Sierra Barth: From Silverware to Signature Style

WRITTEN BY LIZ FARIAS

COVER PHOTO: SIERRA BARTH

It was summer 2022, and I’d somehow ended up in San Diego—cliff-jumping with new friends, sweating through hot yoga, cheering on the Padres at my first baseball game. The days stretched generously, filled with vegan Thai food, sparkly oceans, and the ache of Normal People lingering in my chest. The week unfolded like a soft, sunlit exhale, a cherished capsule of girlhood and ease.

That’s where I met Sierra Barth. She was effortlessly cool, with a jewelry line called The Lucky Love Shop. Maybe it’s her Pisces sun or her deep love for summer, but there’s something undeniably dreamy about her work. The pieces are bold and romantic: silver spoon rings that curl around your fingers with surprising softness, like something magical salvaged from another life. I bought six rings from her that summer, and I’ve worn one almost every day since.

Back then, her shop existed mostly through word of mouth and a modest online presence. But I was immediately curious. Where did these spoons come from? How did she even learn to make jewelry? I recently caught up with Sierra to ask those questions and learn more about where her creativity has taken her in the years since.

Sierra made her first piece of jewelry at 18, during the COVID-19  pandemic. With her first year of college unfolding from home, she was trying to outrun the creatively fatal boredom-depression combination that defined 2020 for so many of us. She turned to working with her hands, and luckily, her DIY hobby stuck. 

SIERRA’S FIRST SET OF RINGS, COURTESY OF SIERRA BARTH

“I kept seeing this one guy on TikTok making spoon rings,” Sierra wrote in our interview. “And I was like, ‘Well, if he can do it, I can do it.’”

So she saved up the money she earned working at In-N-Out and bought a ring-bending tool. The rest of her supplies—rawhide hammer, vice, file—were scavenged secondhand from Craigslist, eBay, or local thrift stores. She didn’t have any formal training, just a hunch and a willingness to wing it.

At first, the hunt for silverware was part of the fun. Sierra began sourcing pieces through Craigslist and OfferUp, eventually expanding to thrift stores and estate sales. She noted that it was surprisingly easy to find full silverware sets at the time, likely because during the height of the pandemic, many older people passed away and their families donated or sold household items, including heirlooms. Once she transitioned to in-person classes in a smaller college town, it became harder to find pieces locally, so she shifted her search to online platforms like eBay and Goodwill.com.

When I asked her to walk me through her process, she broke it down with the kind of casual precision that comes from having done something hundreds of times: first, measure the thickness of the spoon. Then cut it to length depending on the ring size, file the edges, and slowly bend it into shape with a hand tool. “While downsizing, I’m also hammering, so it doesn’t become crooked,” she explained. Once the ring holds its form, it gets a final cleaning—“I just throw it in the dishwasher”—and it’s ready to wear.

Sierra is currently in the middle of a rebrand: new name, new site, new Instagram. She hopes to eventually fold in her other crafts, like wire-wrapped jewelry, stained glass, and even lino prints. “I realized over these last two months I want to spend more time and energy toward my craft,” she wrote. “After college, I was a little lost in what career I wanted. But I keep coming back to this.”

She is a self-proclaimed hobbyist, collecting creative obsessions every few months. But jewelry has stuck around the longest. Even now, after graduating and relocating to Durango, Colorado, she’s slowly returning to the rhythm of making, piece by piece. “I really want to take a soldering class so I can make more intricate things,” she said. “Bolo ties, belt buckles. I actually found these old mini license plates at an antique shop that I have an idea for.”

TO THE LEFT: SOLDERED PENDANTS MADE WITH OLD FLOWER PAPER FROM A BROKEN BOOK SIERRA FOUND, TO THE RIGHT: STAINED GLASS, PHOTOS COURTESY OF SIERRA BARTH

Her design style isn’t tied to any one movement or inspiration, which she admits can sometimes make it harder to define her niche. Still, that openness gives her work its unique charm. She’s guided more by instinct than genre, often choosing materials simply because they feel right. There’s a beauty in that kind of variety—something for everyone’s tastes. And while she doesn't draw from specific influences, she does admire artists like Heather Dawn (@HeatherDawnGlassWorks), known for her stained glass pieces, and dreams of one day collaborating with wire-wrapped jewelry artist Lucas Wardein (@EtherealGemWorks).

Sometimes she comes across spoons that remind her of specific people—an ornate pattern that suits a friend’s style, or a monogrammed “M” she once saved for her boyfriend, Max. One of her most meaningful pieces was one of the first she ever made. “It’s still in my ring rotation,” she wrote. “It was from one of the first silverware sets I ever got, and it’s special because it’s the same pattern my mom and grandma picked from my case of rings. They had no idea I had chosen that one too.”

PHOTO CREDIT: SIERRA BARTH

There’s something poetic about the circularity of it all: three generations, unknowingly drawn to the same design. A ring, passed on.

Though she’s taken breaks from selling regularly, Sierra says she’s ready to return with more intention. She’s planning to rebrand entirely—changing the business name, rebuilding her website, and creating a shop that reflects all of her creative pursuits, not just jewelry. Part of that process also includes being more consistent on social media and giving the project a much-needed fresh start.

She used to sell most often at a local art market in Davis, California, during college, where a wide mix of artists showcased their work in a lively, creative atmosphere. Now, she's hoping to join farmers markets and pop-up events in the coming months.

PHOTO CREDIT: @DAVIS_STREET_MARKET ON INSTAGRAM

I asked Sierra what it’s like knowing people might end up wearing her jewelry for years. “It makes me feel really happy inside knowing I created something someone else finds cool enough that they wear it on their body every day!!!” she described. She’s also thought about stamping her initials inside each piece, hoping that, one day, someone might recognize her work if it ever gets lost.

“I always hope it makes people feel cool and pretty,” she wrote. “I’ve had so many people tell me they don’t like wearing rings because they think they have ugly fingers—too skinny, too chubby, too short—and I’ve convinced a lot of them to start wearing rings and feel good about their hands. Rings are for all finger types. That’s why I make all sizes.”

There’s an empathy in Sierra’s work. A kind of belief that everyone deserves to see beauty in themselves. Even if it starts with a spoon someone else threw away.

The rings I got from Sierra three summers ago have traveled with me through different cities, new jobs, heartbreaks, and friendships. They feel like an extension of myself, a feeling that deepens the more I wear them. Their quality, both in design and craftsmanship, means I rarely want to take them off or swap them out. Every compliment on my hand set sparks confidence and joy because I know exactly who made my rings. There’s something powerful about that connection, about supporting someone’s craft and carrying it with you. Buying from small artists is a quiet rebellion against mass production; when you value individuality, it’s comforting to wear pieces that are one-of-a-kind, chosen with care, and sometimes even personalized. It’s a small gesture that keeps the creative cycle alive.

Want to commission a piece or follow Sierra’s next chapter?

You can message her via Instagram at @Sierra.Barth. Her new business account and website will be linked there once the rebrand goes live. In the meantime, you can still view her work @TheLuckyLoveShop.