Lundeen Est. 1968
For Nick Lundeen, jewelry is so much more than a passion – it’s in his blood. His grandfather opened Lowell Lundeen Jewelry on the University of Minnesota Campus (Dinkytown) in 1968. It wasn’t a grand affair, but it was a collaborative one, with the small storefront offering a wide variety of local and national jewelry designers, all working together to showcase their skills as aspiring or established artists through handmade works of silver and gold adorned with colorful gemstones.
Original storefront
Lowell Lundeen jewelry quickly became the go-to jewelry store in the area for handmade and one-of-a-kind pieces and through the years blossomed on the University of Minnesota campus until 1986 when the time came to move to larger premises. Cue the Warehouse District, where the artist community flourished.
Lowell & Patricia Lundeen
It was here in the bustling downtown district that Lowell began to design custom jewelry on a one-on-one basis for special occasions, weddings and engagements all with unique gemstones that signified the quality of the designer. Many of these pieces are still being worn today, almost 40 years later.
Nick & Jane Lundeen
In 2002 the store was taken over by Lowell’s daughter-in-law, friend and long-term employee Jane Lundeen, who took the reins following Lowell’s ill health. Jane continued the tradition of showcasing local and up-and-coming designers from Minneapolis and from the wider artistic jewelry community. It was a haven made up of 200-square-feet of modern, vintage and ever-changing jewelry. It was inevitable that in this location, Nick would become inspired by the overwhelming beauty and artistic vision surrounding him. So when in 2018, after 30+ years in the warehouse district, the shop closed its storefront (although occasionally sells at pop-ups and collector’s events), Nick took it upon himself to follow in the family footsteps, buoyed, of course, by the inimitable Lundeen charm.