One of the smallest new shops on Capitol Hill also might be one of its sturdiest. Jewelry designer Claire Kinder Barrett’s newly opened Honed features works that seek balance between grace and muscle.

“I always try to design delicate pieces that are also strong enough to make it through life,” Barrett told CHS during a recent visit.

Honed opened up in February and is one of a new generation of businesses making homes in 11th Ave’s Chophouse Row marketplace. CHS introduced you to neighborhood bodega Sundry last week.

Barrett and fiance and business partner Charles Andrews came to Seattle from Brooklyn where Barrett first created and grew her own line of Claire Kinder jewelry and grew her skills at the borough’s popular Catbird.

Honed is filled with her creations as well as jewelry from other designers and select “lifestyle essentials” like local perfume, water-purifying charcoal, and cruelty-free alpaca insoles. Even the wings in the shop’s butterfly art were collected at butterfly conservatories. The little skulls? Collected from owl pellets.

Honed’s sustainable and recyclable ethos is matched with Barrett’s symmetry-seeking designs.

“I have more of an engineer brain than an artist brain. That’s why I was so drawn to jewelry,” she said. “It’s a combination of fashion. It’s a combination of industrial design and product design.”

Andrews and Barrett hope Honed can make a name for itself for custom jewelry and eventually grow to become a destination for wedding and engagement work. Barrett said she also needs to clear some space for new work.

“Now that I’m here to be inspired by my customers, I need to have space to make new stuff.”

Honed is located inside Chophouse Row at 1424 11th Ave, Suite B. Hours are noon to 7 PM on Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 AM to 6 PM on weekends, closed Mondays. You can learn more at honedboutique.com.