Jessica Rust of Jessica Rust Designs

Photo by Stephanie Colgan

Traveling Artist: An East Coast native, Rust honed her skills as a product-design student at Parsons in NYC. As a young artist, she produced designs for industry leaders such as Villeroy & Boch, Ralph Lauren, and Jonathan Adler. Her work took her across Europe, including a stint in Turkey, where she created textiles for home store Yatas. All the while, she was developing and selling her own dinnerware line. “It was different then,” says Rust. “Before the Internet, you had to knock on doors. You’d drag your stuff to SoHo and try to sell it in galleries until you had enough money to gain entrance to gift shows.”

Online Era: Marriage, children, and jobs led Rust and family to Minneapolis in 2004, and two years later she launched her website. Her presence online changed everything. Blog writers discovered her website and praised the unique tableware. Others found out through word of mouth, and before long, Rust was taking orders from across the country.

Natural Inspiration: “My designs are contemporary but approachable,” explains Rust. “I love the crossing of urban and nature.” Delicate black-and-white sketches portray everything from birch trees (personalized by “carving” initials into the trunks) and cherry blossoms to traditional homes, birds, and puppies. Rust has expanded to nearly a dozen designs, including the Love Bug collection, adorned with vintage Volkswagen Beetles.

Uniquely Yours: “It’s a thoughtful gift—not an impulse buy—and personalizing the design makes it uniquely yours,” Rust says. “For me, it’s about bringing back the old tradition of having monogrammed dinnerware.” Each of Rust’s designs is customized with initials, names, dates, or special messages.

A Growing Venture: Online exposure gave way to national attention, including O at Home (Rust created dinnerware inspired by a photo of the editor’s home) and Real Simple. The collection can now be found in high-end shops across the country, including Minneapolis’s own Letterbox. In the near future, Rust hopes to add coordinating textiles—napkins, table runners, place mats. $45-$110.