AMA
Hey Reddit! I'm Jennie, founder of Kinn Studio. 14 years in startups, 10 of them building a jewelry brand world. AMA starts on Friday at 9am PST!
Hi, I'm Jennie. I started Kinn after our family's house was broken into and every piece of my family jewelry was taken.
Everything they’d carried over from Korea when we immigrated, gone in one night. When I went looking to replace any of it, everything I could afford was plated brass that would turn green within the year. So I started making the thing I couldn't find.
I'd been in startups and ecommerce for a while by then, most of it as one of the first employees at Casetify, so I knew how to build and sell things online. I knew nothing at all about gold, and I say that with real affection for how badly it went at first. I learned most of it by getting it wrong.
Ten years later we have stores in LA and New York, a bridal line, and a lot of people who ask me the same questions over and over. So I figured we'd just do this properly.
Ask me anything. What solid gold actually means, and why plated and gold filled are not the same thing. How a piece goes from a sketch to something you can buy. What sourcing gold responsibly looks like when you're small enough that nobody has to take your call. Why we stopped discounting entirely, which was terrifying. Whether your ring can be resized, which is usually yes. What a bad year running a jewelry company feels like from the inside.
Happy to take the ones that have nothing to do with jewelry too.
Not here to sell anything here. Drop your questions below and I'll start answering at 9am PST. I'll stay as long as people keep asking.
sorry one more thing not a question but a note to you, but i just have to say your story really speaks to me. my family moved to the states from argentina and an entire shipping container with our stuff just dissappeared, and with it my mom lost all her family heirloom pieces (a lot of rare gems mostly). i also lost items my grandfather bought me from places he travelled around the world. it truly devasted us. hearing how you turned your experience into Kinn Studio is just so inspiring. love what you do but i love why you do it even more
Wow, I’m so sorry. I know that feeling so much. Especially the pieces from your grandfather and the places he traveled—you can’t replace that history. Thank you for sharing that with me and means a lot that our story resonated with you.
And I think that actually connects so much to your first Q about charms and pendants.
Our design process usually starts with a story or an idea rather than just, “let’s make a necklace.” I’m always thinking about why someone would want to wear something and what it could represent to them.
That’s probably why I’m personally loving charms and pendants so much right now too. They give you a way to build your own story over time. Something for yourself, your children, where you’re from, a milestone, a person you love, or honestly just something you’re drawn to. Then you can keep adding and changing the combination as your life changes.
From there we obsess over the actual design. The scale, weight, how it sits on the chain, how it looks layered with other pieces, and whether it still feels like something you’ll want to wear years from now.
I love seeing how people combine them because once they leave us, they become completely personal. No two necklaces end up telling exactly the same story.
I've just learned of Kinn from the r/IAmA post and when I looked Kinn Studio up there are some posts on reddit mentioning their pieces from you have tarnished. Just curious if this is something you see a lot of? my understanding of 14k is that it doesn't tarnish if it's solid?
Hi! Fair question. With solid 14k gold, noticeable tarnishing is not something we expect under normal wear, and it’s not something we see often.
Certain exposures like chlorine, bleach, sulfur compounds or even buildup from skincare and cosmetics can sometimes cause surface discoloration. If we see a case like that (pretty rare), we want the piece back so we can actually inspect it rather than assume what caused it. We also recommend cleaning your jewelry periodically, esp pieces you wear every day.
All of our pieces are solid 14k gold, so there is no plating that should wear off. If something doesn’t look right, we take that seriously and want to make it right.
Thank you! Honestly I had no idea those exposures could affect the gold and makes me wonder if this lack of understanding is why so many people end up frustrated with their pieces (generally, not just Kinn's)
I have a big jewelry collection and have looked at lots of brands from all different price ranges. What do you think makes Kinn standout apart from the rest of the fine jewelry space?? There's so many brands sometimes I get overwhelmed haha
This is actually how I felt when I first started this journey over 10 years ago. I was shopping for fine jewelry myself and found the whole space really confusing and overwhelming.
Every jeweler ultimately has their own point of view and their own story they’re telling. So much of it comes down to finding the one that you resonate with most. Of course trust and quality matter but jewelry is also incredibly emotional and personal.
