In the mid-to-late ’90s, Mitchell Binder had had it with the knockoffs (and counterfeiting) of his coveted sterling silver designs, and he quit the jewelry business altogether, a business in which he had thrived his entire life. He hardly had a minute to breathe before, suddenly, eBay put him right back in the game. “I had a garage filled with my old samples that I sold. Unbeknownst to me, I had this huge following in Japan. There were bidding wars. So, something that I used to sell for a hundred bucks was selling on eBay for a thousand. A couple of guys flew over from Tokyo and bought everything I had ever made.” In 2001, Binder took that money and birthed King Baby Studio. By the end of this year, he will have 14 stores in China and five in the U.S.
The King Baby jewelry line is handcrafted here in the homeland and has its roots firmly planted “in the freedom of the open road and in the spirit of rock ’n’ roll.” It’s no wonder well-known artists such as Lou Reed, Steven Tyler, Tommy Lee and Johnny Depp have found a deep appreciation for the brand and have virtually made it part of their identity, an identity that associates itself with Hamlet skulls rings, snake bracelets, bone-and-knuckle dusters. The style of his line of jewelry could be described as benign intimidation, but regardless the designs are flawless and stunning.
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