Hera kite diamond engraving necklace

Growing up in Los Angeles, you are more exposed to the spiritual side of things. My mother was always very into yoga and spirituality, and she collected crystals and rocks. She would go on trips to Sedona, where you can find rose quartz, agates, crystal phantoms, and she would bring them back with her. It is funny when you look back and ask yourself, ‘how did I get here?’ and it is all of a sudden very obvious, because we literally had a terrace filled with crystals. I was exposed to the spiritual side of rocks and gems through my mother. My father on the other hand was actually a jewellery collector. It was a big part of our family; my great aunt used to collect charm bracelets. My father loved going to jewellery galleries, looking for art deco jewellery, Bakelite, he loved anything that was really unique. He once bought me this Victorian lapis and fire opal necklace, and it was such a unique piece that it took a lot of hard work to find. Jewellery was definitely part of my upbringing, but it didn’t even occur to me that I could become a jewellery designer until I moved to England. 

I was an art history major, and funnily enough my first job after college graduating with an art history major, was at the Crystalarium. It is a big crystal shop in Hollywood, and this is when I learned the healing qualities of stones. My life is definitely not linear. After living in Los Angeles, finishing college, I moved to England and started a new life as a textile designer. I went to Chelsea School of Arts studying textiles, and I did work as a textile designer for 3 years. But on the side, I started beading. At first, I could only afford cheaper crystals and I would sell them for 50 dollars to anyone who would even look at them. It was very organic.