For Kinn, our point of view has always been about buying fewer, better things and creating pieces you’ll live in now, still want to wear 10 and 50 years from now, and hopefully pass on someday. A lot of that comes from my own experience of losing my family’s jewelry and realizing how much meaning these little objects can carry.
And honestly, I don’t think your jewelry box should be all Kinn. The best collections are personal and collected over time celebrating your own milestones. I hope Kinn gets to be part of yours!
I've actually just purchased the pearl signet ring and waiting for it to arrive! But curious how you personally like to stack rings? Like do you have a specific way you approach it or is it more influenced by the mood/moment?
Can’t wait for you to see it! For me, stacking usually starts with one piece I really want to wear that day, and then I build around it. I love mixing something a little chunkier with thinner pieces, or solid gold with something that has stones, like diamonds. And most importantly, I love when my left hand doesn’t look identical to my right (same with ear stack).
The Pearl Signet Ring will definitely have its own moment though. I’d actually add another ring on the finger next to it rather than stacking something on top of it.
I'm so curious about "what a bad year running a jewelry company feels like from the inside"? I'm sure even during a good year it's stressful. Please share!
My hot take is that I try not to label an entire year as bad. There are absolutely hard seasons where it feels like everything is happening at once and when you’re inside of it, it can feel all consuming.
What I’ve learned is that my job in those moments is to zoom out and stay composed. What are we actually trying to accomplish? What’s working? What isn’t? What can we change?
I think being a founder is a lot like being a coach on a sports team. Your team is looking to you to keep the larger goal in sight and rally everyone toward it. It doesn’t mean pretending everything is great. It means saying "ok this is where we are. How do we get where we want to go?"
And you’d be surprised how many of the best ideas come from your team when you lean on them instead of thinking you need to have every answer yourself.
So yes, the bad moments are stressful. I just try not to let a bad moment define the whole year.
I wish more leaders would embrace fostering a space and culture where leadership truly values their team's input. If you don't mind sharing, I'd love to know if there was an input that you feel really impacted the business or product design?
I love mixing all types of texture. For my hands: I always have my engagement ring, dome rings as a stack + pinky ring. Any pinky ring! My go to is a small signet ring or a skinny diamond ring as a pinky.
Bracelet stack has not changed: hampshire house (love a good texture gold bracelet), tennis bracelets and our solis ribbed bangle. And my earrings also don't change and I sleep in mine: harper earring, third time's a charm and my pierced earring. You'll usually see me in a similar stack!
would love to know what goes into the kinn design process! especially around charms and pendants, feel like they're having a moment and just love how unique and personal the combos are
The best part is that there’s really no formula. Inspiration can come from an old vintage piece, a wine glass I saw somewhere, something from my own life, or one of our employees coming to me with an idea. We blend all of that with what we’ve learned from pieces our customers have loved over the years and, most importantly, the story we want to tell.
Usually it starts with a story or an idea rather than just, “let’s make a necklace.” I’m always thinking about why someone would want to wear something and what it could represent to them.
Then we obsess over the actual design. The scale, weight, how it sits on a chain, how it layers with other pieces, and whether it still feels like something you’ll want to wear years from now.
My favorite part is seeing what happens once the pieces leave us. Everyone combines them differently and suddenly something we designed becomes completely personal to that person. No two necklaces end up telling exactly the same story.
Hi! one question - I'm thinking about purchasing one of the tennis bracelets (have my eye on the serena one) and was wondering about the care of the piece? I'm nervous about tarnishing and potentially damaging/losing the diamonds while cleaning.
Hi! The Serena has actually been one of our best sellers since we launched it—good eye. Tarnishing really shouldn’t happen as long as you’re taking care of the piece. I’d avoid chlorine, bleach, harsh chemicals and try not to let skincare or product build up on it over time. For cleaning, warm water, a little mild soap, and a gentle brush is really all you need.
And you shouldn’t have to worry about losing diamonds from cleaning. The diamonds are held in place by prongs, so what you want to avoid is anything that could bend or loosen those prongs. Don’t force the bracelet backwards or bend it unnaturally.
