Q & A with Jewelry Designer Cresta Bledsoe

I love stumbling upon jewelry designers whose pieces speak to me with the stone choices they use and the uniqueness of their work. Cresta Bledsoe‘s designs caught my attention with its focus on timeless pieces that hold the lore of a shark’s tooth or a fossil, surrounded by the luxury of diamonds. Only launching a few years ago, Cresta’s focus on organic fossils and shark’s teeth has created quite the collection.

I really like what she says about the shark teeth:

“Sharks shed thousands of teeth over the course of their lives. A tooth then fossilizes over tens of millions of years in the depths of the ocean, eventually adopting the colors of the adjacent minerals. It then gets tousled about and polished by the bountiful waves, and is finally washed ashore and found like a needle in a haystack amidst the sand and shells.”

That same tooth may end up set in a beautiful 18k gold and diamond ring and grace your finger someday.

We caught up with Cresta Bledsoe and her fine jewelry collection:

I believe in creating timeless and thoughtful pieces that will always fall into the overall vision of the line and are independent of trends. Therefore I do not design seasonal launches, but rather explore how the line can evolve. I just completed a delicate black diamond and fossil bib necklace and am also very excited about a dramatic cuff with a single large fossil surrounded by sapphire and turquoise cabochons. It has a bold, modern floral feel that creates a gradient of color moving from charcoal grey into the more intense blues.

It has been a surprising mixed bag assortment with a tie between the chrysoprase/turquoise/fossil sunburst pendant, the fossil long station necklace, and the fossil and white diamond cocktail ring. Clients seem to be drawn to the bold statement pieces and loved the made-to-order aspect so they can customize them slightly to reflect their personalities or to personalize the fit so it feels like a second skin. But I will say that the white diamond framework cuff and the tiny diamond stack cuffs are always a favorite, so I think it is just a matter of time until they catch up.

I am an interior designer by training and my career has been heavily focused on product design for a number of years. Designing a fine jewelry line began in a very organic way, as I just loved the idea of taking a relic that is hand found and millions of years old, and working with artisans to handcraft pieces that celebrate and complement the material. We had such amazing success with private sales directly to clients, that we have only recently begun to get placement in boutiques. So, it is very early in the game. Although so far, the proudest moment has been the invitation to do several trunk shows sandwiched right between 2 designers that I have always admired tremendously. Stay tuned – we’ll keep you posted…

I have always been committed to creating many paths to rigorously approach design, so that I am able to continue learning and growing… and so life can stay exciting. I hope the same can hold true for the line – I would be disappointed if I were able to guess the evolution! I find it interesting to strike a balance between timeless keepsake and the inherent edginess of a shark’s tooth fossil, as the feature gem. And I will also say that the pieces are designed with an understated sense of luxury for a clientele that values simplicity, originality, and handmade quality. For this person, it is more about an adornment that easily transitions between all occasions for her modern lifestyle, and finding an object to treasure that represents her sense of individuality. I hope to find new and exciting ways to explore these core values and attributes.

My wedding bands! They are the perfect representation of my marriage, as I love them more with each passing day. It is four eternity bands that each stand for a promise we made to each other. He gave me three when we got engaged and a forth on our wedding day. They stand for the promise of hope, grace, adoration, and growth. Two are yellow gold and two are white gold so can be stacked differently for subtle effect.