When sisters Laura Mae and Amanda Jean founded MaeJean Vintage in their parent’s basement in 2010, styling celebrities with their heirloom jewelry was an idea only in their wildest dreams. Now, these once seemingly far-fetched dreams are a reality—as bright and shining as their jewelry on the Red Carpet at the 2024 Grammys.
Mae and Jean, who are “fueled by a life-long obsession” for all things antique and “born with an affinity for finding treasures” out of what others may scrap, restore vintage jewelry and give it new life and purpose for modern wear.
The sisters, with a powerhouse team of all-female employees, now craft their creations out of their studio in the heart of downtown Lancaster. Starting their business on Etsy has allowed them to connect with the local community, shoppers worldwide and, now, an LA-based stylist.
“What we like to do … is follow social media accounts of celebrities we love. Boygenius is one of our favorite bands, and we love following their musical journey on Instagram, as well as their iconic photoshoots,” Mae and Jean say. “We noticed they often work with an LA-based stylist, so we began following her. … We messaged the stylist on Instagram in November just saying we love her work and would be honored to lend jewelry for any photoshoots or events.”
To Mae and Jean’s pleasant surprise, the stylist answered and said she’d love their brooches to use for a photoshoot with Stranger Things actress Maya Hawke.
“We overnighted a bunch of jewelry for the shoot, and she ended up styling a bunch of the brooches on Hawke’s blazer,” Mae and Jean say. “We are so excited to see the finished project in the spring.”
After that shoot, Mae and Jean mentioned to the stylist they’d be more than thrilled to lend jewelry to Boygenius if the opportunity arose. And, again, to their surprise, the opportunity was there.
“She responded saying she would love a large jewelry pull for the Grammys, where Boygenius was nominated for multiple categories and had many red carpet events to attend,” Mae and Jean say.
Boygenius is an indie band consisting of singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. They were nominated for six awards at the 2024 Grammys and won three, including Best Alternative Music Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.
Mae and Jean say seeing their jewelry at such an iconic event on one of their favorite bands was a win for them, too.
“It really makes me think, ‘Wow, dreams do come true,’” they say. “I think it is so important in this industry to use social media to genuinely connect and reach out to opportunities that you dream of happening. The worst case scenario is you don’t get a response, and that is okay!”
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