be a lot of effort.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the Pisces brooch is just insane, so sick.
Speaker 2:For the people listening.
Speaker 1:this is like a. It's like a full on fish. It's so amazing. It looks like it's like a real fish made out of out of gems and metal. Oh, it's so incredible, it's so much fun. So when I was speaking with you, when I was hoping to get a chance to sit down with you, one of the people I had in mind were this group of jewelers that are on one of the Facebook groups. I'm a part of these young jewelers helping young jewelers, and a lot of the people that are on there are these jewelry designers, or just designers in general, that are just starting out, and they're always asking like, oh, should I be practicing this? You know this technique or this type of software to get better at design, and I guess, do you have any advice for young jewelry designers just starting out? Is there a kind of a practice that is the best way to kind of push yourself ahead, or what advice would you give to those people that are listening?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would say for sure, practice your drawing, practice technical drawings, practice drawing one to one scale and from multiple views If it's a ring or so. I think that that's one area that I specifically lacked in when I started my job, and it can take you so much further if you know how to draw and put your ideas on paper and if you can also have the opportunity somehow to learn Rhino, the 3D design software that is so incredibly helpful. I know there are other 3D design softwares out there for jewelry, but Rhino, I know, is a lot more. It has a lot more freedom in it in terms of being organic and not, you know, specifically ring based, or you know it doesn't have set prawns or anything. It's just what you make of it. So if you have the opportunity to practice Rhino, learn that. That's amazing.
Speaker 1:So you mentioned you know practice drawing. If you don't mind me pushing just a little bit more, are you when you're actually designing for production, for example, are you adding additional details using, for example, watercolor or gouache, or you know Copic markers or anything like that, or is it you really just kind of work with either? You know pencil and paper, like. What main materials are you working in?
Speaker 3:So everyone has a different design process. Honestly, at this point, yeah, so it's really up to the designer and what you're most comfortable with and how you can get across your idea across efficiently. So I personally will start by sketching and refine those lines, or find the sketch, I will scan it into Photoshop and refine it even more in Photoshop and then I will paint, and I will paint it hand paint in Photoshop. The shiny metal, the prongs, the stones, everything, wow, and that's so cool, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And that's really interesting, though, that everybody has their own medium that they prefer, and I think that's the thing that they would keep that open. Sometimes I feel like people with a punch mark. For example, when I got hired, I was hired at the same time as our director, sarah, and I preferred to design in Illustrator and she preferred Photoshop, and we compromised and we designed in Photoshop, so that was kind of. You know, it's tough, you learn it, but then after you learn it, you know eventually you get better. But so I don't know kind of modern and inspiring that they allow you to kind of explore in different materials as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean. Everybody has a different background and you have your strengths and what you're comfortable with. So instead of trying to push someone to learn something that's completely new, you tend to just grow in what you know and learn the other things on the side.
Speaker 1:Very cool, Sarah. Maybe as we're wrapping this up, I'm curious what are you most inspired by right now? In lieu of that, Is there anything that's keeping you kind of, you know, looking forward and working every day towards something? Are you inspired by anything right now?
Speaker 3:Spring.
Speaker 1:Spring, all right, I'm very excited for the springtime.
Speaker 3:I love nature, as I've said, and growth, and you know, flowers, budding and color green. I just find a lot of inspiration in the changing of seasons as well. So, yeah, that has me hoping for another day, you know.
Speaker 1:That's great and, sarah, as we wrap this up, if people want to go to see more of your designs or take inspiration from you, where can people go to learn more and follow up with you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you can find me on Instagram at Sarah Show and Link Jewelry. I also have a website, sarahshowandlinkcom.
Speaker 1:Awesome. I'll try to link those in the show notes below. But, sarah, I can't thank you enough. This is so cool getting a chance to speak with you. Like I said, I'm definitely a big fan One day. I mentioned this before, but one day I'd love to buy my mom a Tiffany T bracelet. It'll definitely be a cool one one day. A cough, but it's so cool getting a chance to speak with someone who is behind some of these designs and you know it'll give me even more of a reason to follow along now. It'll be great.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thanks so much. I hope you get that bracelet one day.
Speaker 1:One day. One day, it'll happen one day. Thank you everybody. We'll be back next week, tuesday, with another episode. Cheers Bye. All right, everybody. That's the end of the show. Thanks so much for listening. This episode was brought to you by Clenchmark and produced and hosted by me, Michael Burpo. My guest this week was Sarah Shownling, who is a jewelry designer for Tiffany and Co. Definitely give her a follow on all of her social medias. We'll put it in the show notes below. This episode was edited by Paul Suarez with music by Ross Cochrum. Don't forget to rate the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave us feedback on punchmarkcom slash loop and you can learn more about the podcast there. Thanks everybody, and we'll back next week, tuesday, with another episode. Cheers Bye.