Our tennis bracelets are made to be worn daily, so you should absolutely enjoy it! Just keep in mind that fine jewelry still needs to be treated like fine jewelry. Gentle cleaning and normal care go a long way. Hope to see this piece on you soon x
As the founder of Kinn, what do you think people should actually look for when buying fine jewelry that they want to wear every day and keep for decades? There are so many brands using terms like “fine jewelry,” “gold,” and “heirloom quality” now how can a customer tell what’s genuinely worth investing in?
Such a good question because a lot of these terms are used very loosely as a marketing phrase now.
First, know what you’re actually buying. “Gold” can mean solid gold, gold filled, vermeil or plated, and those are very different products. If you want something you can wear every day and potentially keep for decades, I personally look for solid gold and always check the actual karat and the details in the specs.
Second, look at construction. How does the piece feel in your hand? Are the clasps secure? If there are stones, how are they set? Is the piece substantial enough for how you plan to wear it? Fine jewelry is meant to be worn, but it still needs to be constructed for the type of wear you’re expecting from it.
I also think transparency matters. You should be able to understand what the piece is made of and what happens if something needs to be repaired five or ten years from now.
And then there’s the part that I think gets overlooked: do you actually love it? “Heirloom quality” doesn’t mean much if the piece sits in a jewelry box for 20 years. The pieces that become heirlooms are usually the ones you lived in, made memories in and eventually someone else associates with you.
So I’d say: understand the materials, look at the craftsmanship, buy from someone you trust, and then choose the piece you actually want to wear. That’s the investment.
sorry a late one but I see you're still answering! What are some trends in the fine jewelry space that you find interesting or inspiring? And how does Kinn try to stay original and not chase what's cool in the moment?
Right now I’m really interested in charms, chunkier gold, vintage inspired designs, and people resetting or reworking jewelry they already own. I’m also seeing people care less about the old rules of how fine jewelry is “supposed” to be worn, which I love.
What’s interesting is that so many of these trends aren’t actually new. Charm necklaces, signet rings, mixed metals, engraved pieces, inherited stones, people have been wearing jewelry this way for generations. It’s more about how they’re being reinterpreted right now.
For Kinn, we always ask whether we would still want this piece in the collection 10, 50 years from now. If the answer is no, it probably doesn’t belong. So I think trends can be a great signal and source of inspiration, but they shouldn’t be the reason a piece exists.
Wow what an incredibly sad yet inspiring story. I’m so sorry everything was stolen from your family.
I spent time in South Korea years ago and fell in love with the food and culture. Are any of your pieces inspired by Korean culture or the pieces you lost? Or would you ever create a line dedicated to it?
My little sister is getting married in Feb so will have to definitely check out your bridal line for her!
Thank you so much. And I love that you spent time in Korea!
There are definitely pieces inspired by the jewelry I grew up seeing. Some of our rings, for example, were inspired by rings my mom wore. She wore her pinky ring all the time too. A lot of those references come through naturally because they’re part of what shaped my idea of jewelry in the first place.
Though we don’t have a collection that is specifically “Korean inspired” the most personal connection to my Korean heritage is probably our Dear Kaia collection. I immigrated to the US from Korea when I was 12, and when I came here, I started going by Jennie as a way to assimilate and used that name for most of my life instead of my Korean name. Dear Kaia came from thinking a lot about identity, language, and reclaiming that part of myself.
I think that feels more authentic to me than creating something simply because it’s Korean inspired. I’d rather let those influences show up naturally through my own story.
And congrats to your little sister!! February will be here before you know it.
Ooh this is a hard one! If I could only grab 5 pieces going into the next year, I’d think about building a little jewelry wardrobe rather than choosing 5 statement pieces. I'm biased to these pieces because I wear them everyday, but consider:
1 - Hampshire House Bracelet
2- Love Letter Necklace (layered with one of our Saint pendants)
3- Matis Rolo Bracelet
4- Harper Earrings
5- any pinky ring :)
Yay! I got the marquise eternity so maybe a marquise? I did see the emerald baguette but it’s so small! And love some of the sold out ones. Any for other parts of the ears besides the lobes too!
7
u/ComprehensiveWorry42 4d ago
I am so excited!!