Melanie Ryan and Keri Marden started MKindred with the idea of keeping jewelry as locally-made as possible
Photo courtesy of Jacki Altieri
By Jessica Bryant
Melanie Ryan and Keri Marden, both of Wickford, met while working together at a local jewelry store, and in 2014 they started their own jewelry company, MKindred. Since then, they’ve been making jewelry out of their living rooms and showing off their bracelets at trunk shows around the state.
“Having been in the retail business and seeing the importance of people purchasing items that had some meaning to them, Keri and I decided it was time to put our heads together and make it happen,” says Melanie.
MKindred currently has eight different collections of bracelets, and all of the pieces feature semiprecious stones, many of which they find at gem trade shows, with different meanings and energies behind them. Keri’s favorite stone to work with is Amazonite. “It’s a stone of healing and it’s a beautiful blue,” she says. Melanie’s favorite is Labradorite.
Like any new startup, it’s taken the duo some time to get on the path they’re on now.
“Fortunately, we’ve found some great local Rhode Island designers, model makers, casters and platers,” says Melanie. “We try to keep it as much homegrown as possible.”
On coming up with the brand name, Melanie says, “I’m the M, Keri’s the K, and we’re kindred spirits. We felt, as soon as we started working together, that we’ve known each other forever. We have a blast, even on our darkest days of trying to figure out how we’re going to move forward with this.”
MKindred plans to kick off the new year strong. “Right now, we’re expanding on our current collections, as well as adding two to three additional collections,” says Keri. “We’re also making limited-edition love knot chokers for Valentine’s Day, so stay tuned.”
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