Sarah Tullgren
As a brand that celebrates, encourages, and admires courageous makers, we created this series to endorse the ones that have made taking chances look easy. By subscribing to our newsletter and following along on this page, you’ll get to meet new makers every first of the month, and learn the ins-and-outs of what it takes to make it all happen.
With chains, hoops, and pendants galore, Set & Stones has a diverse collection of handcrafted jewelry for everyone. Whether it’s simple or sparkly, Sarah Tullgren strives to accessorize the world in wearable, affordable, and one-of-a-kind pieces through her passion for jewelry making and eye for design. Take a peek at just some of the gleaming golds and shiny silvers that S&S offers below. It’s guaranteed to set your obsession in stone.
Q: Tell us about your business!
A: "Set & Stones is a women-owned + operated jewelry brand based in San Diego, CA. The company was established in 2016 and can now be found in retailers nationwide including Nordstrom. The collection consists of easy-to-wear, effortless pieces that can be worn all day, every day, and are made to last. Our materials include primarily 14k gold fill and sterling silver so the higher quality metals while still maintaining an affordable price point. Currently, the Set & Stones team is made up of 9 fabulous women, plus our office dog/mascot Coco."
Q: What inspired you to start making?
A: "Making jewelry began purely as a hobby for me when I was about 14 years old in high school. My mom was showing me a jewelry box full of my grandma Sara’s (who I was named after!) vintage jewelry one day and it immediately caught my attention. I loved all the beads and stones and wanted to learn how to recreate the pieces into something more modern so I started working at local bead stores and quickly learned the basics of jewelry making. I loved designing pieces and what originally started as a hobby quickly turned into my friends asking me to make jewelry for them for prom, birthdays, gifts, etc. Making jewelry was my passion project meets side hustle for many years and a few years after graduating college, I realized that’s what I loved doing so decided to take the leap of faith and turn it into something more. Best decision ever."
Q: Walk us through your creative process...
A: "Ohhh where to begin. My creative process is a little all over the place! I’m most inspired to create new designs when I go to the local gem fairs that come to town every few months. There’s a ton of vendors there who bring all sorts of supplies and findings. I have my favorite vendors who I visit each time so I usually peruse all their new goodies and brainstorm what I think would look good. I then play around to produce some rough first drafts and adjust as needed to get the style just right. Sometimes the ideas in my head come to life and turn out perfectly and other times they turn out nothing like I envisioned. In that case, they either get tweaked to perfection or if I can’t nail down something I love, I nix them from the collection and move on to the next one."
Q: What would you say makes your business special?
A: "I feel forever blessed to have the BEST team. Every single person is so dedicated, hard-working, and passionate about this business and that is super special to me."
Q: What do you see for the future of your business?
A: "I’m especially excited for this year as we have lots on the horizon. New retailers (I can’t say who just yet, but stay tuned!), lots of fun marketing plans and I’d love to expand the brand to have more of an international presence in the near future."
As you follow along through this series, we hope you decide to do the same with our maker of the month on their platforms! To keep up with their making endeavors, here’s where you can find them:
Instagram - @setandstones
Website - setandstones.com
With admiration and curiosity for the people and passion behind businesses, we created our very first series: Meet the Makers. Through these Q&A’s, you can expect to discover new brands, handmade products, and the inspiring makers behind it all on the first of every month.
