february 1.2 0 0 2 ■
ART
Together in life and work
Michelle Meizner and Susan Onaclea
have made an a rt out of commitment
PHOTO BY SUSAN
by
creations to outlets in New York.
Primarily self-taught, she preferred
to tinker, calling herself a “bulldog
with a bone.”
Onaclea’s previous work includes
photography, writing and teaching.
She moved from Eugene to New
York in the 1980s and was employed
as a caregiver but suffered two car
accidents, which disabled her. She
met Meizner, and the two decided to
make the move back to Onaclea’s
hometown in 1987.
Onaclea saw her partners
fluctuating efforts in jewelry
Michelle Meizner (left) and Susan Onaclea make beautiful
making and took charge setting
jewelry together
up a bookkeeping system and
serving as an “organizing, methodical force,”
■ B * he business W eb site o f Michelle Meizner
Meizner smiles. Ona-
and Susan Onaclea explains: “Two women
elea also became
were drawn together to create something
involved in the cre
I more than themselves. Something that
ative process, having a
might pay the rent wouldn’t hurt either.”
good eye for color as
Those ever-elusive opposing goals have come
well as the ability to
together for Meizner and Onaclea, who have
stay focused and to see
been life partners for 14 years and business part
the “big picture.”
ners for most of that time. T heir first names—
Meizner welcomed
“S u ’san and “M iche”lle— inspired the name for
the input, and in the first year of their relationship,
their jewelry company, Sumiche. Six months
the two designed and made jewelry together, ran a
ago, the women went from outdoor market and
wholesale business and sold at lesbian festivals.
wholesale selling to indoor retail with their
During this period, the couple stuck to
newest venture, Vivace Gallery in Eugene.
Meizner s early designs— mostly lesbian symbols
and depictions of diversity. “People pins,” Meiz
eizner describes her past self as an “on-
ner describes them, “butch women, fat women,
again, off-again” jeweler. She worked for
just looking cool. This was our first statement.”
others, ran a jewelry store and sold her
In keeping
with that mis
sion, the couple
have always been
out in their
enterprise. “We
were vocal about
it,” Onaclea says,
explaining it did
n’t make any
sense for them
not to be.
The Sumiche
Web site features
a photograph of
them as a couple.
“Our customers
Vivace Gallery is the only place to find existing Sumiche creations— along
are gay and
with a lot of other neat stuff
PHOTO BY SUSAN DETROY
M
S usan D etroy
straight,” Onaclea says, claiming both customer
bases “respond that they are glad about who we
are and glad we make a point of it.”
T he pair were both active in 1992’s
No on 9 Campaign, writing letters to fellow
businesses revealing Sumiche was lesbian-
owned. In their personal lives they decided to
do one visible out thing a day, such as holding
hands or hugging. This has resulted in loyalty
from the sexual minorities community.
Looking for a more visible approach to sell
ing, in the early ’90s Meizner and Onaclea
“He and his partner were so nervous and sweat
ing they nearly couldn’t get the rings on!”
In fact, the pair have several interesting sto
ries about their clients. O ne lesbian couple who
had been together 30 years had a ceremony on a
bed with their dogs. A n Illinois man rented a
Humvee, showed up with an engagement ring at
his boyfriend’s work, got on his knee in proposal
and whisked him off on an adventure tour.
“W e receive thank-you love letters and pic
tures and words about how important the rings
are,” Onaclea grins. Both women emphasize
how honored they are that customers trust
them to provide a treasured product.
Adopting new marketing strategies in the
mid-’90s including mailing portfolios to cus
tomers and advertising in national publica
tions, Sumiche took off. “W e thought the port
folio idea was a good one, but we had no idea!”
exclaims Meizner. Now with the W eb site, she
makes about 350 rings a year.
eizner and O naclea recently
embarked on a new venture as two
o f the four owners o f Vivace Gallery,
the only material out
let of Sum iche Jew el
ry. T h e shop shows
the work of 30 artists,
including other les
bians and gay men.
Jeannie Singer,
Meizner’s mother, also
shows her photogra
phy at Vivace.
T h e couple spend time outside their busi
nesses caring for their 4 1/2-acre home in
Leaburg, where O naclea says she feels a
responsibility to the land. Like many self-
employed people, they talk about the chal
lenge of working at home and learning the
boundaries of their various roles.
“It’s like one big stew pot,” Meizner says. “It
is hard to see the separate pieces.”
O n aclea agrees. “To keep us separate— as
in us as relationship, as opposed to us as c o
owners— it can be hard to find just us.”
But the love of their work makes any chal
lenge worth facing. W hat else does that Web
site say? They have “pooled their resources,
pooled their talents, pooled their hearts and
visions, and, most importantly of all, they are
still loving and learning the work they do.” |H
M
took Sumiche Jewelry to Eugene’s Saturday
Market, where they sold for nine years.
Si
) umiche’s most well-known product idea
I originated from clients. T h e rising anti-gay
' politics led to an intensified desire for com
mitment rings, which have become the main
stay of Sumiche Jewelry.
T h e couple made their first house call in
1989 to a Volkswagen camper in Portland.
They sat around a little table designing their
first custom ring for a woman’s lover.
In Portland their customer base developed
partly with the help of Holly Mulcahey, owner
of It’s My Pleasure, where Sumiche provided
on-site design services. “Holly was so support
ive,” Onaclea remembers. “A t the time we
were the only nationally out lesbian jewelry
makers doing custom work.”
Both women note the rewards of working per
sonally with couples and individuals. “We are
part of people’s lives at an intimate time,” Ona
clea shares. “W hen people come to us it is a time
when they are really happy. We get a lot of sweet
stuff. W e’ve been invited to many ceremonies—
some in Hawaii, New Zealand and Costa Rica.”
During one ceremony they attended, she says,
V
Visit S umiche J ewelry at w w w .sum iche.com .
Vivace Gallery is located at 207 E. Fifth Ave. in
Eugene. For more information call 541'345-8007
or visit www.vivacegaUery.com.
SUSAN D etroy is a full-time artist, photographer
and writer in Eugene.
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