betsy & iya started in 2008 in a coffeeshop with a notebook, a bright red pencil, and nothing to lose. Among scribbles and coffee stains, the words “jewelry making” appeared in that notebook.

Betsy wrote it down, thought about it for a while, and then she made some jewelry. And it worked, so she did it some more.

Today, we’re more than just jewelry. We’re more than this website. We’re a brick and mortar shop snuggled down in our home of Portland, OR. It is here that we design and make it all. And it is here that we carry the work of other independent artists and designers from around the country–work we’ve encountered in our travels, work that speaks to us, that we love.

We’re betsy & iya. We are constantly learning, building, growing. We’re goofballs who can still work 80+ hour weeks, but know when to take a deep breath. Design is important to us, but so are quiet Sunday mornings, roller coasters, and new music. We’d love to live in a house from Dwell magazine, but we don’t. And if we did, you might find a stray sock in the hallway or a *temporary* stack of dishes in the sink. We’re people, just like you. We love what we do. And we put ourselves into our designs, into our business, into how we say hi when you walk through our door.

You’re the woman who laughs a little too loud in the fancy restaurant, the one who leaves love notes on napkins, who talks her way out of speeding tickets, and watches strangers kiss. you shirk responsibility, stay up too late, and sleep in your socks. you’re the one they wonder about in the office, the one who knows the closest martini bar, the best used bookstore, and how to say “you ain’t seen nothing yet” in seven languages. and if you’re not… don’t you kind of want to be?

When you shop betsy & iya, we hope you see the care in every bend of the wire, in every hammer stroke, in every blast of the torch. We hope you see deliberation and perpendicularity. We hope you love the other artists’ and designers’ products we carry just as much as we do. We hope you feel amazing and gush confidence. And then we hope someone does something silly and that we all crack up for a while.

At betsy & iya, we are vibrant. We steal clothes from our moms (don’t worry, they know). We love our home, Portland. We’re inspired by color, asymmetry, contrast, balance. We drink coffee all day long. We’re imperfect; we’re polite; we’re sassy. And we want you to have a good time when you hang out with us, whether it’s online, or in our brick & mortar shop. So, take a look around. We’re really glad you’re here.