Shella Eckhouse has always had a passion for sparkly things and followed that passion to pursue a career in jewelry. Her first job in the industry was a runner, but eventually she started matching earrings and pairs of diamonds and then doing large layouts for important pieces. Today she is the owner of Kind Fine Jewelry. Shella is a one-woman tour de force because she runs her business herself and wears multiple hats as a mother, designer, head of marketing, idea generator and businesswoman.
She is infectiously hopeful, resilient and determined to succeed. I very much enjoyed picking the brain of someone with such an optimistic worldview and with such sublimely designed pieces. It also doesn’t hurt that she is an absolute riot!
She envisions a future where cannabis is ennobled rather than being villainized. She’s of the opinion that we should all plant more hemp trees to benefit the environment and that wearing a cannabis leaf should be like wearing a daisy because they’re both flowers. We covered everything from cannabis prohibition to female representation in the diamond industry. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did! And take a look at the designs as well because I come bearing gifts! From Feb 12th – Feb 26th, you can get 20% off of her website by using the discount code: Handfulofmia20.
Amiah Taylor: What was your experience like at GIA?
Shella Eckhouse: I did GIA through a home study program. I did it while I was going to college at Tulane in New Orleans. I moved back to NY and I completed the rest of the requirements physically at the GIA in New York.
I did a little bit through their mailing system. This makes me sound like a dinosaur because this was 25 years ago, way before the internet. I would get assignments through the mail and I would have to mail them back. I know that makes me sound really funny.
AT: Yeah, it makes me think of the British war, you know how they had carrier pigeons?
SE: (laughs) Please! I’m not that old!
AT: I’m teasing, of course. Did you take a deliberate break after graduate school or did you jump right into your business?
SE: I studied gemology at GIA and then I finished my B.A. at Hunter College. And then I also took some jewelry design courses at FIT. I started working in the field right away.
AT: I was wondering about GIA, in terms of how much it prepares you for the “real world.” I’ve heard gemologists say, “well this education qualified me to be the manager of a jewelry store but it didn’t actually prepare me for the management part.” How would you weigh in on that?
SE: It’s kind of true, there’s nothing like the actual experience of working in the field. GIA gives you a foundation and the necessary tools to go out and be able to look at things from an educated perspective. To be able to say “okay that’s a F color” or “that’s a J color.”
Most people who are not gemologists or really heavily in the field, they don’t have that capability to tell you color, carat, clarity.
Most people can’t tell you details or facts about gemstones and pearls. GIA really prepares you with the knowledge of the actual materials, it doesn’t teach you how to talk about it with clients or tell you how to make it into a piece of jewelry you can actually wear. It gives you knowledge you need to be part of the industry.
AT: Okay so as far as superior gem knowledge, for example, knowing about gem quality like cut, carat, color. Do you feel like that directly prepared you for starting a jewelry line? Because you did mention that your education at GIA didn’t include composing pieces and putting them together.
SE: Absolutely! I think that you learn a lot as you mature in the business and you learn about design and what works and what doesn’t. I had some training in drawing, specifically sketching jewelry. Today it’s obsolete because everything is done with CAD machines and computers. I work with all different kinds of people and I get help with the CAD machine. I curate and put things together and express what I want and then it gets made.
AT: I understand. I think that’s super useful and as we transition to different forms of technology I think dictation is going to become more and more important.
SE: Agreed.
AT: So, you said your passion for natural beauty helped you to start your business?
SE: I value the environment and the Earth, it has so many beautiful things to offer us in nature.
Butterflies, animals, all of that is inspiring. In nature there are so many colors and lines that we can observe and find value in. Or bring into the design of jewelry or the way we run our lives.
AT: That’s interesting. Recently, I was really pondering on artifice and women and the beauty industry. We are upgrading into these caricatures of ourselves. Whether that’s getting these gargantuan curves to fit into modern day trends or whatever it is. So when you say you’re inspired by beauty, I almost feel like that’s a reclaiming of the self. It’s like you’re saying “hey let’s be intentional and let’s look at what’s natural.”
