How I Got Here: Juliana Krys Blends Her Midwest Roots With Art-World Sophistication

Even though she’s become a sophisticated jewelry designer, Juliana Krys is still that Midwest kid who’s impeccably nice, feels most comfortable in a T-shirt and jeans, and loves trips to the hardware store with her dad.

Krys’ early years in Michigan keep her humbled and grounded, she says. An adulthood immersed in art and travel, with big loves and big losses along the way, has led to her second career in jewelry. She debuted her eponymous brand last year.

“I believe you should celebrate your everyday life. Jewelry shouldn’t be intimidating. It’s meant to be worn,” Krys says. “Everything I create is really selfishly for myself—I wanted the kind of accessories that were cool and what a rock star might wear.”

This rock star mom’s story begins in Metro Detroit, where cars are the primary industry and everyone lives for weekends on the lake. Krys grew up with divorced parents—her mother lived in tony Bloomfield Hills, and her father was out in the country in a town called Metamora.

When she’d go to the hardware store with her dad, Krys would study the shapes and textures found inside. One of the things she saw there, rows of balls chains, would come back into her mind when she started designed jewelry…but we’re not there yet.

The Baller collection is inspired by chains Juliana Krys saw as a kid going to hardware stores with her dad in Michigan.

Krys attended Ann Arbor High School, then studied art history at the University of Michigan. Following her freshman year, she spent a summer in Paris and took classes at American University. She found traveling independently like that addictive and returned to Europe for her junior year, concentrating on art history in Madrid.

“I had a lot to learn,” Krys says. “I grew up Jewish, so I didn’t know a lot of the biblical references you need to know in art history. I had to work my butt off.”

During college vacations, Krys spent time in Aspen with family and worked summers at an art gallery. She went on to get her master’s degree in art history at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. By 1999, she was back in Aspen, working at the Baldwin Gallery and falling in love with contemporary art.

The evil eye, with its promise of protection, is a recurring symbol in Juliana Krys Jewelry, including this ring ($9,595) with diamonds and sapphires.

Aspen also introduced Krys to her husband, journalist David Lipschultz. They married in 2002, and together developed and hosted a TV show called The Week in Aspen. This inspired Krys to pursue work in television, and the couple moved to Los Angeles in 2003—but six months later, Lipschultz died in a skiing accident.

Krys was a wandering soul after his death, living between Aspen and Los Angeles for years. She eventually remarried and in 2012 moved to Miami with her new husband, Alex, and their son, Zach. (The couple have also raised Alex’s three other children.)

While being a full-time mom was wonderful, Krys says, she got drawn to jewelry as a potential career around 2017. She made a few prototypes of symbols she loved to wear, like the evil eye. She also worked as a sales rep for a jewelry designer, learning the business from the inside.

In 2024, Krys was ready to introduce Juliana Krys Jewelry with several mini collections. A favorite of hers is the Baller collection, based on those chains she saw in hardware stores as a Michigan kid. Baller is tough yet sophisticated, which is how Krys sees herself.

“I might be most comfortable in a T-shirt, but I go to galas and events where you have to dress up. I’d like to think this jewelry is perfect for both,” she says.