How a millennial artist makes it work on $40K in San Francisco

Cera Deibel, 23, is a full-time production jeweler living in San Francisco. She shares how she makes her artist budget work in a city known for its expensive cost of living. Cera Deibel, 23, is a full-time production jeweler living in San Francisco. She shares how she makes her artist budget work in a city known for its expensive cost of living. Photo: Michelle Robertson Photo: Michelle Robertson Image 1 of / 64 Caption Close How a millennial artist makes it work on $40K in San Francisco 1 / 64 Back to Gallery

Cera Deibel lives in a two-bedroom apartment on the Stanyan Street side of Golden Gate Park. From its third-story landing, the apartment's large windows look out onto the northern edge of San Francisco upon rows of homes painted in pastel pinks, blues and greens.

"If it weren't for that one tall apartment building," says Deibel's partner, Zeke, gesturing, "we'd have a view of the Golden Gate Bridge."

Hints of Deibel's vocation are scattered about the sunny living room and visible on her own body. Every finger is decorated with a silver ring. Bracelets drape from both wrists. Three dainty silver necklaces encircle her neck.

Deibel, 23, makes a living with her hands as a full-time production jeweler in the Bay Area. Though the pay is low by San Francisco's arguably inflated standards, Deibel is, by all accounts, living the young urban artist's dream.

A favorite topic of conversation for those who live in San Francisco — and for those who don't — is the crucifying cost of living in the city, which has led to the displacement of many low-income groups, especially people of color. But the narrative that San Francisco is inhospitable to creatives is inaccurate, Deibel says. She wanted to stay here — and to continue practicing her craft — so she's found ways to make it work.

Deibel is quick to acknowledge that she has certain privileges working in her favor: a college degree, supportive parents, stable health, a rent-controlled apartment and a partner who splits bills and rent. It can be much more difficult to find one's footing in the city when lacking such advantages.

Even then, the costs add up. But for Deibel, who graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2018, it's a worthwhile price of admission to live wedged between a park and an ocean within a vibrant urban community. The cherry on top: She can make a living doing exactly what she loves.

What she loves is crafting jewelry. Deibel works as a production jeweler for two Bay Area designers: Mashka Jewelry, which specializes in bold, colorful wares, and Corey Egan Designs, best known for its delicate silver creations. She also teaches a beginner fabrication course at MetalWorks SF every Monday night.

A production jeweler, Deibel explains, does not design products, but makes the goods that will eventually appear on store shelves for purchase.

Deibel says she's long been drawn to "process-based" practices, including ceramics and film photography: "It's less about the final piece I make and more about the act of making." In the future she's interested in designing her own line of jewelry, but for the time being, she's satisfied getting "to make stuff with my hands all day."

It's a vocation many of her friends who work in offices envy. "I feel very lucky that I get to do this all the time. It's very satisfying work," she says.

Unlike the friends in office jobs, however, Deibel contends with a salary that just barely covers her living expenses. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development qualifies those in San Francisco with an annual income of $90,450 and under as "low-income." Deibel estimates her annual take-home pay, before taxes, to be about $40,000. She works six days a week, eight hours a day.

To get a sense of how someone with such a low income "makes it work" in the city, Deibel graciously shared her monthly budget:

Total rent: $3,000 a month, split between Deibel, her boyfriend and their roommate (Deibel pays $900)

Student loan payments: $200

Commuting via rideshares and public transit: $250-$300

Groceries: $400

After necessities, she's left with about $1,500 in pre-tax funds for extras, like dining out, buying clothes and art, and other luxuries. She tries to put some money in savings each month and to pay off a good chunk of her remaining $30,000 in student debt.

Though Deibel doesn't consciously budget — "I'm only 23! Still working on that." — she tries to maintain a frugal existence by cooking most meals at home and limiting bar nights, which "don't really align with my lifestyle anyway."

The other caveat: "I don't travel." She flies home to Dallas occasionally, "but that's about it."

The sacrifices, thus far, are worth it to stay in the city she's lived in for the past five years.

"I'm not doing this to be a millionaire or get a bunch of stock," she says. "I'm doing this because I appreciate and love the craft and hope that there continues to be a place for it in this world."

There's certainly a place for it in the Bay Area, she stresses. It's easy (and important) to talk about the negative effects of the technology industry in the region, including increased rents, homelessness, displacement and gentrification, all of which have immensely disrupted the character of the area. Nonetheless, Deibel says many of the people who purchase the jewelry she makes work in the tech industry. Their dollars support an entire ecosystem of makers, including the jewelry designer, the production jewelers, the casters and the small businesses that sell the products.

She's also observed that "so many people in creative industries in the Bay have a partner in tech." Deibel's partner works in IT, which enables him to pull a little extra financial weight in their household. If they didn't live together, she says, she'd be paying $1,800 in rent to stay in her rent-controlled apartment -- an untenable burden.

Like most of us, Deibel's entertained the idea of leaving the Bay Area in the next decade, but only to move closer to her and her partner's families in the southern U.S. At 23, the San Francisco lifestyle still aligns with Deibel's ideals. She's not saving for a house, not planning to "settle down" anytime soon, and still relishes the daily hustle-and-bustle of her surroundings.

"There's something about living in a city in your twenties that's very different from living in a city in your thirties," she remarks.

Still, the threat of future instability weighs lightly on her mind. "I'm waiting for San Francisco to really kick my ass so I can feel done with it," she says. "But after five years here, I'm just not over it."

"This is where I am, and I'm going to be here for awhile," she adds," because there certainly may come a time when I won't be able to do it, whether it's due to health, finances or, you know, the whole world ends."

Michelle Robertson is a freelance writer. You can reach her at michbrobertson@gmail.com and on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.