Jewelry, Tech, and Staying Authentic with Helen with the Gold Teeth

Hey, friends.

Welcome.

And welcome back to Nosy AF conversations about art, activism, and social change.

I'm Stephanie, your friend and host, and today.

Oh, today, my friends, is a day of absolute fangirling, because on this episode, I'm talking to Helen Harris, AKA Helen with the gold teeth, an engineer turned jeweler whose work is straight up luxury, straight up intentional, straight up black, and straight up absolutely beautiful.

Helen's brand has a devoted following, which obviously includes me, and she's kind of famous, y'all.

And for good reason.

Her handmade jewelry isn't just about looking good.

It's about storytelling, spirituality, and making space for black and LGBTQ communities in places that have historically shut us out.

What the heck, y'all?

What the heck?

Don't shut us out.

It's not nice, and we don't appreciate it.

But listen, not only is Helen building a legacy for herself, but her work becomes heirlooms that families will cherish forever, which, honestly, a dream.

In this conversation, you'll hear how Helen followed her passion, the unexpected way she fell into jewelry making, and how her business is authentically hers.

I'm just gonna warn you now, I fully geek out over her craftsmanship, her aesthetic, and just how much I respect the way she moves throughout this world.

So let's get into it.

I'm so excited to present this conversation.

Here she comes, Helen with the gold teeth.

Gotta get up, get up tell the whole world you a winner, winner vision of a star with a mission in the cause what you doing, how you doing?

What you doing and who you are Flex is yourself, impress yourself, check yourself, don't wreck yourself if you know me then you know that I be knowing what's up.

Hey, Stephanie.

Graham is nosy.

Helen, welcome to Nosy af.

Thank you so much for having me.

Yeah, I'm so.

I'm so excited to have you because I feel like I'm so, like, fan girlish of you because I'm, like, a hobby grills maker.

And so when I see, you know, you who's, like, there, I'm like, wow, you know, here's what I can be, you know, especially because you started out as a hobbyist as well.

So I'm just, like, you know, active.

Like, I love artists that we jump and, like, you know, move through different boxes.

So I'm just so happy to have you here.

Thank you for having me.

Yes.

So, Helen, why.

Why jewelry as an art practice?

Why not, you know, sketching?

Sure.

Well, I just kind of fell into it.

I didn't really plan for it.

I was Going to resign from my job.

I made my mind up about that.

And I was sort of, like, fearful of how I would take care of myself in the future.

A couple of opportunities came my way.

One was someone asking me if I wanted to get involved in jewelry making.

And the other was doing, like, freelance work in a space I had no history in.

Like, I took a project management job, which turned into a contract later to do staffing for this project for this massive corporation.

And I just did everything that came my way and did it the best that I could.

Cause I didn't know if I would ever get to go back to work.

And that's how I got into jewelry.

Wow.

Who was it that was like, do you wanna learn jewelry?

Yeah.

So at the time, I had a roommate who was my friend then.

And she and another person who is a jewelry designer, they were like, really close friends.

Like, best friends.

And what's funny is, like, me and this person, we were, like, really fast friends.

And I lived alone.

But then I moved in with her and we became roommates instead, which is wild.

Yes.

Yes.

That is like, who does that?

But one of my closest friends was really trying to push me and that person very close together because she had hoped I would get back into making music.

And me and my former roommate and the person who introduced me to jewelry, we kind of did music during the same kind of era and the same scene, but we didn't cross paths.

And for years, one of my best friends was like, you gotta meet each other.

You gotta meet each other.

And we hit it off.

So in the beginning of our friendship, I was, like, kind of trying to help her pivot into the tech field.

And then just somewhere along the way, she and her best friend, who's a jewelry designer, were like, let's sit down.

Let's talk about this.

Let's start doing grills.

And the second woman, she worked in the diamond district as a designer at one of these really big companies everyone knows the name of.

And she wasn't really satisfied in her job.

She had an external thing that was like her own.

And they wanted to, like, mess around with grills.

So they asked me.

I said yes.

As soon as we got started, the second woman was like, I'm out of here.

I don't have time.

And then the one that was my roommate, the person I knew better, she decided pretty quickly she didn't want to be, like, a business partner to me.

I think I was just like, a little bit.

I think she pictured me to be not an assistant, but more like, in the background.

And that's just not the way that it went because, you know, I'm me.

And, like, people were intrigued.

You know, the people that she wanted to sell to, who were in her network, they loved me.

They loved talking to me, they loved dealing with me.

And I think she was a little bit like, wait a minute.

And wanted to protect her relationships and, you know, just be a little bit more critical to the business than me.

