Bold, kinetic and sculptural with an elegant interplay of angles and curves, Vanessa Gade's jewelry makes a contemporary statement balanced with a timeless wearability.

The diverse urban landscape of San Francisco provides the ideal creative backdrop for Vanessa's work and can be seen in the architectural qualities of her jewelry designs. The structural nature of her pieces is gracefully countered by a fluidity and movement influenced by her love of the ocean and her youth along the beaches of Southern California.

She describes her work as contemporary, with clean lines and a minimalist aesthetic reminiscent of Japanese and Scandinavian design. Particular pieces have been inspired by everything from art deco architecture, ikebana flower arrangements, suspension bridges and even criss crossing power lines. Her designs tend toward an asymmetrical pattern encased within a perfect circle, evident in her debut Inner Circle collection first launched in 2007, which now has become her signature line. She enjoys the challenge of creating a perfectly balanced  geometric structure that still maintains an element of movement, all the while utilizing the negative space as an integral part of the design.

Ironically it was her passion for history and photography that initiated her path to jewelry design. While studying to become a historian at the University of California, San Diego she volunteered to help construct the new darkroom on campus, directly adjacent to the metalsmithing studio. Fascinated by the tools, stones, and molten metal she wandered inside and never looked back. In 2006 she attended the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts Graduate Jeweler program, realizing a childhood dream of moving to San Francisco and her newest goal of pursuing her career in jewelry. Her work is now featured on several online design outlets as well as in fine boutiques and galleries around the country.

Vanessa wishes to thank her parents, maman and pop (je t'aime et merci!), her lovely family stateside and abroad, and all the friends and fellow artists that inspire and touch her life daily.

Jewelry Photo credits: Nathalie Geerlandt, Shadi Youssefin, and Vanessa Gade.

Model: Charlotte Vanhomwegen

Headshot Photo Credit:  Joey Chandler