In the beginning...
In the summer of 2006, Scott and I said goodbye to our life in D.C. and set off for Asia with just the packs on our backs. Alongside the carefully packed essentials in my backpack were my jewelry-making kit and a small bit of wire. We were two young actors in love, ready to start the adventure of our lives.
On a boat in Korea, sitting in the tightly packed steerage with people all around, I befriended two young boys while making bracelets together. As we traveled over land across China into the mountains of Tibet, I continued making friends through my beads.
Outside the Jokhang monastery in the holy city of Lhasa, Tibet, I found an apprenticeship with a friendly turquoise dealer who introduced me to Tibet’s green turquoise and taught me ancient knotting patterns.
In each new land we visited over those eleven months, I found community through creation. Through beads I found connection and a way to communicate. Every person we met taught us something unique and inspired us to seek new adventures. The core values that guided us on our journey all those years ago - kindness, inclusion, creativity, adventure and hard work - are still at the heart of SASKIA today.
I collect materials from around the world and bring them to my Brooklyn studio at Industry City where I design and make each piece by hand. In addition to my Brooklyn shop and online store, SASKIA designs may be found at upscale markets around the country as well as in the gift shops of the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan, The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.