Because, again, I was very passive in the beginning.

But once I got it started, a couple of people in my life were like, oh, yeah, let me do that.

And, you know, word spread really quickly.

I was getting my own clients and referrals, like, through my name.

And it was funny because, like, essentially we had two competing businesses getting off the ground at the same time in the same apartment.

It was wild, you know.

Wow.

And we lived in this loft in Williamsburg that made it very easy to accommodate customers.

Cause it was a very cool space.

And, like, it was residential, but also just felt very different.

So I do have her to thank for that because, like, I wouldn't have fallen into grails.

I wouldn't have lived in that place.

Like, it was just kind of like a bunch of unusual things happened at the same time.

And it's just something that just happened.

And I just made the most out of it as it kind of unfolded.

Do you identify as an artist?

I do.

Like, more and more.

Like, in the beginning, I was like, okay, whatever, guys.

Because I was really just, like, manufacturing grills.

And maybe I would consider it more, like, styling people's teeth.

Like, I never really called myself an artist too comfortably, because I didn't really have a practice I was dedicated to for, you know, years and years and years.

Like, my background is in media production, video production.

And, like, I started.

I started doing that, like, at university where I'm from, in high school, and I majored it in.

In college.

I went to graduate school and did that and dropped out.

So, like, that.

I would say that was always my sort of, like, creative practice and the thing I felt passionate about.

I had a stint as, like, a member of this music group that had really funny, moderate indie success.

A lot of people know me as a dj, but I didn't really call myself an artist.

Now I do, because it's just, like, I'm so much more involved in it and just, you know, maintain dedicated workspaces and just feel more comfortable considering myself that.

Yeah, that's good, because that's how I saw you.

I never thought about jewelry as a Career.

I feel like I ran across someone who they did like stone appraisal.

Yeah.

And I'm just like, oh, I didn't know that was a job I never thought about, you know.

You know, these folks don't come to like the high school career fair, you know.

That's true.

You're right.

One of the things that I noticed with your work is that it's so meticulous, you know, it's like, it's so pristine, which I love.

And it actually would make sense that you have a background in film, you know, because that's very, I feel like meticulous craft as well.

Did you think being an engineer helped with that?

I would say so.

Because when you come from sort of like more that tech background, like particularly the one that I have, which is more IT and like systems, it is very much about how things work and how things are supposed to work, workflows, who does what, and standards.

So it was easier for me to accomplish my goals of making like, you know, perfect or near perfect jewelry as I started to, I guess recontextualize it.

How I think naturally and I think I do annoy a lot because they'll be like, you can't do that.

And I'll be like, you absolutely can.

And it's because, you know, I sat there and I thought through the problem and like uncovered a different way of approaching something.

I think that that's something that people in tech kind of do.

It's like essentially hacking.

I think that I get on other jewelers nerves and like the people whose hands touch the things that I make, because I'm often like, this isn't supposed to be this way, it's supposed to be that way.

And it's like I'm really trying to hold them to a standard.

I think that comes from that kind of thinking.

But yeah, and I mean like, you know, now I'm really fully immersed in learning how to digitize everything and using, you know, the computer to design, like coming up with designs, knowing how to direct someone who is helping me work on CAD files, doing the 3D printing, like figuring out the science of like, how do I make this 3D printed wax behave like a traditional dental wax because it's shrinking.

I don't know.

But like I actually literally am using the tech.

And a lot of people don't realize this, but like I have a full time job now, which was not true for so many years, and I work in 3D printing.

So like most days, Monday through Friday, like during the day that's what I'm up to.

Oh my goodness.

So you have a full time job on top of your jewelry business?

Yes.

Yeah, but that's newer.

I've been doing that for a little bit over a year and in the beginning I think people didn't really realize it because I was still just in New York so much and so available and like the company I work for when I first started, like they had a very kind of less defined flexible time off policy.

So I was making the most of it and frequently gone for like, you know, 10 days at a time, just handling my business.

Yeah, yeah.

How do you like the switch from, you know, being full time business to now having your still full time business and this job, other job, you know, I like it.

It makes me really happy.

My business has been really successful and my life has changed in like really profound ways.

You know, I had a pretty private life in like a very, like a very quiet private life with not a lot of attention and interaction with like strangers.

And it went from that to high volume interaction with strangers.

People knowing who I am.

Like I have no regrets about doing it the way I have or taking people up on the opportunities that they gave me.

But I didn't really have time to mentally prepare for it.

So for me, getting a job, it made me feel great because, you know, that's normal to me.

Spending my days, you know, like really just dedicated to tech.

It feels right because that was my life plan.