SE: Back to basics, exactly. Natural. I look at my line and I think of the power of the flower. I think about the power of women.
AT: I love that.
SE: The cannabis flower is a female plant.
AT: Oh wow, I didn’t know that.
SE: Yes, to me it empowers women and it’s empowering to women and that’s a huge part of the aesthetic.
AT: What is the most exotic stone you’ve been able to work with either in your gemologist training or in your personal business?
SE: I would say a paraiba.
AT: That’s a tourmaline, right?
SE: It’s a very special tourmaline. I’m so glad you know what it is, most people don’t. It’s a stone that’s very rare and very dear to me. It’s a windex-y color that reminds me of the color of the ocean.
AT: I’ve seen it in jewelry and it’s always such a show stopper.
SE: I love it. I’ll be honest, I love diamonds and I love a lot of colored stones. I love jewelry and I love gems. They’re so beautiful and to pick a favorite is really difficult. But I do love paraiba and I think it’s so unique and definitely a lot of people don’t know about it.
AT: Talk to me about your work with the nonprofit, Patients Out Of Time.
SE: Patients Out Of Time is a nonprofit that provides patients with marijuana at the end of their lives.
My Mother died 4 years ago and she passed away from cancer. She used CBD and medical marijuana at the end of her life to ease her pain and to lessen her anxiety.
It wasn’t easy to come across CBD oil and tinctures and all the things I wanted and needed to help her. I think it’s important that people at the end of their life get some type of relief. And if cannabis gives them that relief then they should have access to it.
AT: I agree wholeheartedly.
SE: With my mother, the morphine was making her feel sick and a few drops of the tincture beneath her tongue would make her a little bit hungry, even if it was just for a bite or two. I felt desperate and it was something that helped. I feel compelled to give other people that opportunity and access to those alternative treatments.
AT: I’m sorry you had to go through that but I’m glad that it’s made you so charitable and compassionate to other people in similar situations.
SE: Absolutely. I just find that the plant has such amazing benefits, however with prohibition, it’s been blocked from the mainstream.
AT: A lot of people don’t know with cannabis and prohibition, that it was acceptable at certain times in America and then legislation made it harder to access.
SE: Yes, exactly. I think our money used to be made out of it. And I think on one of our bills there was a hemp field.
AT: That’s super cool!
SE: Yeah, it used to be legal tender back in the day.
AT: Are there any areas in the jewelry industry where you feel like women are underrepresented?
SE: The diamond industry has always been run by men. Women are really making headway and in the last 20 years we’ve stepped it up. The diamond business is very much a family run business and now it’s a business that you can actually enter. 20 years ago, this was a business that was very much inherited and passed down. So I think just being involved and being included is improving. We are becoming more and more accepted and therefore representation really is getting better.
AT: I completely understand. It is funny when it comes to American capitalism, it’s really true there are so many industries where the products are marketed to women but owned by men. Cosmetics are a big one.
SE: One hundred percent. Everything from makeup, to beauty, to perfume. That whole industry is all run by men.
AT: If you could have Shella’s Business Bootcamp: How would you train the next generation of jewelry leaders on how to run a business?
SE: Service. Service. Service. The most important thing is to always service your client. Whether that’s shortening a necklace so it fits them at the perfect spot or loosening an earring that’s too tight.
I think it’s all about service and it’s all about customization. Each piece is handcrafted here in New York and all of the materials are hand selected. My pieces can be cheeky and they toe the line between edgy and luxurious. I also offer engraving on the flowers, that way you can put a meaningful date like a concert or a birthday.
AT: If you could magically transform into any jewelry piece in your line, which one would you pick?
SE: I would say my new diamond bangle because it’s so cool and it can be layered with anything. It makes a great statement but at the same time it’s fun.
AT: I love things that are elegant but still playful, so it sounds like it’s striking the perfect balance.
SE: It really is and I think that’s the whole thing about the line. We don’t have to be so serious all the time but we all still like nice things. The bangle is a really beautiful keepsake and it’s something special.
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