In Focus: Chantal Conrad

London-based Chantal Conrad has been an internationally acclaimed jeweller and designer for the past 25 years. She learned her craft whilst living and working with jewellers in New Mexico. After studying at the Gemological Institute of America, she returned to London,  selling her own collections worldwide all made out of her workshop in Hatton Gardens. Her collections are timeless, thoughtful and beautifully hand made. We sit down with Chantal, a valued patient here at e-LINE, to talk about her career and plans.

“If there was ever a time when people needed to find a connection with the ones they love when forced to be physically distanced from one another, a Lumiere pendant is a timely piece!”

Chantal Conrad

So, Chantal what inspires your work?

I always start with observing nature and its endless organic structure: like the feeling or memory of rubbing a warm smooth pebble between your fingers on the beach.

I also love ‘people watching’ and ‘street style’; the way people from different countries and cultures wear clothes and adorn themselves.

The great thing about being in London is there is so much inspiration around me. The Jewellery archived at the V&A Museum never fails to inspire.

What is your creative process?

I always have a pencil and sketch pad on hand, I often wake up in the middle of the night to work on an idea and then I take those drawings to my studio and carve those ideas into the wax. Once the carving begins, the ideas might evolve and flow and that’s the fun part. I would then make a sample out of gold and fine-tune it from there and ask myself: Does it feel good to touch and to wear? Does it bring joy?

You currently have a collection for London Jewellers, Loquet, how would you describe it?

A few years back, my husband gave me a Victorian church charm and I was utterly enthralled to find some marriage vows romantically written and magnified on a tiny hidden lens inside the charm. I set out to create a collection with the same sense of wonderment I had felt. The ‘Lumiere’ collection, where each pendant is designed around a discreet miniature handcrafted lens that when held up to the light reveals a personalised message. Lumiere alludes to the romance and secrets of letter writing. A keepsake that can be passed down through generations. Read over and over.

Each item for the collection is a talisman, to be held and played with, soft in shape and comforting to hold while wearing.

What’s next?

I am excited to be working on designing a unisex piece for Lumiere that both men and women can wear, and I am working towards selling an exclusive collection via my Instagram.

For more information or to purchase Chantal’s collection visit www.loquetlondon.com or @chantal_conrad_design.