The fact that I was able to merge the two things, it's unreal.

Like what are the chances, you know, but like somehow or another it lined up that way for me.

So I'm loving it.

I have to be a little bit more picky when I take my clients.

There are people who say to me like, I know that I don't have access to you like the way that people did before.

I don't care.

It takes as long as it takes.

But then there are others who, when I first got this started, like I didn't have that worked out yet and they're frustrated and like as I'm trying to figure out these new ways of doing things, some things are taking me much longer.

But like I like it.

It feels really good to me.

And there are enough people who respect my process and then there are enough people who come to me for very simple things that I can do real quick as I'm on these longer term projects.

But I'm very happy having both things.

When I first got started, I incorporated Helen with the gold teeth in another business like Back to back, like, one day to the next.

So it's like, I had multiple streams of income when the pandemic hit and I couldn't sell jewelry.

You know, I had my money from, like, my other company.

Like, I had more money coming in because that work didn't stop.

So I love having a job while I have Helen with the gold teeth.

It feels really good to be able to put the money that I get back into the business instead of worrying about having to take care of myself.

And, like, a lot of people don't realize it's always been that way for me, because before, the other thing that I did was my own.

And it was more flexible, obviously, than working for someone else.

But I am so much happier now that I'm doing both than I was when I started, like, looking for a job.

They, like, picture you like, Mary Tyler Moore in the middle of the street, throwing up your hat.

Cause you have it all now.

That's funny.

And it's funny because it's like, I'll be in my situation at work, and it's just, like, people don't know what to do with that.

They're like, what are, like, one of my favorite people.

And it's like, I love regular people and being regular.

So to get up and do normal things feels great to me.

I have no intentions of stopping what I do or trying to disappear, but I feel more grounded for whatever else comes, you know?

Like, I've never had a viral moment, and I'm so glad for it because I think I would have gone mental if I did.

But if I have a viral moment and then get to get up and go to work, that's gonna be so much easier for me to do because I won't be distracted by that.

I'll be at work solving other people's problems and learning, you know, and that just works really well for me.

Do you have, like, with your coworkers, like, fun inside, like, office Y jokes and stuff like that?

We do.

We do.

Like, when I first went back, like, it was a little bit awkward because, like, people were just like, what is this girl?

Yeah, she is.

What?

Yeah.

And I think there was, like, some hesitation for some people to, like, interact with me too much or get to know me because I was, like, very alien and just come, like, with this baggage of my, you know, being on social media and, like, living out there.

But as time went on, people got to know me a little bit more and more and, like, understand how similar we are and appreciate those things.

So, like, I have different kinds of inside jokes, for sure, with people.

And the people I work with are super interesting.

Like, I work in a situation where it's like I didn't picture at this stage of my life I would have this job because it's a job I had when I was way younger, less experienced, and it's like a similar income to when I did it when I was younger.

And it's a little bit like I didn't see myself doing that at this stage of life.

And then like some of my coworkers would be like, what are you doing here?

Like, you literally could be making so much more money, like during this period of time that you're sitting here compared to when you're gone.

But I'm not the only one who chooses to do this instead of something else, like really interesting and impressive.

Like the gentleman who sits across from me, he's a little bit older.

He's like a robotics engineer.

Oh, wow.

And went to Stanford.

And like, we tell, we talk about like little funny things, about getting casted for things.

Like he had a stage in like commercial acting for like, and like catalog modeling and stuff.

Oh, nice.

You know, but he's just this really funny guy who I, I really enjoy and appreciate.

And I don't think that I'm the funniest person that I work with.

Like, I'm probably the least funny.

Like, some of the people I work with are hilarious.

And I would say outside of interacting with the technology, our favorite thing about work is each other.

So that's a cool situation to be in.

Absolutely, absolutely.

I was just thinking today I'm not on like a current like film project.

And so I just wake up and I will start maybe checking my email.

Like I don't have a structure, you know.

And I was like thinking like, okay, you need to make sure you have a routine.

Like in the morning, wake up and like go walk.

You know, like something to like.

I'll try to set these routines, but I don't really follow them also.

But I need, I need to.

I realize like when I'm sitting there just sort of like in like a diz, I'm like, oh yeah, you need to follow a routine.

And having.

Having a job, you know, and I would be booked on something, it is nice because it will provide that and then anything from my art afterwards.

It's like, it's go time.

But it just gives me like a structure.

That's how I became such a career person in the first place.

Having something to anchor me and orient the rest of My life around that also provides what I need to survive and feel okay in this world.

And yeah, I think that Helen with the Gold Teeth, why it happened and why I got into these businesses things was to have a structure.

