Kristin Hiett was never without a creative outlet. She painted. She wrote poetry. She played guitar. And for decades, while building a career in the corporate world, she quietly made jewelry.
After retiring, she faced the question, “What now?” Today, Hiett is the artist behind B Stoned Jewelry, a line of handmade pieces crafted from natural stones, crystals, and metals.
“You’re not buying this from a market where ten of the same thing are sold to every store,” Hiett says. “You’re getting something that’s handcrafted and designed. When someone buys a piece and loves it, it feels like a piece of my soul is out there in the world.”
Each piece of jewelry is one-of-a-kind, an approach that, Hiett admits, isn’t always ideal for business. She’s lost sales because she won’t recreate designs. But to her, that’s the point.
“I’m not doing mass production, I’m creating art,” Hiett says.
When making a piece, she doesn’t draw out her designs. Instead, she works by feel, sifting through trays of natural gemstones and feeling their energy.
“Each piece has to feel right,” Hiett says. “There’s energy in these stones. I know when something belongs.”
“I just sit down and start,” she adds. “I might be working on three or four designs at once, jumping between them. It’s chaotic, but it works.”
The style of her jewelry matches her personal style and is part bohemian, part rock-and-roll—featuring opals, moonstone, pyrite, and even meteorite, materials she says carry energy and, sometimes, emotional weight. Stones are everywhere in her home: in her kitchen, her office, and even her bathroom.
“When I find one that has a pull, I know I’m meant to have it,” she says.
Running a small business solo has its challenges. Hiett does everything herself, from designing and photographing pieces to updating her website and fulfilling orders. She sells her art through her website and several Dallas-area boutiques, splitting profits with store owners to gain shelf space and exposure.
Her jewelry ranges in price depending on the stones and metal used, but has an average price tag of $65 to $350. Though for Hiett, it’s not about the money.
“It’s not about getting rich,” Hiett says. “I want to create and share something meaningful. My passion is that every woman, and every guy, feels beautiful and loved at one point or another.”
Currently, shoppers can find B Stoned Jewelry at boutiques around Plano and Frisco, including The Style Concierge, Skypony Gallery, Unique World, Stones for Daze, Estilo Concept Store, or online at BStonedNow.com.