Kelli Weber, 29, Cedar Rapids
Designer and owner @ Link Lust

She’s an artist by training. A fashionista by nature. And for the last year Kelli Weber has merged her passion for the two by turning an eye for color and design into a jewelry business.
“I wasn’t finding what I wanted in the stores,” says Kelli. “So I started making my own and I fell in love with it.”
Her creations are glamorous. Chunky gold chains, jeweled scorpions, delicately-strung vintage findings, semiprecious stones and coiled metals.
The name she chose for her business, Link Lust, conjures all the right images. Old world materials. Modern style.
Her goal is simply to make beautiful things, timeless, quality pieces of wearable art.
“I’m not trying to be too trendy,” she says. “I want to make pieces that will hold through time.”
Kelli often buys materials from vintage vendors around the globe. Many of the glass beads she uses were found in abandoned warehouses in Germany, Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic.
Different colors were used then that aren’t used now, she says. These beads have saturated, brighter hues. Unique details and textures reveal the craftsmanship that went into making each bead.
For inspiration, Kelli looks both to the fashion world and the world around her.
“I always have a sketch pad with me,” she says.
Still, she says, that’s just a starting point. She never starts with a concrete vision of what a piece will look like. It’s all about how the components work best together.
It’s rearranging beads, shortening the length, changing components. Happy accidents can also be a part of the design process.
“You spill something and an orange bead drops into a piece and you go ‘awesome!’” Kelli says.
While it’s hard not to keep every piece she designs, owning 5,000 pieces of jewelry wouldn’t be very practical.
“Each piece seems to find its owner,” she says.
And she enjoys seeing a customer fall in love with one of her designs.
From concept to creation, each piece can take several hours. It’s more than just putting pieces together, Kelli says.
“I stay very conscious of lengths when I’m designing,” she says.
Different lengths work better on different women. For instance, a long piece that creates a deep-V can even have a slimming effect.
Kelli works out of a studio in her home, where she also runs her freelance graphic design business Simplified Designs. Because she works with vintage items, each piece is one-of-a-kind and her inventory is always changing, she says.
With price points ranging between $20-$250, Kelli tries to have something for everyone.
“You can buy a pair of earrings to wear out for the weekend and not feel bad, or you can get that one special piece that you know you’ll wear with every black dress,” she says.

DID YOU KNOW: Kelli’s fashion icon is Diane von Furstenberg.

WHAT SHE CAN DO FOR YOU: Kelli can help you find that prefect piece to add flair to a new outfit or spice up your current wardrobe.
Link Lust jewelry can currently be found at the Velvet Coat, in both its Iowa City and Des Moines locations, and soon at XOXO Hugs and Kisses Boutique in Tiffin.
Outside of Iowa, Link Lust is sold at The Market Boutique in Kansas City, Mo., and Blitz in Vail and Edwards, Colo. Kelli likes to work with the small boutiques because it allows her to support small, local businesses. She also enjoys the relationships she is able to develop with the store owners.
Her jewelry also will be showcased at two upcoming trunk shows: 5 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 5 at Java Creek Cafe, 588 Boyson Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 20 and 21 at the Velvet Coat, 116 E. Washington St., Iowa City.
See her jewelry anytime at www.linklustjewelry.com

— ERIN