In celebrating the beauty of the natural world, Brooke Gregson’s gemstone-focused line embraces the perfect imperfections of these gifts from the earth. Her handle of these exquisite stones is unpretentious and results in extremely wearable, layerable pieces with an effortless, “California-cool” attitude. Using 100% recycled gold and responsibly sourced stones, her practice is low-impact with a deep respect for the materials and where they come from. Get to know Brooke in an exclusive interview with us.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background and the moment you decided to create your line?
I grew up appreciating Art and Geology, most likely influenced by my art collector father and rockhound mother. My father created a world in our house that was filled with artifacts from every era, like Tiffany vases and modern art from artists like abstract expressionists Sam Francisand and Joe Goode. My mother would bring back amazing crystals from her trips to Sedona and Tucson and scatter them all over the house where they had a constant presence.
My 20's took me to London where I finished my degree in textile design and landed a job designing print and knitwear for a fashion studio. I enjoyed my time in the textile world but began to distract myself by making simple necklaces out of semi-precious beads. I began to spend more time being inspired by the crystal gem specimens at the Natural History Museum and learning about the history of jewelry at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I decided to take a break from textiles and began taking metalsmithing classes in my free time after moving back to LA for a break from the cold London weather.
I created my first collection based on astrology, the constellations, and the texture of the moon’s surface in 2004 which was immediately picked up by my first retailer. This was the moment when I thought that I might have a chance making it in the jewelry world.
Organic, craftsmanship, texture
Sustainability is one of the tenants of your line, can you tell us what this means to you personally as a designer and earthling?
I have always felt such a connection to nature. The materials (precious and semi precious gemstones and 18k gold) that I work with took a great amount of time and energy to be formed from the earth, and that is something that is always in the back of my mind when creating a piece. For this reason, 99% of the gold we use is recycled and the gemstones I work with are cut and sourced with an attention to their finite quality. They all come from recognized gem sources who abide by the highest standard of code and ethics from beginning to end. Most one of a kind pieces are created to honor the materials I work with.
What gemstones are particularly inspiring to you for this summer?I have been doing some watercolors to get color and form ideas and the colors that have come through have the vibrancy of emeralds, fire opals, vibrant sapphires, and opals mimicking the colors of the sea. Tourmaline is also a stone I always have in my collection. It's a stone that mixes well with precious stones. And of course diamonds, but mainly uniquely cut ones that you don't find anywhere.