Because, like, when I first started Ellen with the Gold Teeth, I had my staff with me on, I want to say, Tuesday and Thursday, and I saw clients on, like, Wednesday and Fridays.

And then I had alone time on the other days.

And I took Mondays off for the most part.

And I kept it that way for a long time.

And it was to have structure in my life because I feel.

I just feel better with that.

Yeah, it's so much better.

Shout out to structure.

So grills, jewelry making.

You know, you have beautiful jewelry on now.

It's a luxury thing.

Yes.

You know, and you know, our people, we love to be fly.

How would you define luxury?

First of all, what do you think?

Luxury, I think it has a certain amount of exclusivity to it.

There should be quality there.

I think it often has a legacy behind it.

When I was just trying to figure out how to.

Where to place the bar for what I wanna make, I looked at how other companies operated and, like, what it was that made them them.

I think there should be a lot of just like, quality control around stuff.

Sometimes it.

That exclusivity piece is, like, really important.

I've noticed over time, a lot of younger jewelers have picked up my business model, which is by appointment only, and not everyone can shop with me.

I think when it's luxury, obviously it should be about the customer, but it's not just about the customer.

It's about the brand.

And, like, you know, the ideal customer gets that.

And they're not going to give you a hard time about it because they're excited that they get to be a part of it.

And when I did, like, a formal business plan and I was trying to figure out how to scale, my friend who's a consultant, who helped me with that, he was like, helen, no, you don't have to do any of that.

Like, and he explained to me, like, really how luxury brands get to position themselves and how, like, the customer cadence, it's not about just the customer.

Like, it's really about the brand.

And what makes my jewelry luxury, I would say, is just, like, how much attention goes into it.

Like today a pendant got delivered to a client.

I use a courier service.

It's like, no, don't trouble yourself.

This is coming to you.

I had someone who was just like, so reliable with probably even higher standards.

Than my own looking at it today and took it back for more finishing.

It made it to my customer, and she was so happy with it, but she noticed, like, one little nick that looked like a scratch to her.

We're making arrangements for it to be fixed tomorrow morning before she hands this gift over to someone.

And it's just, like, really doing everything within my power to make it as good as it can possibly be and to hand something to the customer that matches their expectations for what kind of what they picture something for me should be.

Like, yeah, that's.

I get.

I want to ask, like, how could one be a luxury brand?

Like, I think of.

I like.

I think of luxury, too, as, like, quality, you know, control.

Like, I know, like, even in my photographs, I try to make them as pristine as possible, print them as pristine as possible, and.

But then I also will make these pins that, like, sell for $15.

Yep.

Is that.

Is that okay to be luxury?

I mean, you know, when I first started selling jewelry, like, I gave some away.

I sold some at cost.

You know, it's like, it didn't happen, like, overnight for me.

And also, like, I highly subsidized the cost of manufacturing, and I continue to, because, you know, it's like, I'm putting myself in situations where I can take care of myself, not from the business.

And it's like, it would be really tight for me to just spend that money on stuff I love and, like, you know, just go to Vegas, shop a bunch, buy myself crazy things, But I don't.

And it's going back into the product that's not luxurious at all.

So I think really, the luxury is on the customer.

Like, the luxury is felt by the customer.

More so when I'm thinking about that, you know.

Yeah, more of an experience.

Yeah, like, the experience and, like, the goods they physically receive.

Like, yes, you know, the pins might be $15 today, but who knows what you'll be able to charge from later.

If you're doing everything you can to make them, like, pretty decent over time, you'll probably figure out ways to improve it.

If you want to become more competitive, you'll come up with ideas about how to do it.

And also, not everything we do has to be that, you know, like, not every part of my life has to be perfect, But I do try to hand people perfect jewelry.

Yeah, I definitely try to.

The pins, I believe, are very as perfect as can be now.

And I think the experience is really good.

And I try to think of it at, like, at that price point, even as you were talking, I reminded myself, like, oh, yeah, you do that for, like, my neighbors, you know, like, the kids there, they can buy the $15 pins, you know?

I love your brand.

It's so vibrant and colorful and quirky.

I love your website.

And I wondered who your inspirations are.

That's a good question.

I would say.

That's a really good question.

Like, honestly, it's just me just doing whatever I want most of the time.

I've tried to work with people, I've paid people who I wanted to take over marketing for me and just be more formal with everything and just kind of try to conform a little bit more to what kind of E commerce people are supposed to do.

But it just hasn't worked out.

Like, my website, when I first came up with it, it was just literally me stoned at the computer doing it until it was done.

To me, it was good enough the way it was for as long as it was.

