Gather Jewelry – small glories & healing haunts

Gather Jewelry was founded by 29-year-old Leora in 2010. Gather Jewelry is a California-based jewellery company, which focuses on edgy yet organic pieces featuring all sorts — from crystals to naturally shed antler. “I was born in Los Angeles but I was raised in Nevada County in Northern California. I’ve moved back and forth a few times but I now appreciate this place more than ever so I think this time I’m here to stay.”

She has a BA in Sociology with a minor in English, but fell in love with making jewellery because “the inspiration always comes from the materials I use[…] I’m fascinated with rocks and minerals, and that shows in my work.” Eventually, she took a jewellery making class to learn the craft of soldering. From then until now, it’s been a process of trial and error. Judging by her most recent pieces, the error years have long since been discarded.

Above is a a pair of earrings from Gather Jewelry’s latest collection, and they just so happen to be Leora’s favourite. However, she is not afraid to alter her creations for the sake of the customer. “I take requests but sometimes I’ll just be too slammed with other orders. However, the majority of custom requests are just minor tweaks. Custom designs can be really fun because the customer has a hand in the process.”

Leora’s personality shines in her work, as it is easy to wear and goes with nearly any look. She appears to be hugely comfortable in her own skin, both in terms of personal traits and fashion. “My own style is pretty laid back. I have a lot of vintage T-shirts, motorcycle boots and antique jewellery. The older I get, the more subtle my personal style seems to become. Lately I’ve been loving antique lace undershirts, but if I had to choose a favourite piece, it would be an Indian Motorcycle baseball shirt I inherited from my mom.”

Changing one’s mind can often be a great thing in terms of innovative design. “I’m really loving things that feel both modern and ancient at the same time.” This notion is easily traceable in all of her collections and this, combined with the resonating level of individuality found in every piece, makes Gather Jewelry deeply personal. Whether that comes from Leora, from the natural materials used, or from the ancient design and inspiration, is hard to say, but regardless, we feel that each unique piece of jewellery is rich with spirituality and beauty. “The best part is seeing people wearing the things that I’ve made. It’s incredibly validating and it always makes me feel really good about what I‘m doing with my life.”

With helping hands from team members such as Erin Lizardo of Social For Creative Group Creative Group, or loving friends to collaborate with, Leora has high hopes for the future of her young brand. “I’ve enjoyed being a part of the movement back toward real craftsmanship and away from mass production. Also, being my own boss and being able to collaborate with friends has been fun. My friend Amanda Dozal has been making leather bags and we‘ve been talking about making some sterling set crystal accents and hardware for them.” Aside from this, Leora is kept pretty busy with her personal life. Having spent so many years moving around America, she recently got engaged and intends to continue running her business from Northern Carolina. To see what other gorgeous products Gather Jewelry has to offer follow this link, and to check out her blog, just click here.

We all look forward to her next collection a great deal, especially due to the fact that shipping to the UK is only $5 (about £3.10). We also hope that she’s receives the same amount of good feedback from as varied a group of people as her last assortment of pieces. “It never ceases to amaze me how many different types of people respond to Gather Jewelry. I love it.”

“The collection that I’m designing right now, which I hope to release by the Holidays, is turning out to be pretty rich with the themes of symmetry and opposites. And as always, it features the earthly and spiritual properties of the materials used.”

Click here to have a look at the collection.

Elizabeth Finney