Meet the Maker

Maddie Mahon – East Coast Jewels

Meet Maddie Mahon. This 19-year-old Rowan University sophomore is fun, bright, full of spark, and determined to succeed both personally and professionally. In just a few short months, Maddie’s dazzled the local art scene with her whimsical, unique earring line, East Coast Jewels.
“This past August, I was looking for something to do. I grabbed a pair of my plain silver hoop earrings, and started wrapping them with wire and a sparkly, iridescent and turquoise beads. They took me two days to finish, but came out so pretty. I thought, ‘How am I ever going to keep doing this if it takes two days per pair?’” she laughed.
Maddie snapped a picture of her accomplishment, posted it to Instagram, and sent it to her friends, who quickly began putting their earring orders in. This happy accident took on a life of its own quite quickly – in her hometown of Wildwood Crest and far beyond.
“I went back and forth about selling my pieces locally, worrying I’d step on toes,” she said. “In my town, there are so many other amazing jewelry artists, but then I realized what I was doing was so different from their work. My Godmother, Carla or ‘Lala’ as we call her, encouraged me to share my art with everyone.”
Maddie said Lala taught her how to wire wrap six years ago after taking a jewelry-making class, and they’d enjoy creating bracelets together. Her Godmother also helped her name and brand the business “East Coast Jewels.” Then, a good friend of Maddie’s envisioned and designed the company logo for her, incorporating a flowing mermaid.

See the entire story at www.ocnjmagazine.com.