Growing up, Maddy Hirsch wanted two things: to make useful things with her hands and to own her own business. Guided by those goals, she enrolled in Temple University’s entrepreneurial studies program, only to feel disillusioned with what she saw as its narrow focus on traditional and tech startups. She transferred to the Tyler School of Art & Architecture, but found it too centered on conceptual art.
“I wanted to understand how my work moves through the world on a very physical level,” Hirsch says. “I like making tangible things that people can interact with every day.”
Before dropping out of Tyler, she took a jewelry-making class that helped bring her path into focus. Here was a medium that blended art and craft and opened up a feasible avenue toward entrepreneurship.
“Making jewelry made perfect sense to me: It’s practical, fun and pretty,” Hirsch notes. “So in 2017, I started working for a jeweler in Philly, and I’ve been doing this ever since.”
After a few years working her way up — from running errands on Jewelers’ Row to setting diamonds at a hip-hop jewelry store on South Street — Hirsch opened her own brick-and-mortar shop, Tshatshke Jewelry Studio (Tshatshke is pronounced “CHOTCH-kee”) in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood.
Hirsch was drawn to the location after her friend mentioned that he was opening a record shop, Launderette Records, on Richmond Street. Commercial rent on the block was cheap, and after finding a raw space a few doors down, she decided to go for it.
“Having my own shop and studio was always my end goal,” Hirsch says. “I’m so invested in in-person interactions with my customers and the neighborhood.”
Making jewelry made perfect sense to me: It’s practical, fun and pretty.”
— Maddy Hirsch
She pooled her savings and small loans from friends and family, completed a do-it-yourself renovation and furnished the space with studio equipment she had collected over the years, along with secondhand furniture and display cases. Tshatshke opened in May 2022.
Tshatshke offers custom fine jewelry, curated ready-to-wear pieces made by Hirsch and other local jewelers, and jewelry repair. The custom work, which includes engagement and wedding rings, is where Hirsch lets her artistic vision and sculptural skills shine.
“I really love honing in on what someone wants and making something super unique,” she says. “Like right now, I’m working on a platinum engagement ring with three repurposed diamonds that echoes a matching tribal tattoo that the couple has.”
Giving heirloom stones new life is just one way Hirsch creates pieces while minimizing environmental impact. Although jewelry making is a historically exploitative industry, Hirsch says, she tries her best to operate outside of harmful systems.
“I buy my gold and silver from a local business that I’ve been working with for my whole career, and I send my scrap out to them to have it refined,” she explains. “I buy almost all my gemstones either from customers who are scrapping pieces with me, or from very well-researched and reputable companies that track mine-to-market stones.”
As a small-business owner, sustainability means more to Hirsch than recycling metals and eschewing plastic packaging. Her main focus is on creating a responsible, equitable workplace for herself and Tshatshke’s two employees.
“My priority right now is looking at the structure of the business and figuring out profit sharing, livable wages and paid time off for my team,” she says. “This business has enabled me to start my life, so I want to create a situation where my employees can do the same.”
