Community Highlights: Meet Sarah Trautman of fck jewelry

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Trautman.

Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story starts nowhere near the jewelry industry. I’ve spent the majority of my career working in behavioral health; specifically with individuals with autism.

But, I have always loved jewelry and doing something creative. Last year I was able to connect with a wonderful jewelry production partner in Toronto. After a few initial conversations it became clear to me that starting my own jewelry brand was what I wanted to do. I worked from September 2023 — March 2024 to design and create the signature line for my brand. I lauched fck jewelry in March and the support and excitement for my brand has continued to grow over the last 3-months!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth road? No way. The road to launching my brand has been covered in pot-holes and mud. I have made many mistakes and most of them are funny because you have to be able to laugh at yourself when you’re trying to do something new. One of the funniest mistakes I have made was when I was first learning how to solder jump rings (used to connect chains in necklaces or bracelets). My electrode wasn’t working, and I spent 30 minutes taking my welding machine apart…only to discover I had failed to TURN IT ON. Talk about being humbled. It’s also been challenging to understand how to leverage technology as an e-commerce brand and to understand the high cost of acquiring customers. But, regardless of how bumpy the road has been, it continues to smooth out over time. If it was easy to start something new everyone would do it.

We’ve been impressed with fck jewelry, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I chose a provocative name, fck jewelry, for a reason. It’s so easy for women, especially working moms like me, to lose their identity while managing kids, a career and everything else life throws at you. Add getting older on top of that and it can sometimes be hard to recognize yourself when you look in the mirror.

I wanted to create bold pieces that remind people of who the fck they are because I need that reminder, too. Anyone who knows me is well acquainted with my “colorful” vocabulary, so it made perfect sense to use fck (I took the ‘u’ out on purpose to make it a little less conspicuous) as the name for my jewelry brand.

I’m also working exclusively in lab grown diamonds which have been the most disruptive innovation in fine jewelry. Lab grown diamonds are chemically indifferent to natural diamonds, but the process of creating them continues to become more time and cost efficient, which means the price is far less than natural diamonds (and has continued to drop). As someone who didn’t grow up with a lot of financial resources I love that my customers can buy a fine piece of jewelry at a more accessible price point because I work with lab grown diamonds.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My jewelry production partner in Toronto, Rosie, has been an incredible mentor to me. She has over 20 years of experience in the jewelry industry and we’re the same age, so it’s like working with a sister.

She has never been frustrated with my lack of knowledge and gives it to me straight without making me feel stupid. She always explains her perspective and through our work together I have been able to simultaneously create a lot of beautiful pieces and get a valuable education in sourcing precious metals, stones, how to work with different types of jewelers, and everything in between. There is no class that could have taught me what Rosie has over the last nine months.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fckjewelry.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fck_jewelry?igsh=MWpzNzQ5eG45NjBmeA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
All images by Lauren Waldvogel