INTERVIEW: Korie Miller (jewelry maker/designer)
- Briana Cooke
- Dec 28, 2017
- 3 min read
Jewelry has been worn by humans for thousands of years whether for symbolic purposes or décor. Today people still wear jewelry whether it be for fashion, self-expression, icons of social status, piercings, or symbolism. Korie Miller has found jewelry to be inspiring and enjoys making jewelry called "malas".
Malas are traditionally used for mediation practice and to help count mantras (a repeated word or phrase). Malas originated in India and have been used by yogis and spiritual seekers to help stay focused during mediation. Here is an interview with Korie about how she started making jewelry and her process. Enjoy!!
Q: How long have you been making jewelry?
I wanna say a couple years? I started off making malas for myself to make myself feel better when I'm down because little pieces of jewelry make me happy. Then other people asked me to make some for them. One friend offered to pay but I said no, obviously, because they are my friend.
Q: What stones do you like to incorporate in your jewelry?
Moonstone is really easy to mix and match because it goes well with silver or gold spacers. I also really like hematite. Tiger eye is really fun too.
Q: What kind of jewelry do you like making?
I make necklace malas and bracelet malas. I want to try to make earrings. Simple, single wired earrings.
Q: How long does it take to make a piece of jewelry?
Well it takes some planning out to figure out what works well. I would say probably an hour for necklaces and 45 minutes for bracelets.
Q: Where do you find inspiration?
Other jewelry that I see or come across on Instagram. Or even my mom will send me photos of malas she wants me to make and I'll find inspiration from those. But mostly just me throwing shit together and hoping it looks good.
If I have no idea what to do, I'll just start making random stuff then take it apart and put it back together. I'll find something else to do with it until I find something that looks different.
Q: Besides making jewelry, what else would you say makes you happy?
Oh gosh I don't know. I like sunlight. My cat makes me happy. But obviously I like making jewelry. It's really calming and gives me something to do with my hands. Just the act of stringing beads is nice.
Q: What kind of music do you like?
I like a wide variety. I like house music. I like country music. I'm very picky with rap but stuff like Diea Lone I like a lot. Just like mellow, easy going music that I can groove to.
Q: Where are you from?
I'm originally from Virginia and moved here about six years ago. We drove across the country to get here.
Virginia is always in my thoughts though. I want to move back but for the most part I want to do most of my school out here (Southern California).
Q: What do you want to do with school?
I'm aiming for my PHD in criminology to become a forensics psychologist.
There you have it! I think its great to have your goals in mind and still have your hobbies be a frequent part of your life. Korie wants to be a forensics psychologist but still makes jewelry daily. It just shows how dynamic people can be!
Here are some examples of Korie's jewelry and a link to her Etsy shop!
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