Lady LUX

Jessica Ricci’s jewelry comes from being “dropped in the middle of somewhere.” From Italy and Argentina to Nicaragua, Tanzania and India, she has scoured markets, bazaars and antique spots to find the inspiration for her sophisticated jewelry line, which is steeped in symbolism, history and sentimentality.

Ricci attempts to root out those experiences and places that aren’t in the guidebook. After spending a few days “on the ground,” she gets a feel for the culture and decides what she gravitates toward. The goal is to collect as much as she can in just a short time. Returning home, she tries to figure out how to rework her finds into jewelry. A coin becomes a ring or a piece of glass becomes a necklace.

“I get home, lay it out on the table and let the ideas come to me. I try to imagine what different parts of what I found could eventually become … I really like it when the pieces are in some way reflective of the place it came from,” she explained.

In Tibet, for instance, while checking out the markets in a crazy rush, she discovered a key unlike anything she had ever seen. It would later become a part of her Key collection: the Tibetan chakra key.

“I had to make that journey in order to get the piece to bring home to rework … I had to go to these places and look in boxes and boxes of junk basically to find the one jewel underneath everything,” Ricci said.

Her jewelry appeals because of its uniqueness. Collections including Deities, The Key Factor, Lace, Raw, Wanderlust and Spiritus Graffiti are so broad and varied customers may not realize the pieces came from the same designer.

“(I) transform what I find in these places into sort of wearable art,” Ricci said. “On one level, it is about capturing time and space and kind of embedding it and keeping it. So a ‘moment in time’ type of thing. The idea is to capture something that won’t always be there and have something like a keepsake. Just the idea of having something that reminds you of something else … each piece has a story, like a real travel story that goes with it.”

Her most popular collection, titled Raw, features chunky stones with a New Age vibe, allowing women to simultaneously make a statement and wear something for a specific reason, such as strength or lost love.

“I feel like on some energetic level, my jewelry is really attractive to people … I think people are drawn to my jewelry because of the story behind the pieces and that it is unique enough looking to stand out, but delicate enough to be worn every day,” she said.

via Jessica Ricci

Ricci harbored a love for jewelry since childhood. While some kids sold lemonade, she sold beaded bracelets. However, she started out dreaming of journalism and teaching while living in Italy.

“I always had the interest in (jewelry) but I also wanted to be able to do something that allows me to keep traveling and live life on my own terms. I wanted my own business. I just think jewelry speaks to so many people. It’s one of those things you pass down for generations … something that is art but it is wearable, it is useful,” the designer declared.

Trying to “figure things out,” she began browsing the flea markets of Rome for fun. Amid all the bric-a-brac, she discovered antique prayers cards that had been prayed over for generations. Their beauty struck her.

To make a long story short, she tried to figure out how to make them into pendants. And then it hit her: Wouldn’t it be great to start a jewelry line inspired by items she found while traveling? The end result was “journalism meets jewelry.”

She moved home, threw herself into jewelry and tried to teach herself as best she could.

“I wasn’t ready at all. Looking back at it, I can’t believe I have even gotten as far as I have because I had no idea what I was doing,” she said. “I just knew what I wanted. And it was a lot of trial and error, which actually worked out for me because a lot of the designs I like the most were because I didn’t know what not to do.”

She started out crafting all her pieces in gold—“there’s nothing that can replace gold. It’s the most beautiful, the most durable” – but the troubled economy made her branch into silver or gold-plated silver.

Her Lace collection, which features jewelry inspired by lace from around the globe, stems from a lengthy obsession with the fabric and all things made from it. She has taken the material to the max, creating prints on T-shirts, coasters, belt buckles and more. With its “gladiatorial” theme, her Roman lace cuff tops her list.

“I really love the lace stuff because it’s that whole concept in music of variation upon a theme and I feel that is what I am able to do with this lace. It’s just a variation on a theme. I could kind of go forever … I don’t get bored with it,” she said.

Besides the stones – cut in India – her line is exclusively made in the United States. Because Ricci crafts each piece herself, she invites her customers to modify her designs as they see fit. As she noted, “My hands are on each piece.”

“I encourage people to give me their input and say this is how I prefer it. It’s easy to do … I want them to love what they have,” she said. “I say to them don’t buy it if you are not going to wear it. Because it is supposed to be worn.”

Looking forward, the designer plans to experiment more with belts and is gearing up for a trip to Thailand in March. She intends to convert her love of lace into a T-shirt line and a range of scarves.

Experience all her collections at jessicariccijewelry.com.

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Fashion / Features