She’s only 16 – but Maddy Gauthier has been making jewelry for years. She’s appeared at countless art fairs and markets, runs her own Etsy shop, and most recently participated in the Youth and Teen Entrepreneur Fair in Kalamazoo, hosted by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department in cooperation with the Kalamazoo Youth Action Council. With earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and keychains, Gauthier is making a name for herself as a young jeweler to watch. Her business is called Frog Makes Jewelry.
“I play a lot of video games,” Gauthier says. “Froggy Chair was an item in my favorite video game, Animal Crossings. I came up with the name in 8th grade, or maybe my freshman year in high school. Later, I decided to change it to Frog Makes Jewelry.
Gauthier says she started her business making only earrings. But she lately expanded it to include other kinds of jewelry, like necklaces, rings, and other items.
“I’m mostly self-taught,” she says. “But also, from watching YouTube videos. I got into making jewelry when I was in middle school. I got some beads and wire and went from there.”
Over time, Gauthier began to experiment with other materials, like tops from pop cans, beach glass, and stones. She collects the stones and beach while visiting her grandmother, who lives near Lake Michigan. Her grandmother sometimes exhibits crocheted animals under the name Frazzle Grass in a booth next to her granddaughter at art fairs and other events.
Watch for Gauthier’s jewelry line to expand and appear at events and farmers markets and pop-up shops throughout Kalamazoo County in the coming year. Gauthier says she is “busy during the school year, but next summer—there’s a lot of stuff I want to do next summer with my business!”
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