Carrie Hoffman began making jewelry inspired by her love of art, design and architecture. She launched her line in 2012 and her designs have evolved into an elevated, modern jewelry collection that strikes the balance between cool and classic. One year after the launch, Carrie was diagnosed with breast cancer and she beat that #($&&@$&)@*$ — YAY!!!!! As a survivor, Carrie has created the “Tata” Collection. The earrings in the collection, which we are so proud to carrie at Max’s, are comprised of a minimalist and modern silhouette that represents the woman’s breast. Various gemstones — smokey topaz, garnet, pink tourmaline, pink sapphire, white and black diamond — because, you know, no two of us are alike — are set inverted in the middle of the stud to represent a nipple. She also has a version with a line in the middle instead of the stone to represent a scar from the incision.
I was first drawn to Carrie’s booth at a jewelry trade show this summer by the wide array of gold huggies and hoops displayed in her booth (full disclosure — we carry these too!), but quickly became equally captivated by her energy and passion. As someone who woke up what I like to call the “happy side” of the biopsy knife over 10 years ago but who must get checked out every 6 months “just in case”, I have tremendous respect for Carrie using her skills as a designer to help move the research along to conquer this dreadful disease. Carrie donates a portion of her sales proceeds from the Tata Collection to the Breast Cancer Research Network, and Max’s is donating a portion of the sales from collection to the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota.