Our Story

Made by real people.
Not a warehouse.

Emerald Crest Connect curates artisan goods from independent makers across New Jersey and New York City. Every piece is small-batch, handmade, and sourced directly from the people who made it.

Our Mission

Goods that come with a story attached

We started Emerald Crest Connect because independent makers in the NJ/NYC corridor were producing extraordinary work — ceramics that took weeks to throw and fire, leather bags built to last thirty years, candles made from botanical blends you won't find in any big-box store — and most of it was invisible to the retailers who would love to carry it.

Our job is to close that gap. We find the makers worth knowing, curate their most distinctive work, and make it easy for retail partners to carry goods that actually have a story behind them.

Small-batch production means every item has a face behind it. When you ask "who made this?" — we can tell you exactly.

What makes us different

  • Every maker is based in NJ or NYC — no overseas dropshipping, no unknown supply chains
  • Small-batch only — items are made in limited runs, which means your shop carries something exclusive
  • Direct relationships — we know every maker personally and vet every product before it reaches partners
  • Fast replenishment — most orders ship within 48 hours, with flexible minimums for new partners
  • Authentic craft — no private-label rebranding, no mass-produced imitations dressed up as handmade

The People Behind the Work

Meet our makers

Six of the independent artisans at the heart of our current collection. Each one makes by hand, in small batches, in their own studio.

M

Mara DeLuca

Ceramics Hoboken, NJ

Mara shapes each piece by hand from her river-view studio in Hoboken, firing in a kiln she rebuilt herself from salvaged parts. Her glazes — muted sage, chalk white, clay-brown — are mixed from minerals she sources personally. No two pieces are identical. She's been making pottery for eleven years and still fires everything in batches of under twenty.

J

James Okafor

Leather Goods Brooklyn, NY

A former architect who found his calling at a leather workshop in Red Hook. James cuts every bag, wallet, and journal cover by hand using full-grain vegetable-tanned leather sourced from a 90-year-old tannery in Pennsylvania. His pieces darken beautifully with use — the patina is part of the design. Minimum batch size: twelve. By choice.

P

Priya Nair

Candles Montclair, NJ

Priya blends fragrance the way a chef writes a recipe — layered, precise, and informed by years of tinkering. Her soy candles use phthalate-free fragrance oils blended in-house and wicks sized individually to each vessel diameter. She tests every new scent across twelve pours before it goes to market. Current bestseller: a cedarwood-vetiver-amber that smells like an old library.

S

Sofia Rios

Jewelry Queens, NY

Self-taught metalsmith, entirely self-taught. Sofia learned torch-work from YouTube videos and library books, then spent three years developing her signature oxidized-bronze finish before selling a single piece. Her jewelry is bold without being loud — geometric forms, irregular textures, the kind of piece that draws a compliment every time you wear it. She runs a two-person studio in Astoria.

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Theo Walsh

Woodcraft Jersey City, NJ

Reclaimed wood, clean lines, and a finish so good you want to keep touching it. Theo builds cutting boards, serving pieces, and decorative objects from salvaged walnut and maple he sources from demolition sites and lumber yards around Hudson County. Nothing he makes looks mass-produced because nothing he makes is. Every grain pattern is unique. Every piece is dated and signed on the back.

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Anika Park

Textiles Williamsburg, NY

Hand-dyed, small-batch runs in colorways Anika develops season by season. She works with natural and low-impact fiber reactive dyes on linen and cotton — throws, napkins, table runners — each batch dyed in her Williamsburg apartment sink and hung to dry on a rooftop line. The slight variation from piece to piece isn't a flaw. It's evidence of human hands.

Wholesale Partnerships

Interested in
carrying our products?

We work with independent retail shops, boutique hotel gift shops, and specialty grocers who want goods with genuine provenance. Flexible minimums, fast shipping, and a team that responds quickly.

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