Local jewelry designers go beyond diamonds

Marilyn Monroe sang "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," but what about mother of pearl, or jade? Several Portland jewelry designers have added a few lines to Monroe's infamous tune.

Scarlet Chamberlin

"I think it's in my blood," Scarlet Chamberlin says of making jewelry. And from the turnout at her recent Runway Show and Soirée, "Hot Rocks on a Platter," the rest of Portland agrees.

Chamberlin has been captivated by beads since her youth. Older and taller now, she's channeling her fascination into jewelry that has energy of its own. Beyond the juju locked inside each stone, Chamberlin says, "each piece has a story."

Describing her jewelry as elegant, raw, stylish and bold, the sleek lines of simplicity moving through each of her designs serve as a reminder of one of her inspirations: the Earth. "I also use stones that are all-natural," Chamberlin says, joking that they're similar to the organic food she tries to eat.

Chamberlin doesn't focus on trends. "I've never said to myself, 'I'd better make this kind of necklace, because it's trendy.' " Instead, she believes her art transcends trend. "The world is in need of more personal connection between people." And with her jewelry, Chamberlin hopes to accomplish just that.

Patty Lehner

Patty Lehner believes jewelry is art on a smaller scale. Born a creative soul, Lehner has always needed an artistic outlet. "It is creative play," Lehner says of her jewelry making. "Basically, I just sit down and play, and the inspiration comes from absolutely everywhere."

"It's all about excess," she says. "And I also really like the creation of mass," says Lehner, whose career as a designer began with making pieces for herself.

Lehner's jewelry, designed for the contemporary woman, is diverse and by mixing stones and colors, wonderfully eclectic. Her bead shop, filled with drawers of color from places as far afield as the Czech Republic, has spilled vibrantly into the rest of her house, making it a bead lover's paradise.

"Creativity is a delicate balance," Lehner says; hence she chooses the production of artistic mass over mass production. To keep her creative juices at an even keel and her jewelry exquisite, she designs only one or two pieces at a time, keeping the energy of each piece alive.

Jane MacLellan

"Jewelry is as essential as lipstick," says Jane MacLellan, owner of emily-jane in Northeast Portland. "And I love that my jewelry makes women feel even more beautiful." By creating pieces that are "feminine, sweet and decadent," MacLellan keeps her jewelry out of the "trendy" category and in one of its own.

MacLellan draws most of the inspiration behind her original pieces from the beauty around her. "If I see something that moves me — an amazing flower, a curly willow, the colors in an abstract work of art — I will try and translate that feeling into jewelry," she says.

And although her pieces are indulgences, they're meant to be worn with jeans and a T-shirt. "Their sole purpose is to make you feel good … and feeling good isn't something to be saved for a special occasion," MacLellan says.

Custom-made jewelry keeps her busy in her boutique, too. "Customers come into the store with a specific outfit they'd like me to design around," MacLellan says, and with her sharp creativity, she beads the perfect accessory.

Emily Nemesi

"Affordability is really important to me," jewelry designer Emily Nemesi says of the pieces she creates. And you wouldn't know it until you flip over one of her tags and see the price, low enough to send you running for your wallet.

Nemesi's jewelry-making career began when she fell in love with a single necklace. "I saw a necklace I wanted, but couldn't afford, so I decided to make it," she explains. And that ingenuity has continued: Even working with semi-precious stones, Nemesi is able to string her original, creative visions into affordable pieces for all to enjoy.

The inspiration for her creations — which she describes as typically bold, yet understated — comes from various places. "Sometimes it's a mood, sometimes I have a specific person in mind," Nemesi says.

It's difficult to predict the shifts in fashion, Nemesi says, because "trends overlap, and they don't leave as quickly as they came in." But aside from recent trends, the popularity of original pieces is a mainstay; as is, Nemesi hopes, the strong demand for her distinctive custom-made jewelry.

By Gina Daggett © 2003

Published in Portland Tribune, October 2003.