Meet Cynthia Schmidt | Owner, Artisan & Maker, Earth Song Jewelry

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cynthia Schmidt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cynthia, how does your business help the community?
With Earth Song Jewelry, my goal is to celebrate the natural world with handmade artisan jewelry designs using natural stones. Running my business in an eco-friendly way is very important to me. This forms a core part of my mission and values. I use recycled materials as much as possible (such as recycled sterling silver and boxes), I am certified carbon neutral, and I give back by donating 10% of my proceeds to environmental organizations. In addition, I acquire my stones and other materials from sellers with ethical businesses. I want to be careful that the stones I use are exactly what they claim to be. I don’t purchase from unethical suppliers who dye their stones, and I am careful to avoid synthetic replications. To celebrate the natural world, I must take care of it, too!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I had been in the software technology world in Silicon Valley for over 30 years and was always finding ways to express my creativity on the side. Finally, a life change created the opportunity for me to turn my creativity into a business! I left the corporate world behind and decided to focus first on my handmade jewelry because it allows me to use so many creative techniques that I love.

I have always loved natural stones and collected many over the years. I wanted to create something with the beauty of natural stones, so I focused on designing and making artisan jewelry that shows off the stunning beauty of the natural world that surrounds us.

I am especially inspired by the mountains in Colorado. I live in Conifer, with mountains and trees surrounding me on every side. I use the colors and patterns of what I see here to inspire what I create. Even my business name, Earth Song Jewelry, reflects how I see the world. And, my logo captures what surrounds me here in Colorado.

When initially starting my business, I struggled with doing everything myself. Since I was building everything from scratch, there was a lot to do, with never enough hours in a day. After a few years, I decided to hire some help. I chose to hire help for those tasks where I am not an expert. This was a smart move, and it accelerated my path to stability. Now that I am stable, I am able to run my business without outside help.

As for my brand, my specialty is creating simple and modern jewelry designs that show off the beauty of natural stones. Rather than adding a lot of flashy gold to my jewelry, I design with sterling silver and copper, keeping those materials as accents, rather than the “main attraction” of the piece. Your eye should always be drawn to the stones in my jewelry, not to the materials surrounding the stone. It’s difficult to find others who focus on the stones, as I do.

An important aspect of my products is that they are always hypoallergenic and nickel-free. I suffer from allergies and understand how difficult it is to find jewelry that won’t aggravate your symptoms. I want all of my customers to be able to safely wear my jewelry. This is why I educate them about what it means to be “hypoallergenic” for jewelry, and why I always list exactly what material is used for every product.

And, as I mentioned previously, running my business in an eco-friendly way is very important to me, and that forms a core part of my mission and values.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Wow, this is a hard question! There is so much to see in the beautiful state of Colorado. We’re up in Conifer, so of course, we’d start with seeing the surrounding area and more of the mountains. A drive toward Bailey on Hwy 285 in the Fall is gorgeous with golden Aspen trees glowing in the sun. After that, a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater is a must-do. Sitting out under the stars surrounded by the red rocks is just a surreal experience during a concert. Up in Conifer, we’d definitely have dinner at Twin Forks Tavern. Hard to beat their Friday night prime rib dinner for two – it’s the best prime rib you’ll ever have.

Of course, we’d want to spend a day in Denver! A great day would be walking along the 16th Street Mall, finding a nice place for dinner, then taking in a show at the Denver Center of Performing Arts.

For day trips, a drive down to the Garden Of The Gods in the Colorado Springs area shows you stunning scenery with more of Colorado’s red rock formations. Another great day trip is visiting Rocky Mountain National Park, along with wandering around the nearby town of Estes Park. Those day trips will give any visitor a taste of Colorado’s wild and natural beauty.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Truly, the person who most supports me in everything I do is my husband, Jeff. We’ve been married for 35 years, and he is my rock. When starting my handmade artisan jewelry business, there was a lot of non-stop work and learning to do new things. Sometimes I would feel like it was a bit overwhelming. Jeff was always there to encourage me every step of the way.

Website: https://earthsongjewelry.com/?utm_source=voyage

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthsongjewelry/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiakayschmidt/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthSongJewelry/