Q & A with Jewelry Designer Ariel Gordon!
Our Designer Spotlight is being focused on a wonderful jewelry designer and intelligent woman--Ariel Gordon! Ariel Gordon's jewelry designs are fresh and simple--perfect for your everyday staple piece. Take a look as she answers some questions about how she began, how designing makes her proud, and where her designs will go in the future. Gem Gossip has also chosen our favorite pieces from her collection, which are featured together with her answers! GemGossip: Which piece from your collection is the most popular/best-selling? ArielGordon: My initial necklaces are pretty popular. They make great gifts for new moms, graduations, or for yourself. I'm fascinated by graphic design and typography and I was inspired to make the collection after watching the documentaryHelvetica. I created the font myself in wax by hand, letter by letter. 14k yellow gold initial pendant (with or without diamond) "14k yellow gold initial pendant (with or without diamond) $300-350"00-350 GemGossip: What was your experience like at Revere Academy? Would you recommend it to inspiring jewelry designers? ArielGordon: Absolutely! Revere is a great place to fully immerse yourself in all things jewelry. The instructors are all working jewelers, stone setters, or gemologists and are extremely knowledgeable. I did an intensive program that had class 5 days a week, 8 hours a day for a few months. My hands got pretty tired and my neck was always stiff but I loved every minute of it! It covered casting, fabrication, metalsmithing, polishing, repairs, stone settings, drafting, trade practices, and gemology. Every class had a syllabus and it was very structured which I found helpful. It's like learning a language... the more you surround yourself and immerse yourself the faster you learn. Plus it was great to be in a creative environment with other people as passionate about jewelry as I was. 14k yellow and rose gold Large Washer rings, "14k yellow and rose gold Large Washer rings, $310"10 GemGossip: How has working with Maya Brenner affected your designs? Ariel Gordon: So in addition to running the one-woman AGJ show, I also work full-time with Maya Brenner who is one of the most talented and kind people I know. When I decided I wanted to pursue jewelry as a career it was a really scary moment in my life. I didn't know anything about how to start a retail business. I didn't know how to source my materials, how to put together a collection, how to price my items, how to deal with buyers, how to use Quickbooks - nothing. I barely knew how to make jewelry! All I knew was that I felt a sense of satisfaction seeing people wear my jewelry that I had never felt before. I wanted the freedom of being my own boss and I wanted to be the one to reap the benefits of all my hard work. To help ease into being self-employed, I decided to send my resume out to every LA-based jewelry designer I could think of and ask if any of them needed an assistant. I got a bunch of responses but I hit it off with one in particular. It couldn't have been a better match... Almost 3 years later and we're still going strong!! Maya has taught me so much about how to run a jewelry business and she isn't at all territorial (an issue friends of mine have bumped into working with other designers). I'm so lucky that we found each other! Iolite or Garnet ID Bracelet, 14k gold, [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption=85 GemGossip: What is your proudest moment in your jewelry career? ArielGordon: It's a tie between winning ShopStyle's Emerging Desginer contest or the my first web order (to someone other than a family member or friend). 10k or 14k yellow gold Hour Glass Ring, "10k or 14k yellow gold Hour Glass Ring, $325-495"25-495 GemGossip: What is in store for the future of AGJ? ArielGordon: Always more beautiful jewelry!! Ha ha... I'm actually going to try to expand into the wholesale business. There are so many great boutiques out there that are struggling in this economy and I'd love to be a part of what helps to keep things on the up and up. Read More
