In December 2012, Samantha Levine had just one—albeit a hefty and multi-part—Hanukkah wish, a set of professional jewelry-making equipment: work bench, hand tools, saw, hammers, tabletop drill, and torch (just a small one), to start. With her new hardware gifted by Mom and Dad, Levine, now 27, gratefully got to work crafting her debut line of silver-and-enamel initial pendants under the name Auburn Jewelry. (Auburn is her middle name.)
Last May, the company was officially incorporated, following Levine’s completion of law school in Massachusetts—to which she commuted from her home basement studio at her family’s house in Chappaqua. “My parents have been very accommodating and supportive, even when I’m hammering late at night,” she laughs.
Though she says law is “a great thing to fall back on,” she’s set on supporting herself with jewelry production, a passion that stems back to her days at Horace Greeley High School, where she started in the metalwork program at 14 before minoring in jewelry and metals at Skidmore College. “I get to sit in my studio and work with my hands all day long,” she says of the draw.
Besides the sterling-silver initial pendants (also available in brass, both $66; or 14K gold, $160; and 18 bright colors), the line has expanded to include mini-pendants for layering ($58), dog-breed designs, and custom work, including cufflinks ($115 and up). Since everything is made by hand, she says, “I can do anything, [like] take a photo and make a silhouette of a baby.” A favorite recent commission: Maryland-themed cufflinks in two different colors, with the state on one and a blue crab on the other.
See examples at D’Errico Jewelry in Scarsdale and Mount Kisco, and Beehive Design Collective in Mount Kisco; or shop www.auburn-jewelry.com.
