Indie Superhero

Joanna Koon of indie heroine makes jewelry with a vintage and bohemian feel that has a definite southern charm. Read on to see what inspires her.

How did you come up with the name of your shop?


When I started making jewelry I changed my business name every other month!  But I kept coming back to Indie Heroine.  I came up with the name several years ago because I was really in to independent films at the time.  It was my old user name for a lot of different things online, like Myspace, which is kind of embarrassing but funny to me! I finally decided to use it for my jewelry business and it turned out to be the perfect name. I believe that every day is an adventure and you are the heroine!  One person can change the world, no matter who or where you are.


 Shabby chic fluer de lis skeleton key earrings

You donate 10% of your sales to charity:water. Can you tell us a little bit about that organization?

 I love what mycharity:water is doing for the millions of people who have to drink and bathe in overused, dirty, crowded rivers, streams, and ponds.  In America, we bathe and wash our clothes and dishes in drinkable water – it’s a luxury that almost a billion people don’t have. Every water project mycharity:water begins includes not only wells but comprehensive hygiene and sanitation programs – latrines, faucets, etc.  The wells they build belong to the community, too!  It’s a wonderful cause to become involved with – I feel so lucky to be a part of what they are doing!  Go to http://www.charitywater.org/whywater to learn more about what mycharity:water does for the communities of the world.

 Birds of a feather antiqued mixed metals necklace

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Inspiration comes from doing some of my favorite things – watching B&W movies and admiring the old Hollywood glamour, going thrift shopping, spending time with friends who share similar passions like cooking, wine, or the environment. Taking pictures in my beautiful yard with our azalea bushes, towering trees, and my kids having the time of their lives digging in the dirt and crawling to every leaf to inspect it.  Beauty is waiting to be discovered in the details of everything that surrounds me, the secret is allowing myself to pause long enough to see it.  I brainstorm and create either in silence or with my iPod – Regina Spektor and Rufus Wainwright never fail to inspire me.
 Alice In Wonderland necklace

When you’re not making jewelry how else do you occupy your time?

I have a 2 1/2 year-old boy and a baby girl who is about to turn one!  I’m a stay at home mom at the moment, so they occupy 99% of my time!  I love cooking, photography, and want to start a million projects all the time!  I have a sewing machine that belonged to my husband’s aunt and can’t wait to start using it; sewing is not something I’ve gotten into that much but I really want to learn!  In my downtime at night, watching Netflix with a glass of red wine is my favorite way to unwind and relax.  Juggling jewelry in the mix makes life interesting!  


 Sweetheart antiqued fleur de lis charm necklace

 Define southern style.

Southern style is truly what we make it.  I think we pride ourselves on being indefinable when it comes to having a “look”.  We’re pretty casual and like to be comfortable, but we love to look fabulous, whatever “fabulous” means to us!  One thing, though, that reigns supreme here are flip flops – love ’em or hate ’em, everyone wears them with everything from prom dresses to cutoffs. 



Pick up her pieces at Fleur Du Jour in Baton Rouge or online at her Etsy shop.