CLED – We Visited The Jewelry Designer In Her Home Studio In Los Angeles

We visited the CLED designer Seulye and her partner YJ in their home studio in LA.

We are so glad that we got to know the two co-founders of LA-based eco jewelry brand CLED in person at our event with Galerie.LA last year. CLED is one of the most authentic, creative and ethical brands we met.

Visiting The Home Studio In LA

Shortly after our event, we visited designer Seulye and her partner YJ in their little home studio in Northern LA to see live how they turn post-consumer glass bottles into high-end jewelry. Their home studio is located in an extra wooden house next to their apartment building in the north of Los Angeles. A very idyllic, organized and quiet place with lots of sunshine, where creativity and craftsmanship have plenty of space. We love it so much!

The CLED Story

Here is the little story behind CLED: At a beautiful beach day in LA, they collected colorful discarded glass shatters (left image) and with their creativity, the talent for craftsmanship, and their strong will to do something good for the world, they came up with this brilliant idea to recycle the glass into high-end jewelry.

Today, their collections boast the most unique handcrafted pieces such as earrings, rings, and bracelets which are available in upcoming stores such as Galerie.LA – The ROW in Downtown LA.

Recycled Post-Consumer Glass Bottles

CLED uses post-consumer glass bottles and recycled sterling silver. At the beginning (after using all of the empty cosmetic bottles and wine and beer bottles they had at home – because one can only drink so much ?), Seulye and YJ would go through trash bins to find glass. “But this couldn’t be done long-term as we needed to find the same or similar bottles to make consistent Eco Gems,” says Seulye. This is why they are now sourcing glass bottles from several local restaurants in the LA area to turn them into beautiful gems. Check out their source supporters here.

CLED aims to be 100% sustainable and considers their pieces as eco-luxury with a strong design focus. “Our Eco Gems are made to be of high quality. Annealed glass Eco Gem is harder than most mined gemstones or natural minerals.”

The Sustainable Design Process

After collecting and separating the glass in colors, Seulye first cleans and cuts the glass. She then melts it down into desired shapes using glass techniques like kiln formed, molding, and lampworking. The next step is to anneal the Eco Gem to harden it and to increase its durability. Finally, after polishing the surface, she incorporates the finished gem into one of their design pieces.

As we were watching her doing all these incredible crafts with so much passion, we were wondering if glass bead making originally comes from native American artisans? “Glass bead making started from ancient times in Mesopotamia”, explains Seulye. “Modern glass bead making techniques were made and refined in Murano, Italy, where it is still home to many glass artisans.”

When saying goodbye (their cute little dog seemed to miss us before we even left), we asked what else to expect from CLED in the future, we mean besides more beautiful jewelry designs? “We hope to spread our mission worldwide! We want to make people aware that all fashion can be sustainable, not just clothing, apparel, and beauty but jewelry as well.” They also reveal to make lifestyle products, which they hope to launch in the near future. Sounds exciting!

Each beautiful CLED jewelry piece comes in a plastic-free custom-made packaging which they designed by themselves, too.