The combination of an artist's eye and a traveler's soul has helped Sage Machado create an incredible, one of a kind jewelry line that's spun off into fashion and fragrance.
Mass marketing has made it easy to walk into any store and get any old bracelet, pair of earrings or necklace and ensure that -- more likely than not -- you're going to run into three other people wearing exactly the same piece. What's an individuality-seeking fashionista to do? Look no further than Sage Machado.
Machado isn't your average, run-of-the-mill jewelry designer. Following in the footsteps of her creative mother, who painted and made jewelry, Machado decided to develop a line of her own while working as a sales assistant a boutique on Melrose that she didn't want to name.
"My boyfriend at the time was a model," Machado recalls. "We were talking about trends, and we were starting to see velvet chokers, which was what I started out making. So my line slowly grew while working in the store. I was self taught, started making it all myself and I built out from there."
Building out meant learning how to do stringing, wire work, then casting. Machado's pieces were available exclusively through the store where she worked, but the more people heard about her designs, the more other stores and reps would approach her. So she took the leap. After putting in a final six months at the store, Machado took the plunge and went out on her own, hiring a rep that got her line into Barneys, getting a production assistant, then working on wholesaling the line.
After six years of making jewelry, Machado added fragrances to her repertoire, expanded to candles, then included a clothing line, which wound up teaching her a valuable lesson -- rapid growth and expansion isn't always a good thing. Though her clothing line lasted for three years, problems with production prompted Machado to pull back and refocus, putting her attention back on the fragrances, candles and jewelry in an effort to maintain the company's homegrown feel.
.jpg)
But the biggest challenge for Machado? Keeping her unique, one-of-a-kind line fresh.
"It's always changing and evolving, but it requires so much of my time," she says. "I have to shop for pendants, shop the shows and find suppliers. I find cufflinks and doorknobs, then I turn them into pendants. I study them, refinish them and then I design with them. It requires my hand every step of the way," she says. "But it's also my passion because I like finding antique things and turning them into something that's wearable for the modern woman. It's like giving them a rebirthing."
And rebirthing is exactly what spring is all about, which is why Machado embraces color during this season in particular.
"Spring is ...the season for joy -- you're showing more skin, so there's so much more room to play," Machado suggests. "Your necklines are open, your arms are open, so layer your pieces using a couple pieces you can wear alone or together." She adds, "I like to be able to have that look where I'll wear three pieces together for evening with a layered linen. It's all about color, and I like to have different sets -- I like to mix gold and silver together, and this spring it's all about whites with gold and silver."
As for what's next, Machado is working on getting distribution in Australia, Russia, Italy and the United Kingdom and expanding her fragrance and candle line to include body wash. Machado is also looking to develop more high-end jewelry lines, in addition to a new vintage-feel line that offers precious and semi-precious stones.
If the last 12 years are any indication, we'll be seeing a lot more from this talented designer for years to come.
Visit Sage Jewelry online at www.sagejewelry.com, or at her retail location at 7381 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90036. Fragrances and candles can be found at Fred Segal, Nordstroms, Anthropologie and Nieman Marcus. Jewelry can be found at Diust in Japan, Barneys and select boutiques in New York, and on the website.
