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mfsstones

@mfsstones

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MFS STONES | rare stone studio
Custom jewelry and curated vintage pieces for building a legacy worthy collection you wear everyday✨
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People ask what I do to stay calm and I never quite know how to answer. Beading, I guess. Knotting, really.
I’ve been doing this since high school, long before I knew it would end up living in the same hands I use for suturing. Turns out the mechanics transfer — tension, patience, the small satisfaction of something falling into place exactly right. In med school I practiced knots in call rooms and lecture halls just to keep my hands busy while my brain did something else entirely.
There’s something about a repeating motion that lets your mind actually rest. Bead, knot, bead, knot. No decisions, just rhythm.
And then somewhere in there it stops being a fidget and starts being a piece. Color, texture, the way stones sit next to each other — it becomes something someone can wear, something that says a little bit about who they are.
If you’ve got a hands-on thing that does this for you, I’d love to hear about it. And if you’ve been thinking about a custom piece — natural stone, fine jewelry, or a mix of both — message me anytime. I’d love to build something with you.

#handknottednecklaces #silkcord #naturalstonebeads #doctorlife #suturepractice by @mfsstones

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2 months ago

Starting a jewelry business from the ground up — while also running a full-time business I’ve had for over ten years — has been one of the most humbling things I’ve ever done.

I’ve built relationships with gemstone dealers, lapidaries, bench jewelers, gem setters, vintage dealers, wholesalers, web designers, and graphic designers. Everything from sourcing a rare sapphire to the tissue paper it gets wrapped in — that’s all me, figuring it out as I go.

There have been small wins that keep me going. And mistakes that keep me honest.

I’m passionate about gemstones and jewelry in a way I can’t really explain — I just am. And getting to share that with the people finding this account has made every slow start and every stumble worth it.

Thank you for being here. Genuinely.

✨ Follow along — we’re just getting started.

#mfsstones #supportsmallbusiness #beadednecklace #customjewelry #businessjourney by @mfsstones

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3 months ago

I’ve been thinking about my mom so much this weekend. Sometimes the grief of her loss is so close and I feel her everywhere.

Today was the kind of Minnesota spring day she adored. She would throw her whole heart into Fool’s Spring, knowing we’d have several more snowfalls to come, and open all the windows and air the whole house. So that’s what I do too.

She always had a sunny, comfortable spot to sit and read. The light on my sunny reading spot was so warm and inviting today and my husband had brought me tulips, which were her favorite spring flower. She would have loved my sunny spot. Her little side table holds the books I’m reading and my flower vase which Jerry graciously keeps filled. She would have loved that too.

Today I cleaned out bins, drawers, and shelves of toys that no one was playing with anymore because they’ve been outgrown. There are so many books, games, and legos that she bought for my boys and her hands held. Today I held them again too and could remember her with my four boys crowded on her lap while she read book, after book, after book.

When I miss her I put on her jewelry. The corporal weight of it helps me feel her presence. She had a lovely collection of fine jewelry she built with my Dad. She also had a sense of humor and whimsy and collected plenty of costume jewelry too. I wear it all.

She mixed high and low pieces and now I have that aesthetic too. Fake pearls and a stunning, nearly flawless diamond. Silly elephant earrings. She loved all of it.

I especially love wearing her rings. I can turn the stones round and round my finger and see in my mind her fingers doing the same. Someday, someone else will turn these stones round their finger and think of me, I hope.

This is why I created MFS/STONES. Jewelry has been such an important way to connect me to memories and important events in my life and I hope to help you create jewelry that builds your legacy as well.

#mfsstones #rarestonestudio #quietluxury #everydayelegance customjewelry by @mfsstones

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7 months ago

There are two new necklaces in the MFS/STONES inventory. These are made from 2mm beads of rutilated quartz. Rutilations are fine, needle-like crystals from the mineral rutile (made up of titanium dioxide) that are trapped inside the host crystal, in this case - quartz. It makes for a fascinating stone when you can get in close enough to see these two crystals formed together.

One necklace is hand-knotted on ballet pink silk and the other is hand-knotted on amber silk. Because the quartz is semi-transparent, the color of the silk definitely helps define the look of the whole necklace.

These necklaces are very delicate and catch just the tiniest winks of sparkle from sunlight. They’re perfect in stacks, or alone when all you want is just a whisper of jewelry on your neck.

How would you wear one of these?✨

#rutilequartz #handknottednecklace #delicatejewelry #customjewelry #crystalcommunity by @mfsstones

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2 days ago

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Bead Bar on Saturday at The Saint James Edit.

I loved meeting you in person. I loved watching you pick up a strand and feel the weight of it, then hold it up to the light. And I was fascinated by the colors you were drawn to for fall (spoiler alert - purples and ambers are the show stealers in Fall 2026). Everyone seems to be reaching for something a little different.

The comment I heard most was how much you appreciated the finished pieces. Several of you said you love that they’re made by hand, using techniques that have been used for centuries. I think slow jewelry is having a moment, and I’m glad to be part of it.

It’s just natural stone beads on strong, colorful silk. A simple combination, and a timeless one.

If you missed Saturday, message me anytime. I’d love to make something for you.

