A decade of creative evolution at Peg’s Hardware

When Gretchen was 14, she told her grandma, Peg, that she really loved making jewelry—and her grandma thought she was pretty good at it. Peg gave Gretchen a $100 bill to invest in materials and tools to support her trade. But after a few years Gretchen’s attention shifted to other things, and the jewelry supplies sat idle.

Fast-forward to just after Gretchen’s 31st birthday. Her life was in transition, and she was grasping for something to help focus her energy when she found her old box of tools and beads. She got to work immediately. Her sister gave her a bunch of old jewelry, which Gretchen dissected and reimagined into completely new pieces. On a whim, she asked the owner of Elmwood Village boutique Half & Half, where she had worked on and off for 15 years, if she could try selling her jewelry at the store. It all sold instantly.

At the time, Gretchen was working toward a master’s degree in graphic design. She used an assignment that asked students to envision an original packaging design to create unique presentations for her jewelry. The design blended industrial with feminine, featuring brushed aluminum canisters that held necklaces suspended from its caps. The cleanly considered labels paid homage to her grandma’s early and unwavering support as Gretchen named the new jewelry venture in her honor: Peg’s Hardware.

Gretchen’s first line of jewelry as Peg’s Hardware was made of actual hardware—corded necklaces beaded with brass pipe fittings. She quickly realized that wasn’t sustainable as skin oils dulled the metal’s luster.

As Gretchen improved her metalworking techniques through formal classes, an informal apprenticeship and a lot of trial and error, she applied her own no-frills style in constant pursuit of pleasing designs and began to build a following. Her jewelry’s price point was good, and she sold a lot—early adopters are still wearing a series of colorful little button-style earrings she sold for just $10 a pair.

For the first few years she made as much jewelry as she could to stay afloat, taking on odd jobs—dog walking, cleaning basements, retail shifts—to keep from having to get a “real” job. She operated her own DIY crafters business on the side (think paint nights but with a variety of craft project offerings).

In 2017, five years into Peg’s Hardware, Gretchen gave herself a shit-or-get-off-the-pot ultimatum on the jewelry business: focus and make it—or quit. She chose to focus. She closed the crafting business, switched her materials to gold fill and sterling silver to up the quality of her pieces, and set her sights on creating everyday jewelry with staying power in both style and quality. And it all worked.

Dedicating her full attention to her business meant time for proper photoshoots of her finished pieces, sending samples to stores that might carry her jewelry line and satisfying a growing, loyal customer base by producing products they loved. When Gretchen released her signature coordinates necklace—a thin, gold plate simply suspended on a delicate gold chain and stamped with the latitude and longitude location for the City of Buffalo—she realized she had reached a turning point where she could run with this business and make it.

That was the piece that put her work on the map and established an aesthetic that was distinctly Peg’s.

Because she’s not a classically trained jeweler, Gretchen has made up her own way of doing things. The results are designs that aren’t influenced by industry standards or “shoulds.” She happens upon new designs by simply experimenting, usually late at night when her kids are in bed. Something will mill around in her head for a few days until it takes shape enough to try out. Her line of Pinnie earrings was one such late-night epiphany. With no backs or clasps, the simple geometric shapes stay put in earlobes thanks to their carefully balanced design. She has sold hundreds of pairs.

The addition of color was a pandemic pivot, when supply issues forced her into experimenting with other materials including beads made of freshwater pearls, Czech glass and semi-precious stones. They’re used sparingly and subtly, more as supporting actors to the graceful gold rather than the stars themselves.

The dainty, refined lines of current Peg’s Hardware jewelry are a far cry from the bulky brass pipe fitting statement pieces Gretchen started with. But as her studio celebrates its 10th year, the roots of Gretchen’s work remain the same: A drive to make beautiful things, and the support of people who love her.

Peg’s Hardware jewelry can be found online at pegshardware.com and at select boutiques around Western New York and beyond.

The photoshoot team

Photography / Katie Addo, Addo Productions

Location / High Violet, Elmwood Village

Hair & Makeup / Cassandra Lyons

Wardrobe / Jack Wrafter

Stylist / Gretchen Meyers, Peg’s Hardware