Jeweler and textile artist Paulina Otero grew up making jewelry with her mom. “It has always felt very familiar to me,” she says.
But it was as a fiber arts student at the Kansas City Art Institute that Otero began experimenting with unconventional materials to craft jewelry as a way to upcycle. In 2020, she decided to launch her own jewelry business.
Today, Otero primarily uses acrylic, natural stones and metal. The jeweler’s background in textiles shines through in her playful, colorful and maximalist statement pieces. Acrylic, she notes, makes for lightweight earrings: no pulling on the lobes.
As the business has grown, Otero has also branched out into accessories like claw clips and bag charms.
Otero is originally from Mexico, and many of her designs are inspired by her heritage. “I look at a lot of Mesoamerican cultures and symbolism from there,” Otero says. “I try to find ways to use those symbols and abstract them a little bit.”
One recurring motif in her work is the caracol, a spiral shape derived from a shell. “In Michoacán culture, a lot of gods were represented with this shape and were made with actual shells found in the land,” she says.
She also enjoys keeping up with fast-paced, ever-evolving trends. Her iridescent sardine earrings, for example, have been a big hit over the past two summers.
Now, Otero is celebrating five years of being in business. To commemorate the anniversary, she’s launching new metal pieces and bringing back some archival favorites in stores to showcase her evolution.
Shop Otero’s collection in person at West Bottoms Plant Co. (1501 W. 12th St., KCMO) and Garden House Café (1639 Southwest Blvd., KCK), or online at shoppaulinaotero.com.