And then I was like, okay, let me do a rebrand, so.

Or not a rebrand, but a revamp of my website so I can plug in this web store.

And I made this really pristine web store that didn't match my website, and I shut it down pretty quick.

It didn't feel like me.

It didn't look like me.

So, like, who influenced it?

It's hard to say.

It's more like the things that I like, influence it.

Yeah, that could be inspiration.

Sure.

I love the computer.

I like more kind of like primitive graphics.

I've had a lifelong love affair with the computer.

And it's like I just remember sitting there in computers class being like, holy shit.

So, I mean, I like the pixelated art for that reason.

It's just very guerrilla.

Like, being a student of media studies, I guess I kind of just like, learned a lot about multimedia artists in the 70s and the things that they were doing.

It's probably influenced by that, but, like, the aesthetic of the website, it's more like that kind of stuff.

And then, like, the voice of the brand, it is probably just like, my quirkiness.

Plus, obviously, like, whatever.

I can kind of like the thing, like the way that I present the jewelry and explaining it.

I'm trying my best to, like, really be serious about that and, like, sound serious as a jeweler.

Um, and then, like, how I am on Instagram, I'm just a wild person.

I just do whatever I want.

Like, yeah, I.

I like.

Part of me really genuinely wishes I could just like, be a little bit more formulaic and just do the thing and, like, you know, capitalize on the science of it instead of just do what I feel so that it could grow more.

But no, it's like, it looks like personal Instagram still.

And, like, my part of the Internet is really funny, you know, So I try to put the funny videos on there.

My part of the Internet is, like, a lot of, like, Android memes and hood memes, like, nerd stuff.

So it's like, it's a cross between just, like, me trying to express creativity, seem serious enough as a jeweler, but also just be the nerd that I am and just be like, I like this.

Yeah, I can really relate to that.

Cause then my thought was next is, like, balancing, like, quirkiness with seriousness.

Because I have this, too, where, like, I'll be like, wah, wah, wah.

You know, like, so silly.

And then.

But if I'm really talking about something, I'm serious, you know?

Have you ever come up with somebody being like, whoa, whoa, Helen.

Okay, dude.

Like, it's not, you know, about being too serious?

Yeah, well, like, I feel like, you know, you'll be silly, but then when it's time to be for real, it's for real.

But because people might experience me, like, in, like, this humorous way, they're, like.

Shocked, I would say more so than the humorous way.

It's like, I can be very nice.

Like, I love to lead with nice.

Being a nice person feels good caring about what people.

How people feel and what people think.

It feels good.

But I do think sometimes people mistake my kindness for weakness, or they actually do catch me at a time when, like, I'm not really feeling, like, my full self, and I'm not really, like, making situations more about me when they could be.

And, like, people might have an understanding of me that, like, I'm gonna bend over backwards, like, by default.

And that's just not how that is.

Oopsie.

I think that, like, I've also got a lot of vendors who I've overpaid for things before learning or that I've chosen to overpay because I feel they earned that from me.

Like, I'm grateful for what they did.

And then it's like, I'll see them kind of trying to take advantage of the situation, and it's, like, based on.

They saw me another way, so they think they can get away with something, and it's just like, no, that's not how it is.

And, like, I do shock people sometimes because they'll be like, she is so different right now.

And if I am really trying to advocate for myself or put up a boundary.

Like, sometimes people are like, whoa, that was too much.

Or they'll think I was mean.

Or sometimes people want me to, like, take them on as a client, and I'll be like, I'm not available.

And they'll feel a certain way about it.

I've had people come to my office with an appointment.

I'll be like, I don't think this is gonna work.

And I'll give them a refund for their consultation.

I have customers whose jewelry I've finished completely, you know, and I've, like, I've paid for the cost of making it.

My staff has served them.

Like, I have spent all of the money that they spent on the jewelry and in some cases, some more of my own.

And if something doesn't feel right, I gave them their money back.

So these are different ways that, like, people were just like, what, because they experienced me differently or they heard something about me and then it didn't go the way they pictured it.

And it's like, no, I need you to be in the moment with me.

Be present, interact with me, and listen to what I'm saying instead of, like, something else.

Yeah, yeah, that's good.

And then it's also, like, one of those things.

Like, that's their problem.

It is, yeah.

It really is.

Afterwards.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I would say, yeah.

The answer to that is I do get different reactions from people if they pictured me another way or if they've seen me be another way.

Yeah, it definitely happens.

You know, I'm curious, like, where did you get the name Helen?

With Goldteith.

Was it just, like, bringing it back to the basics of your love of BASIC with, you know, like, with the computer of being sort of, like, straightforward?

