I’m an artist, jewelry maker, color enthusiast, and firm believer that the things we wear should make us happy.
Cayenne & Cake began in 2016, when I was pregnant with my son, Camden. What started as a creative outlet, and something I could enjoy alongside my older kids, Avery and Roman, slowly grew into something I never could have imagined: a little handmade business that has become such a meaningful part of my life.
Today, I create my pieces by hand on Mackinac Island, Michigan, a tiny place surrounded by water, history, gardens, and an incredible amount of inspiration.
If you spend enough time looking through my work, you’ll probably start to see the island in it.
Lilacs in the spring. Geraniums and overflowing gardens in the summer. Bicycles, ferry boats, wildflowers, and brilliant maple leaves in the fall. Sometimes inspiration comes from somewhere farther away—a piece of art, a stained-glass window, a place I’ve traveled—and sometimes it comes from something as simple as a cup of coffee or a really good book.
I work primarily with polymer clay, creating colorful earrings and jewelry one tiny detail at a time. My style has never been about making everything perfectly uniform. I love texture. I love flowers. I love unexpected color combinations and whimsical little details. I love pieces that make someone stop and look a little closer.
Most of all, I believe art should feel human.
It should be a little messy. A little unexpected. Completely authentic.
Over the years, Cayenne & Cake has grown beyond my own worktable. My pieces have found their way into local Mackinac Island shops, onto the ears of people near and far, and even back to the table through the polymer clay classes I teach here on the island. There is something incredibly special about watching someone discover that they can make something beautiful with their own two hands.
And after all these years, that feeling is still at the heart of why I do this.
Every flower is shaped by hand. Every tiny detail is placed intentionally. Every collection begins with an idea that made me excited enough to sit down at my worktable and see where it would take me.
When you purchase from Cayenne & Cake, you're getting something made slowly, thoughtfully, and by a real person in a little studio on Mackinac Island.
I hope when you put on one of my pieces, it feels like you; colorful, interesting, wonderfully individual, and maybe just a tiny bit whimsical.
Thank you for allowing something I made with my own two hands to become part of your story.
Made by hand. Inspired by color. Created on Mackinac Island.
— Jena
Founder & Artist, Cayenne & Cake