#SlowJewelry #HandKnottedJewelry #NaturalStoneJewelry #SelbyWestFallFest #SaintPaulMakers by @mfsstones

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4 days ago

The collab Bead Bar between The Saint James Edit and MFS/STONES is open!

Come on over to Selby Ave and pick and play with your favorite color combos of beads. A selection of hand-knotted natural bead necklaces are ready to buy. But the fun opportunity today is to design your own custom necklace or bracelet from a wide selection of sample pieces here to see and feel.

If you’re strolling along Selby for the Selby West Fall Fest please make stop here to check out all the amazing finds at The Saint James Edit and the natural stones of MFS/STONES.

#saintpaulstyle #selbywest #handknottednecklace #custombeadedjewelry #labradorite by @mfsstones

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8 days ago

Behind the scenes for all the prep going into the Bead Bar collab between MFS/STONES and The Saint James Edit is tomorrow and we can’t wait!

Come see all these beautiful natural stone beads tomorrow at The Saint James Edit from 10 - 5 on Selby Ave in Saint Paul as part of the Selby West Fall Fest.

This is the perfect opportunity to have a special necklace or bracelet custom designed by you, or for someone else if you’re trying to get a head start on your holiday gifting list. All the pieces ordered at tomorrow’s event will be ready for pick up before Thanksgiving.

See you tomorrow!

#saintpaulstyle #naturalbeads #handknottednecklace #customjewelry #selbywestfallfest by @mfsstones

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8 days ago

The MFS/STONES and The Saint James Edit collab Bead Bar, step by step.

Pick the strands you can’t stop looking at, and tell us how you’d like them arranged. Not seeing what you’re picturing? Ask. We’ll see if we can find it.

Choose a bracelet or a necklace, short or long. Your length decides how many strands you need, and we’ll help with the math.

Pick your silk color. It ties everything together, literally and figuratively.

Choose gold-filled or sterling silver for your clasp and chain.

Your total is your strands plus a $70 base price. Want it shipped? That’s $20 more.

Pay in full that day, and your design is officially in motion.
Then you wait about six weeks. I know it’s hard. Good things take time, and this one is worth it.

Pick it up after November 21 at The Saint James Edit.

Can’t make it Saturday? Message me and we’ll figure something out.

#saintpaulsstyle #handknottednecklace #selbywest #naturalstonebead #tourmalinebead by @mfsstones

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10 days ago

Every bead on this necklace has a knot tied by hand on either side of it. Placing these knots is slow, it’s an old, time-honored technique, and it’s still the best way to do it.

The weight is spread evenly, so a long strand of stone doesn’t pull at your neck. The knots keep the beads from rubbing against each other and getting scratched or damaged. And the necklace moves with you instead of sitting stiff like beads on wire. If the silk ever breaks, you lose one, maybe two beads but not the whole necklace.
This is exactly how the luxury jewelry houses do it, and it usually costs what you’d expect from a luxury branded jewelry house.

Mine doesn’t, because I know the people who cut, polish, calibrate, and group the stones and I do the knotting myself. Exceptional jewelry, insider pricing.

Come see the difference in the quality of these hand-knotted beaded pieces in person on Saturday, October 10 at The Saint James Edit on Selby. We’ll be hanging out all day at the shop and we’ll be so excited to welcome you there as part of the Selby West Fall Fest.

Follow for more info on the upcoming Bead Bar at The Saint James Edit, and more jewelry styling. To order a hand-knotted necklace of your own, message me.

#saintpaulsstyle #handknottednecklace #selbywest #naturalstonebead #tourmalinebead by @mfsstones

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11 days ago

People ask why natural stone beads cost more than many of the fast fashion costume beads online. Pick one up and you’ll get it.

Nothing here is dyed to look uniform or pressed from a mold. Every strand is natural stone, cut to a calibrated size, polished, and matched with stones that share the same color and character. So the whole strand feels cohesive, but no two beads are exactly alike.

And that weight. It’s the first thing you notice. Plastic and resin don’t have it.

I go straight to the people who cut and polish these, which is how I can bring you the real thing without the long trail of mark-ups affecting your price tag.

Come see them in person on Saturday, October 10 at The Saint James Edit on Selby. We’re having a Bead Bar as part of the Selby-West Fall Fest. I’d love to see you there.

#saintpaulsstyle #handknottednecklace #selbywest #naturalstonebead #tourmalinebead by @mfsstones

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12 days ago

My website is live.

For a long time, people have found me through a text, a DM, a friend of a friend. That’s still how I love to work. But now there’s a spot where you can see what I’ve been making and finding, any time you want.

Everything on there came from people I’ve built relationships with. The people at the local markets in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. The stone cutters, polishers, and setters. The artisans who sometimes are part of a family legacy of working with gemstones and jewelry. That’s why it looks the way it does and costs what it costs.

Come take a look around. And message me if you see something love. Or if you see something but want it a little different - custom pieces to fit your vision are my specialty.

#customjewelry #websitelaunch #supportsmallbusiness #handknottednecklaces #saintpaulstyle by @mfsstones

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15 days ago

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16 days ago