Why I Don’t Model Most of My Earrings

You may have noticed something in my recent earring listings:
instead of seeing them modeled on a live person, you’re seeing them displayed on a pair of silicone ears.

Yes — slightly funny, slightly disembodied ears.

There’s a reason for that.

I completely understand why people like to see earrings modeled. It helps with scale. It helps you imagine them on yourself. I appreciate that perspective too when I shop.

But because most of my earrings are one of a kind, I choose not to try them on myself or have someone else model them before selling them.

It all comes down to sanitation. Before I made jewelry full-time, I worked in cosmetology. In that world, you don’t reuse tools without proper sanitation. You wouldn’t run a comb through one client’s hair and then use it on another without disinfecting it. That training has stayed with me — and it shapes how I think about things like earring sanitation today.

Trying on earrings that are going to be sold to someone else just doesn’t sit right with me — especially when many of my pieces include natural stones that can’t be properly sanitized without risking damage.

Metal-only, made-to-order pieces are a different story. If you ever see earrings modeled on a live person, it’s because I can make multiples or they’re fully metal and can be properly cleaned without issue.

But for my one-of-a-kind gemstone earrings, I won’t sell you a pair that’s been worn for photos. That’s simply a standard I hold for myself and my work.

The silicone ears may look a little amusing, but they allow me to show scale and fit in a way that’s completely sanitary. It’s a small thing, but to me it matters.

As with many parts of this business, it’s about care. Care in the making. Care in the details. Care in what leaves my studio and goes to you.

That same standard is also why certain earrings aren’t eligible for return if they can’t be properly sanitized or have their ear wires changed out. If I wouldn’t sell you a pair that’s been worn for photos, I also won’t resell a pair that’s been worn and returned.

It’s simply about holding the same sanitation standard from start to finish.