Kasey, the creative force behind Badfish Jewelry Co., combines her artistic skills with a profound affection for the ocean. As an avid surfer throughout her life, Kasey's dedication to the sea motivates her to produce eco-conscious jewelry. Drawing inspiration from the shorelines, she incorporates recycled materials and unique oceanic finds, such as surfite—a colorful residue from surfboard production. Each handcrafted piece narrates a tale of the ocean's enchantment and the necessity of its preservation, embodying her unwavering commitment to sustainable craftsmanship and marine conservation.
What inspired the name BadFish and the challenges of starting your own business?
I got the name BadFish from growing up listening to Sublime. I started my own jewelry business as a jewelry student at San Diego State and realized that I wanted to try expanding my brand more through traveling abroad and learning more about techniques and processes local to South East Asia. It was pretty challenging making the decision to pursue my schooling or prioritize my business, but I see something in BadFish that is truly special.
Share your upbringing experiences, including parents, family, education, and role models.
I grew up on the East Coast, in New Jersey doing activities such as skating, surfing, and playing the drums with my brothers. My dad is a huge Grateful Dead fan and I owe a lot of my music taste to him. My mom is super sweet and always an amazing supporter. I grew up in a loud house with my brother Trevor always playing the drums with his band till 2 in the morning.
From a young age I was always told my ideas were crazy, and lots of guidance counselors and teachers thought my dreams were pretty unrealistic. But I loved my high school art teacher. She made me realize that I am not a painter, but a designer and at first I hated that comment, but then I realized that it was true.
Once I started college at San Diego State University, I was truly inspired by the jewelry and metal smithing program. I met a lot of fellow students who inspired me to pursue my brand, especially my friend Jesse, who runs her own jewelry business called Moonlight Mile Artisan. I soaked up amazing information about the craft and found teachers that believed in me. I found the casting process through my school's program, and I’ve now decided to go to Indonesia to learn more about the technique.
I definitely had a lot of people in my life around me that were surfers, but we did not have a large representation for women, especially in my age group. I would be out in winter swells in Jersey in a full suit and the ratio from guys to girls was kind of crazy.
I wanted to recycle and make a change, so I set aside my paints. I wanted my art to have a function in day to day life. Jewelry is meant to be worn. I found surfite from one of my friends, and it really made me think a lot about how to recycle a material that would otherwise just add to a landfill. I currently have 60 pounds of surfite scraps, which will all be recycled into jewelry pieces.
When did you start surfing? First board, the boards are riding and surf inspirations.
I started surfing when I was 8 years old in Cape May, New Jersey. My older brother bought a dinged up 6 '0 fiberglass board from a yardsale, so you can imagine it was like a longboard for me back then. As soon as I started, I was hooked and bought a board from a local shop, Kona Surf, and my dog is now named Kona after it. I ride goofy, my current boards I’ve been using recently are a 6 '4 Modern Fish, a 5' 10, a 9’6 Kona boards, and a 7' 6 Spirit that I got off facebook marketplace in Socal. Some Local shapers that I love would have to be West Ave Glassing; I really love Justin Perry's work as a shaper so it is truly awesome to work with him and recycle the beauty of surfite. I really want to start getting into using only used boards.
I became very dedicated to surfing in high school and wanted to experience better waves. I joined my high school surf team, which was an amazing opportunity to explore different breaks in New Jersey. When I moved to San Diego, it allowed me to discover all the iconic breaks of California, such as Swamis, Ventura, Blacks, Topanga, and many more.
I'm super stoked to explore Indonesia and hit a couple other countries, like Thailand and Australia, in the upcoming fall. I grew up watching Lisa Andersen, Kelly Slater, and the Florence Brothers. Caity Simmers is someone I’ve been looking up to as of recently. Her surf style and film style resonates with me.
My favorite local break is definitely Hathaway Beach in Deal New Jersey. I'd say my favorite break I’ve surfed is Swamis; every time I go it is absolutely amazing and it's a beautiful beach. My worst wipeout I’d say was either when I dislocated my shoulder skating or when I broke my teeth at Blacks Beach in San Diego. The impact from my wipeout caused my teeth to slam together.
I guess what I would say to someone who is learning how to surf would definitely be: be careful and do not give up. The only way to improve is to keep going out everyday. Be friendly and do not forget why you're out there, to enjoy the beauty of the ocean.
How has surfing influenced your creative process, sustainability and ocean conservation ?
I would say I noticed the physical effects of the pollution in the ocean. When I am in the ocean for a while, my eyes burn and my skin starts to get irritated. I worry about the long term effects that it will cause to my health. I think when I moved to California, the run off really started to concern me. I feel like it was a culture shock to me because how normalized going in the ocean during a storm is in New Jersey. On the east coast, we're always in the water when it's raining.
I also realized how negative it can be to go in when the water levels are too dirty. I am always making a constant effort to conserve the ocean not only for the environment and my sanity, but also for our culture as surfers. Whenever I go looking for sea glass on the beach, I find myself leaving with my hands full of garbage that I find along the shoreline. Being in a field where ethically sourced goods are not always in the cards, it reinforces my dream to produce sustainable jewelry.
What is Surfite and where do you source it? What other materials do you use?
Surfite is a material that is a byproduct of surfboard shaping and glassing, and it’s typically tossed in the dumpster. I became interested in surfboard designing as a high schooler and really enjoyed watching the process. I met Justin Perry through a mutual friend and really connected with his work as a shaper. I also really looked up to him as a surfer as well. I visited his shop and brought 60 pounds worth of material home. Little is commonly known about Surfite but it is actually one of the hardest materials to break down because it is very dense. Surfite is a perfect material to create stones for jewelry because it is so colorful and each piece is extremely unique. All of my other jewelry is upcycled pieces of old jewelry.
Any recommendations if someone wants to get into jewelry making?
I don't think education is always the path. I do think that if you really want to pursue the craft, watch some youtube videos, ensure that you are taking the right safety precautions and start piecing it together. The most important thing is figuring out what you want to be special about your jewelry.
All photos courtesy of Kasey Hughes
Website: https://badfishjewelry.com/
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