Loriann Jewelry’s irresistible, elemental elegance.

Good morning, my darlings! I’m so excited this day is finally here: I can’t wait to tell you all about Loriann Jewelry. The jewels are amazing, the designer is a delight…there’s nothing not glorious here.

Lori Ann Friedman isn’t new to the jewelry design game – her designs have been sold in the Mitchells family of stores for more than 14 years – but she says this new collection marks a major step forward for the brand in both scale and cohesive artistic vision. And they are gorgeous! 

I had so much fun taking these pictures!

It happened in NYC a few weeks ago and it involved me, the lovely designer Lori, and her fabulous assistant for the day, Phoebe, in a hotel room full of jewelry. We talked about everything, from the intricacies of the designs to our love lives. We began with three bottles of rosé, involved piles of jewels, and ended in lots of Italian food.

Is the fact that Lori is a warm, loving, generous-hearted person with great taste in rosé strictly relevant to the appreciation of her jewelry? No. But isn’t it nice to know that the lady behind the designs is someone you’d want to be friends with?

Loriann Jewelry nails that difficult-to-achieve sweet spot between casual and formal: these designs, while often quite sizable, feel equally appropriate with jeans or a gown. They’re luxurious, but utterly unfussy. It’s an irresistible combination.

I’ve been looking forward to sharing these pieces with you since the very first time I saw a piece from Loriann Jewelry’s new collection, and I’m not the only one getting excited: Loriann Jewelry was recently chosen for the JANY Show’s coveted Mort Abelson New Designer of the Year award.

Here’s an opal ring from the same collection as the earrings I’m wearing in the photos above. Look at that luscious, glowing opal pebble!

Isn’t this color contrast to die for? I also love the single line of gold transecting the luminous stone. It’s little touches like this that elevate a piece from something simple pretty to something truly notable.

These rings, with their rectangular lozenge base pieces, are a perfect example of how Loriann Jewelry’s designs connect to each other. These pieces feel connected to the previous ring, but the additional element and the extension of the gold line across the entire piece gives these rings a very different feel.

I always love asking designers what inspires their work, and the answer for Lori seems to be pretty much everything, from the natural world to her mother’s passion for vintage jewelry and her own passion for watercolor painting. Add to that a keen eye trained during her years as a graphic designer and art director and it’s easy to understand how Loriann Jewelry came to have such a remarkable aesthetic.

I can’t resist these simple, dreamy layered necklaces. They’re so pretty and interesting, with their gently hypnotic colors and textures. You could wear this with literally anything.

Or the earrings, if necklaces aren’t your cup of tea!

The designer’s aesthetic, in her own words:

I’m a visual thinker and it could be the simplest thing that can spark an idea. I am fascinated with gems and often while searching for stones, I am visualizing a design prior to sketching.

I love working with unusual color combinations and often it’s the colors and textures of the stones themselves that inspires me. What makes our pieces special is that they are made with hand selected custom cut stones so each piece is unique and different.”

Loriann Jewelry’s designs are often described as organic, but for me, the word that comes to mind is elemental. There is something essential about these pieces that has its finger on the pulse of the earth, that connects one to the natural world, but they’re also streamlined, elegant, and exquisitely finished. These designs might appeal to a forest nymph, but they’ll attract envious glances in the city, too.

This latest release from Loriann Jewelry has led to an explosion of jewelry industry press and insider buzz – I’m not the only one who’s been taking note. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this talented new point of view!

This sponsored post is brought to you by Loriann Jewelry. 

Beach photos c/o Loriann Jewelry, all other photos my own. Special thanks to Hannah Becker for lending her photo editing expertise.