Eden’s Harvest
Nostalgias in the story.
Meet Gen. Genevive Raftry is the one-woman show behind the Queens-based jewelry labl, Eden's Harvest, where precious stones and precious stories make every piece. Gen is the owner, designer, and singular crafter of every item you've seen presented week after week at the Hester Street Fair. Informed by nature and using natural materials, Gen has been steady with us since 2020 and has since progressed her business beyond a side hustle to now running her business as her full-time focus.
As Gen was a natural designer from a very young age, she tells us how "People saw my interest and desire to create, so they'd gift me odds and ends they'd collected." Jewelry-making was a means to create accessible resources, but it was also born from necessity. Instead of making hauls at a craft store, sea shells, and leather shoelaces were how she made chokers. Birthday money was spent on clasps and wire to experiment. Her mom would sew beach bags from fabric scraps and Gen would make necklaces for friends as birthday gifts. They were never fans of wrapping paper unless they found pages of magazines or newspapers that were too pretty to use as kindling for the fireplace.
Why Hester Street Fair?
"Being at Hester Street Fair was better than getting some birthday money. It has been a consistent and reliable means to expand my craft through my ability to reach new customers. On top of having a regular income through frequent attendance, it has allowed me to meet other creatives with whom I've done pop-ups and collaborations. It has helped me realize that the world of possibility is larger than a beach in New Jersey and that there are other shores I can pace to forage."
Watch how it’s done
Shop from her store
The 'Gatherer' necklace is inspired by Galway, Ireland, where Gen's family is from. It's a fishing town that revolves around its docks. An old cottage there looks out onto the rushing waters and holds one of the most intricate little windows Gen has ever seen up close. Here's a closer look.
The 'super duper ring' in sterling silver is something familiar from childhood. It takes you back to composition notebooks, boring classrooms, and borrowing gum under teachers' noses. It's a piece that, as soon as people see it, they laugh in surprise and the memories flood in. Shop here.
Shop more of her pieces online or in person at any of our events. hello@edensharvest.co is where you can contact Gen for product inquiries and requests.