I made the Instagram and, like, I had been toying with other names, and, like, they were funny.

They were, like, all funny.

But then I was like, I'm just gonna do this because, I don't know, it just had a ring.

I just came up with it.

And then, like, I was just like.

Immediately, I was like, yeah, I want it to look a certain way.

And a friend of mine who's a tattoo artist and a graphic designer, I was like, can you make this thing for me?

I'll give you whatever.

And it wasn't much.

And he was like, yep.

So he made it for me, and I was just like, just make it look like a emoji, but also make it look like a cash money cover.

And he was like, got it.

And it was only, like, two drafts in I was like, great.

Good enough.

And that was it.

Perfect.

Perfect.

Yeah, it looks great.

It looks great.

I aspire to make grills, you know, like, I've been practicing.

I haven't gotten to the point of making the metal piece yet.

And I thought to maybe try to send, you know, to find, like, people to help me just so I can.

It's expensive, you know, to have all that equipment.

And so I just wondered if you might have any advice for, you know, beginners out there.

Honestly, the most important part of making grills is, you know, getting good impressions and doing the wax well.

So if you've spent a ton of time working on that, you're already ahead and you're ahead of me because, like, I hate doing those things.

And if you want to send it out, just don't cast in gold, cast in silver, or cast in low gold to spend as little money as possible.

And if after you make something, you go and scrap it and you get part of the money back, you can put that towards the next one you make, you know, So I would say do that.

There are some casters who will say, you can bring me the medal and then I'll charge you a labor charge.

Oh, there's a lot of ways.

Yeah, there's a lot of ways you can approach it.

But I do believe for anyone who wants to be a jeweler or make grills, it is absolutely worth it.

Even if you have like a crappy tabletop casting machine off Amazon, get it and do the hands on because you will be so much more advanced way faster.

Because I was so focused on, you know, cultivating a brand, establishing a business and running a business, and it worked out very well for me.

But, you know, I'm not as independent as jewelers who started after me, who just have capabilities that I don't.

And it doesn't.

How do I say this?

The place where I went to learn grills was the exact opposite of where I went to go learn, like jewelry, like bench jewelry.

That guy's just like, it doesn't matter.

Just these are the cheapest things you can get.

Here's the links to Amazon.

Get that.

Don't think about anything else.

It's worth it.

Is it a nice community?

The jewelry community?

Is it welcoming?

You know, the jewelry community, I would say, is like pretty massive.

And I have some really great relationships in the jewelry community.

Like in the diamond district.

The people who I enjoy the most, they're just like working folks who go there, do what they gotta do and go home.

Like they're not a part of, like, any jewelry scene.

They're like, oftentimes like, family men, religious and stuff like that.

Like, one of my favorite jewelers is just like, this really nice white lady who is a native New Yorker, and she just likes, sells to.

She sells, like, like, really cute jewelry to just, like, I think white women who have a lot of money, and she's just this really nice person.

There are a handful of black jewelers who, when I first got started, I knew them from real life before jewelry.

And I didn't realize, like, that that's what they were really, really up to, as deep in as they were.

But also it might be because I didn't really understand anything yet.

So, like, they kind of helped me get settled in and introduced me to another one of the jewelers who's been really, really involved in my growth and, like, development.

My work as a jeweler has, like, really taken over my life in recent years.

And now it's like.

Like I don't have as much of a social life as, like, maybe I did at other points in my life.

And I might not interact with as many people as, like, maybe I would if I wasn't doing this.

Who knows?

Cause I could also not be talking to people.

But, like, if there's one thing you can bet it's that I have been talking to other jewelers.

So it's like my acquaintance, my acquaintances.

They are my friends now.

Like, if you really want to know what's going on with me, if I've been really quiet and you haven't seen me, they know.

Yeah, some of them know.

Oh, that's very sweet.

That's very sweet.

Yeah.

Well, before I let you go, I have this little rapid question game, if you don't mind.

Sure.

I would love to ask them for you.

If you don't want to, you could just say skip.

That's fine.

They're so basic.

Okay.

They're so, like.

I think of, like, Hansel and Gretel, like, skipping off.

I don't know.

But okay.

So what is your favorite month?

Wow.

Dang.

I never thought of that before.

For my favorite month.

I don't know, maybe September.

No, I'll say October because it cools down.

The leaves are changing, you know, I love slowing down because it's fall.

I love days getting a little bit longer.

They're not crazy long yet.

It's not too cold yet.

Yeah, we'll go with October.

October.

Okay, great.

That's my birthday month, so.

I love that you said that.

