Jordan Dudden turns keys into an emotionally significant fashion statement.

In a jewelry and metal-sculpting class she took last semester, Dudden had to make a ring. Unsure of how to approach the project, she took a set of keys from her late grandmother’s house and crafted them into literal key rings.

“I wore them around as a fashion statement for myself,” said Dudden, a senior communication design major.

People started asking her about the rings and where she got them from, so Dudden created her own start-up called JoJo Rings.

Three months have passed since JoJo Rings first began. The collections are available at five boutiques in upstate New York—one in Skaneateles, Dudden’s hometown, and the rest in the Syracuse/Rochester area.

“Our next big goal is to get out of New York,” said Dudden. “That’s when we go from being local to being an established brand.”

All of the keys are made in the SALT Makerspace. Once a key is picked, it’s heated until the metal is malleable. A special tool is used to bend it into shape. It’s sized on an anvil with a mandrill, and then the batch of keys are brought back to Dudden’s apartment and thrown in a tumbler for cleaning. After, they’re brought back to the SALT Makerspace and buffed.

“It’s so fun to watch people look at these for the first time,” said Dudden, referencing her rings. “When they realize it’s a key, it’s a very defined moment.”

Some people, said Dudden, send their own keys to be turned into rings.

“People have special connections with their keys,” said Dudden. “Their first car, their apartment keys, there’s a lot of emotion behind them.”

Dudden uses her start-up to work toward social change. Every month, JoJo Rings partners with a non-profit organization and the proceeds are donated to that charity. It’s worked with Vera House, the Food Bank of Central New York, and Habitat for Humanity. Next month, it will be working with the Jim and Julie Boeheim Foundation.

“Each ring reflects commitment to social change,” said Dudden. “Social good is one of our key principles.”

Published on April 27, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Momin: mrafi@syr.edu