Kansas City artist’s jewelry inspired by Mexico turns into fast-growing business
Paulina Otero, a 28-year-old artist who founded her own jewelry and accessory brand, did not expect for her business to skyrocket as it has over the past five years.
“A lot of people like my work because it’s bright and colorful, but then they find out that these symbols have a story and a meaning, and then it’s almost like a fun surprise,” Otero said.
Otero, who works out of her studio in the West Bottoms, makes earrings, claw clips, charm necklaces and bracelets out of acrylics, metal, stones and beads, using inspiration for her childhood swimming in the ocean. She has expanded her business to selling a lot of her products wholesale and hosts monthly workshops for those wanting to learn how to make jewelry in her style.
Starting Paulina Otero jewelry and her inspiration
Otero, a Kansas City Art Institute alumna, has a background in textiles and loves combining different textures. She stumbled into making jewelry toward the end of her undergrad years, when found she had a lot of acrylic left over from her projects and made earrings out of it.
“I grew up (making jewelry) with my mom,” Otero said. “It was something that just had a sentimental attachment to it. We would sit down and just spend hours beading and wire wrapping.”
Otero began wearing her jewelry and got so many compliments on her pieces that she decided to create an Etsy storefront in 2020.
“The experience of seeing people wearing something you made, whether it’s like a claw clip, earrings or even, you know, a phone case, it’s almost like that activation of the human with the object and creating a connection with that object,” Otero said.
Originally from Cancun, Mexico, Otero derives a lot of her designs and materials that remind her of swimming in the ocean as a child, like reflective-looking acrylics that look like water. She also uses stones, beads and different metals to make her jewelry.
“I grew up in the peninsula area, so there’s a lot of different symbols that make me think of the ocean or the archeological sites or textures even found in Mexico or tiles,” she said “I’m always trying to find ways to incorporate that as almost like a hidden symbol.”
One iconic symbol seen throughout her work is the caracol, a spiked spiral, which she said represents the inside of a shell. It’s also her company logo.
“It’s just part of my identity and I think it comes out naturally at this point,” she said. ”It’s a shape that I don’t think I’ll get tired of, I’m constantly finding ways to reinvent it or reapply it to different things.”
Otero credits her entrepreneurial parents for having the same mindset and for giving her advice on how to expand her business.
“I am an artist by heart, and my way was always hand making things and looking at all the details, but I’ve been trying to expand and see the vision of the brand growing bigger,” she said.
Expanding her business to meet demand
Now, Otero has two employees to help her. Diving into wholesale has been a game changer, she said, and her jewelry can now be found all over the country.
“Now I get to ship my stuff to Hawaii, and I’ve never even been there,” she said.
It was Otero’s father who suggested she look into manufacturing to meet the growing demand. It’s been in the process took a couple years and took time for Otero to find manufacturers she trusts through jewelry conventions from Mexico, Brazil and China.
Getting items manufactured takes time — anywhere from three to five months. It took Otero six months to release her first metal collection last summer, because she first wanted to guarantee that the quality was up to her standards.
“I wore them for a month nonstop,” she said. “To yoga, work out and shower with them so I could be like, ‘OK, this feels like a good quality product.’”
Branching out into workshops becoming a hit
Not making everything herself, she said, will free up a lot of time for her to expand the business and spend more time designing, fostering community and collaborating with other artists. The transition into having her whole line manufactured is still in the works. Her hope is to fully transition into manufacturing in 2027.
Something she’s really enjoyed recently is hosting workshops, where the public can come into her studio in the West Bottoms or a pop-up location like Mean Mule Distilling and make charm necklaces, earrings, bag charms and even iPhone cases.
“I’ve been really trying to build community, because as an artist, I noticed that’s like a huge need, like to feel like you have a community that can show up for you and do things collectively,” she said.
Originally, the classes were filled with her friends, but they have since blown up and have even begun to sell out, according to Otero. The number of students varies from five to 20, and several people are even returning to take different classes.
“I have lawyers, I have accountants, I’ve had engineers, like all kinds of different people in different backgrounds that just come to these classes and they feel like (they) I can be creative,” she said. “And also that they can disconnect. This can be like, a safe space for them to socialize and invite their friends and have a drink and just make something that you actually want to wear.”
Upcoming collaboration with the Nelson Atkins
Otero is also working on a collaboration with the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art for its new art exhibit featuring Czech artist Alphonse Mucha and the spirit of art nouveau. Her new products are inspired by all the botanicals and the long hair and florals featured in Mucha’s work.
Some of the accessories she’s working on include a lily claw clip and a French hairpin.
“The white lily just keeps popping up throughout all of his paintings. I was like, there needs to be a white lily, hair claw clip, and then those like flowery charms are also going to be part of that collection,” she said.
The collection, featuring other artists, will be available inside the Nelson Atkins gift shop around mid-April, according to Otero. Her work will also be on her website.
Otero’s monthly schedule for her workshops are posted on her Instagram account and her website. Classes for March and April range from $62 to $80.
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 8:22 AM.
