Q & A with Megan of Baker & Black Jewelry

As my style evolves and grows with age (read: wisdom) I’ve been more and more drawn to COLOR. Not in a wardrobe sense, don’t worry, I haven’t gone too crazy…but with a mostly monochrome uniform, vibrant accessories are necessary. I love when jewelry designers play with color and use it to their advantage, breaking down barriers and mesmerizing people all at the same time. This is exactly what Megan of Baker & Black has been doing in her jewelry career. Her creations are works of art on a small scale, seemingly meant for floods of gawkers ready to admire at an art gallery.  Gold is sculptural, gemstones are like paints and creativity is on overload for her with these mediums.  I’m obsessed.

Instinctively, I had to know more about this curiosity-inducing designer.  Take a look at what I found: 

So much! I am focusing on adding more earrings and necklaces to the collection. I am also in the very early stages of designing some jewels incorporating enamel. I love to use lots of color so I am excited to expand my palette.

I have been making jewelry since high school (grade school if you count friendship bracelets!) but after college I started to consider creating a cohesive line. I worked at Doyle & Doyle for a few years and it was really an education in gemology and jewelry history. I was able to learn in a hands-on way. I worked with Jessica Bavier, who now owns Bavier Brook,and she would always pull me aside when something special came in. When an unusual stone came in, we would loupe it. When a masterfully constructed piece came in, we would examine the fabrication and maybe wear it around the shop.

It’s perhaps a little too early in my career to pinpoint a single moment, but I feel very satisfied with how the story of Baker & Black has developed. I created Baker & Black with my husband and we have done almost all of the work ourselves or with the help of talented friends. After all of the hard work, it has been incredibly rewarding to have had such a positive response from all who have seen the jewelry. It makes me excited to continue growing the brand and to share it with more people.

Baker & Black is still in its infancy so A LOT! Right now I am focusing on expanding our retail presence and client base. Creatively, I want to start working with larger gemstones and I would like to experiment more with colored sapphires and spinel. And one day, I would love to create a piece centered around an antique demantoid garnet, a larger specimen with a perfect horsetail inclusion.

This will have to be a tie. My husband gave me an antique gold locket the first Christmas after we were married and I wear it every day. If it doesn’t match what I’m wearing, I just tuck it in my shirt. I love lockets and definitely want to start designing them. The other would have to be the first Baker & Black piece, the Caduceus Ring with pink spinel. I wear it all the time and have been told that it is reminiscent of H.R. Giger’s designs for the movie Alien. I was surprised the first time someone said it because his work is very dark with a strong sci-fi vibe and the ring is pink and sparkly. I hear it all the time and am always humbled because Giger was such an accomplished and influential artist.

This post was brought to you in collaboration with Baker & Black.