Stojo Stories

Pack your bags—summer travel is well under way! With restrictions lifting across the United States and abroad, we’re all more eager than ever to hop on planes, trains, and automobiles to go somewhere. (Anywhere!). After 2020, we think that everyone deserves a vacation.  That being said, let’s not throw caution to the wind just yet. Although COVID restrictions are ending, it’s more important than ever to travel mindfully and sustainably. Travel can generate a ton of waste and increase your carbon footprint, but there are simple things you can do to counteract that. So today we’re talking about how to...

Melanie Abrantes is a Bay Area based producer and designer of handcrafted, heirloom objects. She believes that in order to create something beautiful, you have to get your hands dirty. Her design studio and company was founded in 2013, where she creates handmade goods for the home made from thoughtful materials like cork, which is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, porous, and 100% renewable. Through the technique of lathing, she turns simple pieces of solid wood and cork into one - of - a - kind bowls, plates, cups and stands. Follow @melanieabrantesdesign     How did you start your business?I started my...

Over nine million tons of furniture waste enters our landfills each year. Buying second-hand furniture is a complete thrill that requires a lot of commitment and fruitles hours browsing on poorly-designed resale websites, but there are also companies like Sabai Design who are exploring what ethical and environmentally thoughtful furniture could look like.They started by making a beautifully-designed, sustainable, nontoxic, and ethically made sofa, at an affordable price, and have launched a buy-back program, a repair program and other initiatives to encourage people to keep and take care of their one sofa for as long as practical; to avoid waste...

Al Sandimirova, the founder of Automic Gold, an inclusive fine jewelry brand, moved to the U.S. in 2009 when they were twenty. As a LGBT-identifying queer refugee, they didn’t know how to speak English, or have a way to make money, which created Automic Gold. As a non-binary individual, Automic Gold was also a way for Al to express their identity. Now, Automic Gold is a NYC-made fine jewelry brand that is unisex, size-inclusive and made from reclaimed solid gold, providing a mindful expressive jewelry option for everyone. Follow @automicgold Tell us about how you started Automic Gold and why?...

Machete, a conscious jewelry and accessories brand founded by Jennifer “JJ” Matchett, was created out of her inability to find the perfect pair of tortoise hoops. She ended up creating the first pair in Atlanta, Georgia from deadstock Acetate sourced at a secondhand store. A few years later, Machete has expanded to hair accessories, eyewear and tech accessories--all made from cellulose Acetate, a natural and renewable material made by extracting cellulose fibers from cotton and wood pulp. We spoke to Jennifer about the brand’s journey.  What inspired you to start making your own jewelry? At the time I was collecting...