EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Some creatives say they were aware of their respective talent during their childhood years. Others say they were adults before they realized an artistic gift.
Mary Crogier, designer, and owner of Vauje, says she didn’t learn of her eye for jewelry making until she was well into her 20s.
She had never crafted any type of artwork and didn’t come from an artistic family. There were no business owners or entrepreneurs in her family, a majority of which didn’t attend college.
“I started creating jewelry because of photography,” she said. “2008 was when I first started creating. I had no idea I had this gift,” Crogier said.
Her love of “retro looks” led her to jewelry design. She wore retro clothing and made jewelry to compliment her attire. People asked how they could purchase her jewelry, and after first declining the opportunities to oblige them, she reconsidered.
She was a part-time photographer who would soon be laid off from her full-time position as a dispatcher with Metro.
“I didn’t really think that [jewelry making] was going to take off, but it did,” she said. “I decided to leave photography alone and I went into jewelry especially after I got laid off at my job. I went full time in 2009, and my jewelry has evolved over the years.”
Crogier’s early works were simple and understated. The pieces consisted of a charm with a photo pendant. She made thin metal bracelet chains with five charms on them.
“It was very simple,” she said. “I built my skills up over the years. It was basically plastic beads on a string. That was my beginning. I often look at those pieces and I almost cry because I’m like ‘wow I can’t believe where I started and where I am today.”’
As Crogier’s career progressed her craftsmanship elevated. In search of more sales, she took time off from retail and focused on making larger pieces for magazines and other publications - items seen on modeling runways and displayed by celebrities.
“I started getting traction and more interest in what I was doing,” she said. “Consumers kind of caught on. I had to go back and start retailing and try to work out things with stylists and photographers.”
She works with brass, sometimes using sandpaper, a buffer, and polisher depending on the metal piece.
“It's very time consuming, it can take days,” she said. Crogier’s designs include crowns, head pieces, body pieces, clothing, jewelry, art, bags, and digital art and clothing.
A turning point in Crogier’s career came when a Los Angeles retailer asked if she could carry her pieces in her showroom. Some of the pieces were there for about six months before an actor wearing one of her pieces appeared in a magazine.
Crogier began managing her own PR and would send celebrity stylists to the L.A. showroom to buy pieces for their clients.
Rick Ross wore two of her crowns during a birthday celebration, and Taraji P. Henson wore jewels from Crogier’s collection while on “Empire.”
Actor and rapper Yazz The Greatest wore a crown during an “Empire” performance, and Black Girls Rock featured Crogier’s pieces in a commercial campaign.
Several stars modeled Crogier crowns in a photo booth during Essence’s Women of Hollywood luncheon, including Janelle Monae, Angela Bassett, Chloe x Halle, and more.
Ariana Grande wore a Crogier crown in promotional images for her album’s track listing and wore a choker on her website for merchandise promotion. The crown was later auctioned and Crogier was interviewed by publications including Billboard and Yahoo Celebrity
“I picked my own vision and my own creativity,” she said. “Sometimes when I would hit dilemmas in my creative process God would tell me what to do. I have to give him credit because he is the one that gifted me. He’s my business partner.”
Crogier’s pieces are available at Liberated Roots on Jefferson Avenue, Edgy Chic Boutique in Florissant, and Binford Girls Boutique in St. Clair Square Mall. They will soon be available at a fourth storefront in West County Mall.
She added that she is venturing into anime creations and will have a booth at Missouri Con (anime convention) where she will launch a line of art, keychains, buttons, pins, stickers, and stationery items. Missouri Con is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Holiday Inn Downtown.
Check out her Roblox store here:https://www.roblox.com/games/12506328235/Vauje-Homestore.
Check out her Roblox clothing group here:https://www.roblox.com/groups/15580126/Vauje#!/about.
Visit and shop on Crogier’s website for more information:https://www.vaujejewelry.com/.