Ellington

Doni Queen grew up in Rossville playing video games on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. To this day, she said she and her best-friend-turned-business-partner Jessie Hunter love classic game characters, weird books, robots and most things that strike people as a little bit nerdy.

For the last three years, those “nerdy” interests have helped the two friends build a handmade business called Mister Other One.

“We try to make unique handmade jewelry that anyone can afford,” said Queen. “It tends to be a little nerdy. That’s not really our intention, it’s just the kind of things we like.”

From their best-selling classic Nintendo character earrings and Pabst Blue Ribbon can earrings to laser-cut shotguns and belt buckles featuring classic comic characters like the ones featured in the books Queen’s dad used to collect, the handmade line features a variety of earrings, necklaces, bobby pins, headbands, belt buckles and cufflinks.

“Our stuff is really fun,” said Queen. “I think sometimes people take fashion a little too seriously and my personal philosophy is that you should always wear at least one thing that’s just for fun.”

Another important feature of the line is the fact that it’s affordable, she said. As a rule, items cost $20 or less.

“Jessie saw a felt headband she liked at a local handmade store for $30 and realized it was at most made out of 50 cents’ worth of material,” said Queen. “We had both always made stuff in the past. There was a lot of cool stuff out there, but the prices were out of control, so we decided to try making our own.”

Mister Other One didn’t actually start as a business, but quickly developed into one over time as Queen and Hunter realized they could sell their items at local stores. The line is currently available online, at Collective Clothing, The Green Door Trading Company, Leo Handmade Gallery and O.C. Buckels and Co.

“One thing that makes us a little different is that we don’t really follow trends in homemade,” said Queen. “We don’t not follow them intentionally, it’s just the way we work. Everything we make is our aesthetic and we don’t make anything we wouldn’t wear ourselves.”

For more information or to view Mister Other One’s products visit www.misterotherone.com.