The first time Sara Patino took a metalsmithing class, she was hooked.
Back in 2007, Patino, a commercial interior designer in St. Louis, missed working with her hands and decided to enroll in a night class at Craft Alliance. Inspired by her first teacher, the jewelry designer Peg Fetter, Patino immersed herself in the craft, buying tools, seeking advice from more experienced designers, and trolling YouTube any chance she could to see what more she could learn. “Jewelry is something that, as you’re learning to design and create, you get frustrated and you see it as an opportunity to figure it out,” says Patino. “Or, you get frustrated and you decide to move on to another creative endeavor.”
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From an early age, Patino was drawn to handicraft. Annual summer trips to her parents’ native Colombia were a defining experience. In small towns, as well as the glamorous shopping districts of the capital, Bogotá, artisans were everywhere, creating unique artworks: tableware, scarves, leather belts and handbags. Those objects left an impression.
“I thought it was so cool,” Patino recalls, “and, coming back home, I realized that we don’t see that as much here.”
Here is St. Louis, where Patino was raised and forged her own business. That first jewelry-making class introduced her to the world of art fairs. She sold her work there and eventually caught the attention of store and wholesale buyers. Her first major client—a jewelry, clothing, and accessories catalog—hired her as a full-time designer. “This was a great way to learn more about the industry, where all the metals are coming from,” she says.
The experience also planted a seed: What if, Patino wondered, she could bring the whole jewelry-making process under one roof? What if she really knew her suppliers and the supply chain was truly transparent? If Patino decided to work with recycled metals, she could do business with refineries committed to selling conflict-free metals. These ideas appealed to her growing sense of environmentalism. By 2018, she had gathered enough knowledge and resources to design pieces that anyone would feel good about wearing. “Jewelry tells a story. It’s about the person that wears it and also about the resources that it’s made from. If we really think about it, we all want to look good and feel good and we all want to do good, too,” she says.
A 2021 report by McKinsey and Business of Fashion, “The State of Fashion,” notes that a surge in sustainability is one of six major shifts underpinning the fine jewelry industry. By 2025, a projected 20 to 30 percent of global jewelry sales will be influenced by sustainably minded consumers, up 5 to 10 percent from 2019.
Sara Patino Jewelry is known for elegance and eco-mindedness. Patino buys scrap gold from refineries, enabling her to work with recycled materials. The stones in her collections—pearls, diamonds, white topaz—all carry the certification of the third-party organizations SCS–Society for Standards Professionals or Responsible Jewellery Council, which verify that materials are sourced in an earth-friendly, people-friendly manner. As a member of the organization 1% for the Planet, Sara Patino Jewelry donates a portion of its profits to the Women’s Earth Alliance, funding programs to protect the environment, address the climate crisis, and empower women’s leadership.
This past spring, Patino became the first jeweler to be named a fellow by the Tory Burch Foundation. Chosen from thousands of female entrepreneurs, she’ll be among 50 business owners who spend a year learning to grow their companies through coaching, networking, and financial grants for continued education. “I’m super excited about it,” she says.
The future of the company is bright, and it’s also firmly in St. Louis. But, Patino says, she won’t stop seeking inspiration in the world around her: “Traveling is the way to gain appreciation for the land that you live in.”
