Today, we’d like to introduce you to Jonah Song.
Hi Jonah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I started making jewelry as a hobby during the pandemic to keep my hands busy while I attended Carnegie Mellon remotely. I posted a few of my designs on social media and got a lot of interest, so I started selling jewelry through DMs. Eventually, I realized that the demand had outgrown what I could handle through DMs, so I set up a website and official storefront in June 2020.
Over the next few years, my business continued to grow, especially when I was granted a workspace and eventually a startup garage within the Swartz Center of Entrepreneurship in April 2022. That summer I received so many orders that I began contracting my friends to make jewelry with me as well. I was also working remotely as an intern for Accenture at the time and received a post-grad job offer at the end of August 2022.
However, the thought of working in a corporate environment (and remotely!) for the rest of my life filled me with immense dread. I spent my entire senior year trying to come to terms with my future – but five days after I graduated from Carnegie Mellon, the firm called to delay my start date by a whole year.
I decided to completely reject the offer and apply to grad school instead. By late May 2023, no school was still accepting applications other than SCAD, so I took a shot in the dark and submitted my portfolio to the graduate jewelry program. To my surprise, I was accepted, and since fall 2023, I’ve been honing my craft and learning more metalsmithing techniques at Fahm Hall. Through SCAD, I’ve also had the opportunity to exhibit my work at major craft shows at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and at the American Craft Council convention in Baltimore.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
I would say the biggest challenge was deciding the path I wanted to take. As a first-generation Korean-American, my parents were very insistent that I pursue a more traditional career, even though the thought of working in finance made me incredibly miserable.
It felt like nobody believed what I was actually capable of, nor did they acknowledge how much I had already achieved. I was constantly told I didn’t have what it takes to be a “real” artist, and my accomplishments were diminished as a passing interest rather than a 6-figure business I had been working on for over three years.
I could never have built my business without others’ physical support; however, emotionally, I would say this journey was one I had to fight through alone. I had to strive towards a future that nobody else believed could exist.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Most of my commercial work is 3D-printed or hand-carved and then cast in sterling silver. Within the realm of jewelry, I would define myself as a silversmith.
My inspiration is always drawn from the body as the origin and destination of adornment. My pieces 1) physically reflect our inner molecular structures or 2) interact with the gender, race, and sexuality of the body and how our physical forms shape our lived experiences.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from growing up.
I grew up in a tiny town in Oregon in a house with no heating or A/C. My favorite childhood memories are running around climbing trees in the national forest and waking up every morning to the creaking sound of my father opening the woodstove to start our daily fire.
He would chop the logs in the woods next to our laundry room and stack the pieces along the side of the house in piles taller than me and my younger sibling.
Contact Info:
- Website: saintjoanjewelry.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/saintjoanjewelry
Image Credits
Teagan Padala
