Bring home
a piece of art.
Enjoy beautiful Scandinavian design, origami-inspired pieces, and timeless quality from Karin Jacobson Design.
Karin Jacobson's Background
Karin is a Minnesota native who grew up in Moorhead. She attended the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Minneapolis and began her jewelry career with an apprenticeship the summer after graduating. That apprenticeship turned into seven years working as a bench goldsmith under Cheryl Rydmark — during which Karin also attended the University of Minnesota and graduated with a history degree.
In 2000, Karin launched her flagship collection at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, where she began adorning jewelry lovers with her own designs. Two years later, Karin won the AJDC New Talent Competition, which helped her launch her brand. Today, she runs Karin Jacobson Designs from her sunny studio in the vibrant Northeast Minneapolis Arts District.
Learn more about Karin Jacobson by clicking below.
I am a designer because I really can’t not be. While I was learning the technical skills of goldsmithing, I was also obsessively daydreaming of what I would make when I had the skills and freedom to create my own work.
Once I had started making my own pieces, the decision to start my own business was easy. It was born out of my constantly thinking about new things that I wanted to make and share with others.
Designing is problem solving for visual people, and I love nothing more than a problem that I can turn around and look at from every angle until I come up with a solution.
My current collection is inspired by origami. With these pieces, I am trying to push the boundaries of traditional jewelry design and create small-scale, wearable sculpture. I developed my folding technique to create pieces that have a graceful fluidity and big visual impact, while also being lightweight and comfortable to wear.
But my style — the one inspirational thread that has run through all of my work over the years — has been the clean, modern look of Scandinavian design. My heritage is Norwegian, and I grew up with a love of that aesthetic.
My goal with this collection was to create something that I’d never seen before — something new and interesting, and genuinely “me.” I’m something of an introvert, and I don’t enjoy talking about myself, but I feel that this collection allows me to share a little bit of myself with other people in another way, and I’m really happy about that.
When a customer purchases one of my pieces, I want them to feel that they are taking home a piece of art — something that they might love to display as much as they love to wear it. I am not chasing trends or current fashion, but I want to make something with a timeless quality that will be loved as much today as by the next generation to own the piece.
I had a great meeting with Bob and Rose-Marie a couple of years back at the American Craft Show in Baltimore. I immediately felt a rapport, and they seemed to really like the work! We kept in touch over the next couple of years as my collection grew, and they decided that the time was right at NY NOW in February 2020. I’m so excited to work with them; they have a genuine interest in their designers, as well as a real desire to understand their work and to share that story with their customers.
I was so delighted that Bob and Rose-Marie were interested in my newest collection, which I’ve been so excited about. These pieces feature bigger and more unusual gemstones, and I’m using gold to create linear patterns on the backs, so many are reversible. I am having so much fun building on this new collection.