Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
Creativity runs in the family for Susan Logsdon and Amanda Helman. As kids, the sisters spent hours making crafts in their childhood home on Golden Gem Road in Apopka, Florida. Later, they attended Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois; settled in St. Louis; and found jobs in the arts—Logsdon as a graphic designer for a church and Helman as an adjunct professor of art for her alma mater. After dabbling with their own businesses on Etsy, they joined forces last July to launch Golden Gems, a line of home décor and accessories with attitude.
What’s the idea behind Golden Gems?
AH: We like to have things that are playfully offensive. We’ve got the middle finger print. One of our key tags says, “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” A pocketknife says, “Don’t call me baby.” We want people to feel empowered, like they can go out into the world and make a difference or kick ass.
What is your design process like?
AH: I tend to be a little more offensive and push the boundaries. But then Susan’s there to say, “Whoa, wait a second. Is someone going to buy something with the F-word on it?” Susan is an awesome graphic designer. If I have an idea, I’ll just describe it, and she knows exactly what I’m talking about.
How long had you wanted to start a business together?
SL: Since we were kids.
AH: We used to put on a fake show called Craft Makers of America.
SL: They were these little tutorial videos that we would do in the kitchen.
AH: We’d set everything out, and say, “Hi, this is Amanda.”
SL: “And Susan.”
AH: “From Craft Makers of America.” What’s funny is, we never recorded these.
SL: One summer, we got a hot glue gun. That was a big deal. You could glue a lot of stuff together.