Your favorite dessert.

I Love sweets, so that's really hard.

I love sweets.

If I had to say what my absolute favorite dessert is, it's like a giant slice of cake with ice cream.

But like a lot of ice cream, not like one small scoop.

I sort of wanted to push you to say like a brownie a la mode with like extra, extra ice cream.

Cause they never give you enough.

But sea salads, brownie Alamotes are good.

I used to always have my friends come over to make them hot fudge brownie sundaes and like make homemade caramel and stuff.

But I'm not a big brownie person.

But like definitely like a piece of like cake from magnolia or oh nice.

Or like a piece of yellow cake with chocolate frosting or a piece of German chocolate cake with a lot of ice cream.

Vanilla ice cream.

That's my favorite.

Sweet.

When I was young, my friend James mom would make us those like little Debbie brownies that you can get in the cellophane.

The mom would break em out and put in the microwave and put ice cream on it.

So.

And it was good.

It was.

I'd never seen it before.

I was like wow.

Yeah, no, that's really good.

Would your 12 year old self think you are cool?

That's a funny question.

Honestly, like I live to like feel like myself and I think that at certain points in my life I would say especially so when I'm very successful I'm conscious of that and it helps me enjoy my life more.

I think that's why I insist on doing the technology piece.

That's why I insist on like being friends with my middle school friends specifically.

Cause I feel like that's when you start to really come into yourself.

I feel like that's like such a.

You're such a human when you're 12.

So like I truly do very intentionally try to feel like someone who is the same person as my 8 year old self or my 12 year old self.

And sometimes I'll just be like that's.

I'll just be like, I'll just start cracking up.

I'll be alone and I'll just start cracking up.

Or like I went into my office the other day and I've got like the framed thing of like the Times article and I just started cracking up because I could not have planned for this.

But if there's one thing I know, it's pretty cool.

So.

Yeah, that's cool.

I love that you have friends from middle school still.

That's really special.

Yeah, especially now, you know, it's like For a couple of years.

It's just like I'm dealing with so many people off the Internet, day in and day out doing this thing, you know, like, really being out there.

So it really helps me.

And like, you know, before Helen with the gold teeth, when I was really, really deep into corporate life and the hustle and bustle of, you know, midtown, like, big tech business, it's just really humbling to, like, have people around you who already knew you, already loved you.

Don't need anything from you except for you to be yourself and to have a good time and to keep being friends.

It rules.

I love that.

Yeah, that does really rule.

You're right.

And then my last question is, what is the best non curse word?

Insult.

What's your favorite?

What's your go to?

Ooh, my favorite insult.

That's not a cuss word.

That's hard because, like, I got, you know, that's not a cuss word and an insult.

Worsome.

Yeah, I would say it's worsome.

That's really good.

That's a good one.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, my gosh.

Well, Helen, anything else you want to share before we call this conversation complete?

I really, really appreciate talking to you.

I would say for anyone who wants to shop with me, yes, fill out the form on my link tree before you email me and like, really answer the questions on there because.

Oh, that's right.

If there are complete answers, I'm more compelled to respond.

Don't send me photographs of like, really like ornate designs telling me your budget is like $100 or $200.

Please don't do that because I will ignore you.

And I am interested in making things that are not teeth.

And I turn around those orders really, really fast.

So come see me about those things.

And you'll definitely get priority over people who want teeth.

I love that.

And then is it okay to ask, like, what?

Like, what would someone have to save up, you know, or have in the pocket to even think about working with you, or should they just try you and see?

It depends.

Yeah, like, if I'm seeing a lot of clients in a day and you want to come in and get one or two plain gold teeth, I don't care.

I let them come in in between the others.

But gold is at an all time high, which a lot of people don't realize.

It's really, really, really expensive.

My labor expenses are very high, I think.

Like, if you want to shop with me, I would say, you know, save a thousand dollars.

If you want something very simple, like Something special but a little bit more simple.

Something that is true about me is that like I often over deliver.

So that's kind of like why I like to keep minimums.

Like for instance this thing on my desk that I'm looking at, she asked for kind of like earthy stones and I ordered like all these humanely mined things from the United States.

They were too big.

I also made the metal and it didn't look like it was going to fit right.

I made that again, you know, and it's like to land what she wanted to see, I ended up switching to like diamonds, pink sapphire, yellow sapphire.

So I like to have wiggle room so that like my customers can cover those expenses instead of me.

So save a little bit of money but also never hesitate to ask for a quote when people fill out that form.

Yeah, it is to establish a cadence with me, not necessarily to start shopping right away.

So like things are really expensive to make.

So like have some respect for that.

