(Photos via Carla D'Alessio)
Lady Grey Jewelry
Jill Martinelli and Sabine Le Guyader are the creators and designers of the New York-based jewelry brand Lady Grey. Here, we talk about their beginnings, their latest collaboration with us and what it's like working together.
Hey ladies! So where did the name Lady Grey come from?
Sabine: It’s based off of Lady Jane Grey, “The Nine Days’ Queen” who was beheaded for being an adulteress.
Jill: We were kind of obsessed with her and her story, so we named it after her. We also have a name we never tell. We never say it. We changed it to Lady Grey. It’s a secret.
Sabine: If you search you might find it! (Laughs)
Sabine: It’s based off of Lady Jane Grey, “The Nine Days’ Queen” who was beheaded for being an adulteress.
Jill: We were kind of obsessed with her and her story, so we named it after her. We also have a name we never tell. We never say it. We changed it to Lady Grey. It’s a secret.
Sabine: If you search you might find it! (Laughs)
How did your line get started?
Jill: When we were in school together we studied metalsmithing and jewelry, and it was a very small graduating class with that degree. We kind of became friends because we had a similar aesthetic and we both first learned how to make jewelry and metalsmithing in the dental field, which is funny. We both had that background so we kind of clicked.
Sabine: Yeah, that kind of started our conversations and we kind of became friends and started working together.
Jill: Sabine had graduated before me, so my senior year we had this school sale thing, and I was like, “Let’s make some jewelry together and do this school sale!” The jewelry we made was so embarrassing, we laugh about it all the time.
Do you still have any of it?
Sabine: Oh yeah! Yeah!
Jill: It was so funny. We started the business while I was still in school. I was sneaking into school after hours casting stuff for Lady Grey, making stuff when I wasn’t supposed to be.
When you’re designing, where do you get your inspiration?
Jill: It’s always kind of different. I guess we really explore materials and that’s the source of our inspiration: the materials we use. They choose where the vision goes. If we have this one stone we really want to use, we kind of base the collection around that stone and what suits it best. We’re really into the idea of adornment and playing with what people find attractive and the traditions of jewelry—sparkly diamonds and shiny gold. We kind of play with that idea and try to figure out a different way to make things beautiful.
Sabine: I know when we were first working together we were making things that weren’t traditionally known as pretty, like bones and skulls and stuff, but we were doing it in a way that would be beautiful because of the treatments that we used.
Jill: It’s always kind of different. I guess we really explore materials and that’s the source of our inspiration: the materials we use. They choose where the vision goes. If we have this one stone we really want to use, we kind of base the collection around that stone and what suits it best. We’re really into the idea of adornment and playing with what people find attractive and the traditions of jewelry—sparkly diamonds and shiny gold. We kind of play with that idea and try to figure out a different way to make things beautiful.
Sabine: I know when we were first working together we were making things that weren’t traditionally known as pretty, like bones and skulls and stuff, but we were doing it in a way that would be beautiful because of the treatments that we used.
What’s the hardest material that you’ve had to work with so far?
Jill: We did some rubber-dip pieces, which was cool. It was hard to work with but we dipped stones in rubber, and crystals. I don’t even think we ended up using it because it was a little problematic. We were dipping stones in layers of rubber and peeling it off, so only certain parts of the stone were showing. That was cool. It was tricky though.
Jill: We did some rubber-dip pieces, which was cool. It was hard to work with but we dipped stones in rubber, and crystals. I don’t even think we ended up using it because it was a little problematic. We were dipping stones in layers of rubber and peeling it off, so only certain parts of the stone were showing. That was cool. It was tricky though.
Can you tell us about your collection, Hex, that you did with us?
Jill: The Hex collection we did with Urban Outfitters was fun. We were really excited to do something that was more affordable and everyday. But we really wanted to play, so we got these little diamond shapes and put them in different arrangements. They’re basically like big puzzles, and we were making different patterns, and I like that. It’s a playful collection.
Jill: The Hex collection we did with Urban Outfitters was fun. We were really excited to do something that was more affordable and everyday. But we really wanted to play, so we got these little diamond shapes and put them in different arrangements. They’re basically like big puzzles, and we were making different patterns, and I like that. It’s a playful collection.
Do you have a favorite piece?
Jill: We both love the serpent earrings. It’s both of our favorites because they’re big badass earrings that a cool girl can wear. They’re not tacky doorknockers or something. You don’t often see cool big earrings.
Jill: We both love the serpent earrings. It’s both of our favorites because they’re big badass earrings that a cool girl can wear. They’re not tacky doorknockers or something. You don’t often see cool big earrings.
Who is the type of girl that wears your jewelry?
Sabine: Girls like us. Girls with a good sense of style and confident.
Jill: We’ve seen all different women wear our stuff, like old women and then young girls.
Ever disagree while making jewelry?
Jill: When we’re designing the whole process is very collaborative. I’ll start making something and then Sabine might point me in a different direction.
Sabine: It’s like a back and forth conversation the whole time. Not one of us really designs something without the other person.
Jill: If Sabine made something I didn’t like, I’d be like, “Okay, um…” and go hide it. Sometimes we have to convince each other, choosing colors and chains and stuff.
Sabine: That’s usually only where the disagreeing ever come from, the choosing of different finishes or colors to use.
What’s it like when the two of you are working alone together?
Jill: I think that if people walked in on us working they would think we’re total weirdoes.
Sabine: I feel like we always do frustrated yells and I don’t think we would do that if there were other people were around. Like, “Ahhh!!” Just yelling.
Jill: Yelling and singing Mariah Carey a lot. In our studio we’re so close and how we work is comfortable.
Sabine: Yeah, a lot of inside jokes and gossiping and girl talk.
Any BFF jewelry?
Jill: No, but we steal each other’s jewelry. We don’t get to own a lot of our own jewelry. Every time we finish a piece it gets used as a sample or for press or something. We don’t have extras, we use our own. It’s kind of a joke that we steal each other’s jewelry.
Sabine: Jill will wash her hands and take of her ring and leave it in the bathroom, and I’ll walk in and put it on my finger.
Where do you see your line going in the next few years?
Sabine: Up and up and up!
Jill: I love doing collaborations and less expensive, affordable lines so it would be fun doing something else like that for ourselves. We’re always exploring different options.
