Alabama jewelry artist Sarah Cavender was standing in a grocery store checkout line when a magazine cover caught her eye. Something looked familiar.
“Wait,” she said to herself. “That’s me!”
Cavender’s unique metal mesh jewelry has appeared in top fashion magazines, including American and German editions of Vogue and Women’s Wear Daily. Her work has also attracted high-profile fans. Television host Katie Couric owns one of her belts. Legal commentator Nancy Grace has worn one of her necklaces.
But one celebrity mention sent her sales soaring.
“Kim Kardashian wore one of my belts and necklaces,” Cavender said. “That really boosted things, I must say.”
Her jewelry stands out for its blend of industrial materials and feminine design. Cavender creates delicate pieces like blue lily earrings made of metal mesh, pale pink dogwood flower pins, and necklaces with dangling metallic leaves.
She holds a fine arts degree in sculpture from a college in Philadelphia. While she studied jewelry-making, she didn’t connect with the fine, traditional pieces her classmates were making.
“I started working with industrial materials instead,” she said.
After teaching for a time, Cavender began making her own jewelry and wore it while working at an art gallery. Visitors took notice.
“At opening receptions, women would literally try to buy the jewelry off me,” she said.
That early interest encouraged her to focus on jewelry full-time. Her sister, who lived in Brooklyn, urged her to seek professional marketing help. The advice paid off. Major fashion names like Henri Bendel and Patricia Field, known for her work on Sex and the City, placed orders.
“It was amazing,” Cavender said. “I had a lot of people who supported me early on.”
She developed a special technique using metal screen. She folds, paints, and seals the material to create jewelry inspired by nature—necklaces, brooches, bangles, belts, and earrings.
“We hand-make our jewelry,” she said. “We finish it, oxidize it, paint it, seal it, and then we add color. We even make our own colors, which are very bright and unique.”
Her collection features a range of styles. One line uses Milanese mesh and flat snake chain, creating pieces that are both classic and bold. Customers can choose finishes such as silver, gold, antique brass, or copper, with many color options available.
Cavender’s work has reached museums and galleries across the world. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has been a steady customer for nearly two decades. The National Gallery of Art once commissioned her to create a necklace inspired by a specific Renaissance painting. That piece is now available on her website.
Other retailers include the Frist Art Museum in Nashville, the Mint Museum in Charlotte, Alabama Goods stores, and the Artful Home website.
In 1994, Cavender opened her business, Sarah Cavender Metalworks, in Oxford, Alabama. Her father is from nearby Heflin. Though she has lived in many places—including Texas, California, New Jersey, Florida, Japan, and the Philippines—she eventually returned to Alabama.
“I was definitely inspired by Asian art,” she said, noting the influence of fine wire filigree designs she saw overseas.
“I realized Miami wasn’t the place for me, and I made my way back here,” she added.
Her Oxford studio mainly sells to museum shops and boutiques. However, walk-in customers are welcome. Cavender and two employees run the studio and help visitors from cities like Atlanta and Birmingham.
“They’re usually looking for locally made gifts,” she said.
Her best-selling item is the $195 Three-Strand Fern Necklace.
Some customers wonder whether she weaves the mesh herself. She doesn’t.
“It all comes out of my head,” she said. “But I don’t make the raw materials, just like painters don’t make the canvas.”
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