I heard that if you are curious and just like not informed, don't be shy.

I'm happy to like give references for like what something cost when I sold it before.

And like I try my best to make it so when a customer goes and they tell someone what they paid, I like for it to be as uniform as possible or I'd like for them to explain why they paid as much as they did.

If I gave them a big discount.

I want them to keep their mouth shut really.

But yeah, like if you want to shop with me for gold teeth, like save a little bit of money or come and ask me what you want to save based on what you want and something really interesting that I've been doing lately.

And it's like I can't do this for everyone but like I have long term followers who they paid in chunks instead of like buy outright, which is my policy.

Like you have a consultation with me, you owe me 100% of the balance is how it normally goes.

But I have these very long time followers and supporters who were never customers and I've seen them that whole time.

I've appreciated them that whole time.

So when they see me it's like they don't pay the consultation fee.

They're not gonna stand me up for that appointment because like they haven't stood me up as a like fan, you know, and I'll have them pay in chunks and put it on a payment schedule and then you know, most of the time once they hit like 100% paid, I start that labor.

But like you know, Like, I have people who have more than one set of teeth for me who've never paid me anything.

You know, I have people who I do a lot of work for who just never paid me anything.

It's different for everyone.

So I would just say be respectful and, you know, ask questions about things you don't understand and, like, be patient with me and I can bring clarity and probably serve you.

That's really, really nice and generous and thoughtful and very on business.

I love this consultation form.

It's also like, you know, let me see.

Make sure you're not crazy.

Yeah, it can't be.

It used to be like, you know, you'd fill out a thing, form and a deposit, and then like, someone on my team would be like, okay, these are the people who are coming today, and I would, like, literally not know who they were.

And then it's like back to back, I'm seeing like five or eight strangers who I literally don't know who they are.

And thank God, so often that worked out very well.

And they were people who I like, adore and have relationships with now, like, they've become my friends or I'm a fixture in their life, you know, and that's awesome.

But then the flip side of it was some of them, it didn't go so great.

So I've got these things to insulate myself and get more experience with people.

But, like, you know, when I'm trying to do a lot of work real fast or do a batch of jewelry together, sometimes I'll just throw the booking link up and say, hey, you guys, grab your slots.

And then once the people are booked, I'll call em on the phone, talk to em a little bit, and then approve it.

And then the calendar will book them and it will take that deposit.

It will turn that deposit from a pending transaction to an actual deposit.

So, yeah, and it also depends on the capacity I have.

Like, if my social battery is really charged, I can move like that.

But if it's not, you know, and I have to protect my energy, it might be a little bit harder to, like, get me to do something.

But once you're my client, I'm going to take care of the jewelry and it's going to be probably better than what you imagine.

Yes.

Your work is truly, truly beautiful.

Thank you.

It really is.

Yeah, thank you.

I appreciate that.

Helen is so multifaceted, right?

Engineer, jeweler artist, dj.

I love a girl who has it all.

Also, can we talk about how smooth Helen's voices?

Seriously, go ahead and play this Episode again when you're about to take a nap.

Helen, if you're listening, what's up?

What's up with the ASMR collaboration?

I'm just saying it could be something with some lush gardens, some diamonds, some clouds, and just you and I whispering the word like over and over again.

Mixing in gold, luxury, legacy.

What a dream that would be.

What a dream that would be, y'all.

Also, I would love if you would let me know what you thought about my nosy round of questions.

If you listen often, you would notice that that was something new.

And this is actually something that I've been doing in a lot of my interviews and I even made a whole beat for it and I still have it figured out how to place this segment within my conversations without really messing up the flow of the show.

So I'm gonna have to figure it out and I'll present it to you one day.

One day.

One day.

Hopefully soon.

So I hope you love this conversation as much as I did.

I've included a bunch of links about Helen, including how to inquire about her jewelry and grills.

But as Helen said, you need to come correct.

Okay.

And last thing, shout out to her Stanford robotic engineer coworker who somehow had time to be a catalog model.

I just love that so much because clearly we all contain multitudes.

So go ahead and explore every one of your interests, because why not?

Alright, that's it for today, y'all.

Thank you so much for listening to Uzi up and I'll catch you next time.

This has been another episode of Nosy af.

I'm your host, Stephanie Graham.

What did you think about today's conversation?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Head over to the Nosy AF website for all the show notes related to this episode.

You can also find me on Instagram.

Tefanie Graham, what would you know?

Or online@missgraham.com where you can sign up for my newsletter where I share exclusive updates about my studio production practice as well as this podcast.

Until next time, y'all stay curious and take care.

Bye.