Q & A with Temple St. Clair

Temple St. Clair is a name synonymous with beauty, elegance, craftsmanship and wanderlust. The fine jewelry line which first began in the late 1980s by Temple herself has grown tremendously over the last 30+ years, mirroring the designer’s tastes, travels and creative endeavors. Motifs such as rock crystal amulets, triple granulation and archer’s granule are all elements that Temple has always incorporated into her designs, as they’ve been embedded into the very beginnings of her work. From her early Italian beginnings to her newly launched brick and mortar store in Italy’s Ponte Vecchio, Temple’s whimsical world of jewelry design is quite magical. Her pieces have become highly collectible and her exclusive High Jewelry Collection is on another level.

I remember the first time I encountered a piece from Temple St. Clair–I was browsing at auction and stumbled upon an incredible royal blue moonstone ring unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I thought surely it was a piece from the turn-of-the-century and as I read the description, realized it was a modern piece from Temple St. Clair! That ring will forever stay in my dreams. I love all the new things Temple is bringing to the world of fine jewelry, like her zodiac pieces, her lion jewels and colorful gemstone medallions. I can easily see why people collect her pieces exclusively.

I was honored to interview Temple in between her worldwide travels and getting ready for Couture in Las Vegas in a few weeks. Hope you enjoy:

I am becoming an expert juggler.
As a creative person, entrepreneur and storyteller, I find it impossible to say no to a new, exciting project. I am focused on a variety of things at the moment from working with bronze and marble artisans in Florence to create new ways to display my jewels in our new shop on the Ponte Vecchio. I am working with our partners in Japan to streamline our offerings for our Japanese clientele. I am writing up descriptions regarding the inspiration behind my new fall collection – Midnight at the Oasis – based on my travels along the Silk Road. I am working with my design team to refine the details of our Spring 2019 collection, inspired by the orientalism of the Wiener Werkstätt while starting to conceptualize what subjects I want to explore for Fall 2019. I am beginning to collect all of the books to adorn the library in our soon-to-open Temple St. Clair boutique in Saks Fifth Avenue later this month. I want the library in the shop to echo my own personal library. Basically I want to share the many “bibliographies” behind the research on my collections. I am working on new watercolors for the invitation to the grand opening party of Temple St. Clair on the Ponte Vecchio during Pitti in June. And this evening, I’m about to fly off to Bhutan to explore Buddhist temples and to close yet another gap in my Silk Road explorations.

I am a self-taught artist and designer starting 31 years ago. While living and studying in Florence, I walked in to the jewelry world, literally in to a Florentine goldsmith’s workshop. I started studying the history of jewelry through designing jewelry. The majority of what I have learned is through these revered Italian artisans. Today I explore the world and cosmos with jewelry as my medium, always leaning on the centuries old expertise of master craftsmen.

My experience at the Decorative Arts Museum at the Louvre in Paris – exhibiting the first chapter of The Golden Menagerie there and then having one of my pieces, the Tolomeo, inducted in to the permanent collection last fall. I am most proud to be joining the only other two Americans artists (Louis Comfort Tiffany and Alexander Calder) in the jewelry gallery at the Louvre, and to be the first American woman designer exhibited there!

I am working on my next big project that will incorporate and connect the entire pyramid of what I do – Haute Couture, High Jewelry and Fine. This is a 2 to 3 year effort and I am at the beginning stages of research at this very moment. I look forward to creating more shops in unique locales like the Ponte Vecchio. I aspire to do balanced handstands in the middle of the floor in my yoga practice.

Still and forever, my rock crystal amulet is my favorite. I wear mine everyday. It is at the foundation of what I believe and love about the tradition of human adornment and jewelry. I believe every man, woman and child should have one!