Jewelry by Design

A lifelong fashion aficionado, SMITH DICKENS has always been drawn to the creativity of expressing her personal style through jewelry and accessories.

Dickens began making jewelry out of a desire to wear bold, colorful earrings without sacrificing comfort. Frustrated by how heavy and uncomfortable most statement pieces felt, she started experimenting with designs that reflected her personal style while remaining light and easy to wear.

“I love big statement earrings, but I have sensitive ears, so I was looking for something lightweight,” she says.

Today, Dickens is CEO and owner of Smith & Co. Jewel Design, a contemporary jewelry and accessories brand specializing in versatile, stackable, and colorful jewelry. With a motto of “elevating the everyday,” Smith & Co. pieces blend style, practicality, and color.

Her journey into jewelry making started as a hobby in 2020, when she began designing pieces from home during the pandemic. Through trial and error, she discovered lightweight acrylic materials that created the look she wanted while remaining comfortable for sensitive ears. As her collection grew, Dickens began selling her work at pop-up shows and through an e-commerce site. Word-of-mouth about her brand spread and, local boutiques started carrying Smith & Co. jewelry, and her business steadily gained momentum.

By 2022, the business had outgrown Dickens’ workshop in her home, and she decided to focus on Smith & Co. as her full-time career. Thus, she opened an office studio on Wrightsville Avenue where she designs, assembles, and ships her custom-made jewelry pieces. She now has a small office staff that handles everything from wholesale partnerships and business development to office management.

Smith & Co.’s jewelry and accessories are now sold in more than 400 stores across the country, from national brands like Anthropologie to local boutiques such as Monkee’s and Blended Shoes + Apparel. Dickens says she is committed to supporting small businesses “as they have always supported us.”

Growing up in Raleigh, Dickens spent many summers visiting Wrightsville Beach. After graduating from the University of Alabama, where she was a tennis player, Dickens and her husband, SKIP, moved to Wilmington. She began her career working in textiles for local interior designer House of Harris and found her favorite parts of that job were wholesale and customization.

The key to the comfort and ease of Smith & Co.’s earrings is the comfortable earring backs that Dickens designed. “They are gold plated with rubber inside, which takes pressure off ears so it’s more comfortable,” she says.

Functionality remains a central throughline of Dickens’ work. She enjoys designing pieces that serve more than one function, such as her line of bracelets that also double as hair ties. Dickens also designed a line of necklaces with an adjustable back, allowing the necklace to be worn in many different lengths.

The piece of jewelry that put Dickens’ name on the map was her City Girl Jewel Hoop earrings. Made from lightweight acrylics, bright rhinestones give the earrings a pop of bling while also creating a three-dimensional look. She describes her jewelry and accessories as “lightweight, easy, finishing touches of your outfit. They are user friendly and dual function. A lot of my earrings can take a look from day to night,” she says.

Dickens still designs all of her pieces herself in her studio. Her process involves sketching designs, playing around with raw materials, and creating prototypes. She consistently tweaks her design until she feels she has gotten it right. She uses hand-dipped and hand-dyed colors and often incorporates acrylic rhinestones into her pieces for a pop of bling.

Dickens says you can tell that someone is wearing a Smith & Co. piece because it will be “bold, shiny, and bright with a finish that is somewhat reflective.”

For Dickens, jewelry is more than an accessory; it’s a form of self-expression that can boost confidence and reflect individuality. “It’s always fun to see how people wear and style the same piece in different ways,” she says. “You can use jewelry to make a look your own.”

Dickens describes her own personal style as comfortable, colorful, and joyful. She says she likes taking what she calls a “basic outfit” and making her look stand out through accessories. “I like to layer and pair things together with different pieces to pull things together.”

When asked about the future of Smith & Co., Smith’s response is straightforward. “I plan to continue to broaden my categories and make things that are fashionable and functional,” she says.

When asked about her favorite part of her work, Dickens points to the connection her jewelry creates with the people who wear it. Hearing how customers incorporate her designs into their everyday lives and personal style is especially meaningful to her.

“It always feels good when someone says they wear your piece all the time,” she says. “It makes me feel good like I’m putting a smile on their face.”

To view more of photographer and stylists Drewe & Kate’s work, go to dreweandkate.com

Want more WILMA? Click here to sign up for our WILMA Weekly email and announcements.