“Tinkering” is a term often used by Sarah Wayment to describe her and her father’s shared passion for creating things.
“He likes to tinker around, he’s like a huge woodworking guy and we’re kind of similar that way,” she said. In 2018, Wayment and her father, Lane Wayment, took this passion and created a metalsmithing business.
As the two began their business making spoon rings and the business began increasing in success, they needed a business name. It was only fitting they name it Sarah Lane Jewelry, combining their two names.
“His name is Lane, my name is Sarah and my middle name is Lane so I was like, ‘Sarah Lane Jewelry, that works great,’” she said.
Once Wayment attended college, the business dwindled out, as all of her supplies and tools were at her parents’ house. After not making jewelry for a few years, she moved to Salt Lake City and decided to move all of her metalsmithing materials to her new home. With a new space to work in, her father got her a workbench that “takes up her whole studio apartment,” Wayment said. Once she had her tools and workspace, she was back to metalsmithing and signed up for silversmithing classes at B Golden Jewelry School.
After taking classes, she started making pieces for Sarah Lane Jewelry once again.
“I started doing simple stuff, stuff with stones, but that didn’t require any silversmithing. Then I got more used to it and kept practicing,” Wayment said.
It wasn’t until she started posting on social media and selling at markets that Sarah Lane Jewelry took off. “I did the Maker’s Hive Market at the Gateway this year, it was super fun. That was probably my most successful one,” she said.
As a business owner, Wayment said the biggest challenge she faced while getting started was funding courses and materials. “It’s kind of like you’re spending all this money with little return or just breaking even,” she said. Despite this, she also found this to be the most rewarding part of the process.
“That was really hard, but I also feel like that’s maybe been the most rewarding thing, realizing, ‘Oh people actually like my stuff and I can make some money off this,’” she said.
A brand based in sustainability and nature
Looking at the Sarah Lane Jewelry pieces it is clear where the inspiration is drawn from: the outdoors. “I see colors or textures and I’ll be like, ‘that’s so gorgeous.’ I take pictures of the colors and I use it in my pieces,” she said.
Her jewelry often features stones such as turquoise and obsidian. My personal favorite of her collection is the sunny choker necklace with a super easy and chic clasp.
In harmony with Wayment’s desire to mimic nature, it’s also important to her to honor it as well through sustainability. “I wanted to stray away from consumerism and ‘How many of these can I whip out.’” She decided to use sterling silver in her pieces so that customers had jewelry that would last forever.
“I strive to make my pieces something you can pass down to your daughter and she passes down to her daughter, that’s really important,” she said.
h.edmonds@dailyutahchronicle.com
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