Alx&Co. Designer Interview Series: Shaya Durbin

Today I'm sitting down with Shaya Durbin for our very first Designer Interview and I think you'll really enjoy meeting this talented Seattle-based jeweler. Shaya splits her time between her Berkeley and Seattle studios and designs jewelry that is colorfully saturated with texture and jewels. But, she always places comfort first and emphasizes that her collections are meant to be worn and enjoyed, not coddled. Read on to learn more about her inspiration and process… 

 Shaya Durbin

 Meaghan: Shaya, your designs are simply gorgeous, and, for me, they bridge the divide between being exceptional and wearable with ease. How would you describe your approach to jewelry design overall?Shaya: Jewelry is about feeling beautiful. It is about celebrating the intimate relationship between ornament and the body. My work honors this by being artistic and sculptural while remaining highly wearable. It is not about trends. Fashions change, but good design will endure for lifetimes.  Meaghan: Can you tell us a bit about your studio work?Shaya: I am the designer and goldsmith, so I am the hands and the heart behind all the jewelry in the collection. I take pride in the fact that everything is completely, 100 percent from me and my own work! Meaghan: When I first looked at your collection, I was struck by the colors and tones you employ in your designs. Can you tell us about how you decide which gemstones to feature?Shaya: When looking at stones, I am drawn to long, dramatic stones with really organic shapes. I always look for something with the best of a certain characteristic, whether it's color or the quality of the inclusions, or a really interesting cut. I like stones that are unique on their own and that tell a story.  Meaghan: When you source a gemstone, do you usually have a design in mind for it already?Shaya: It really depends, but definitely not always. Some stones invoke a design for me, but others I need to spend some time with before I really know what to do with them. For example, I sourced these wine-colored tourmaline drops a long time ago and really had to sit with them to decide how to set them. Originally, I imagined them in a really ornate setting, but the more I played with the gems, the more I realized I wanted them in a beautifully simple style that would display their tone and shape brilliantly. Meaghan: What type of client do you design for?Shaya: I design my pieces for a woman who enjoys versatility and interest. I want all of the pieces in my collection to be those that women can wear all the time and transition gracefully from daywear to nightwear. I do a lot of mixed metals in my designs, which I find can help tone down the gold while leaving it elegant enough for evening. I also aim for comfort in everything I make because I want women to feel confident and secure in my designs.  Meaghan: I love the ruby pendant we sourced with you and especially appreciate that it's just as beautiful from the back as it is from the front. Can you tell me about how you convey versatility into your designs?Shaya: This ruby pendant is really special to me. I loved the shape of the stone and the color is just gorgeous: it has platelet inclusions that create a gorgeous shimmer in the stone, making it really eye-catching. Red can be a very bold color to wear and I wanted to create something that would be versatile, so I created a gorgeous gold bed for the ruby stone and added a really lovely texture to it so that the wearer could choose to wear the ruby front-facing or back-facing just as beautifully. I design a lot of my pieces to be reversible like this and consider the back of a design to be just as important as the front. 

 Front

 Back

 Meaghan: Tell us about your approach to sustainability within your own studio. How do you go about applying a "greener" ethos to your work?Shaya: Environmental integrity is something that has always been central in my life, so extending that passion to the studio comes naturally. I see the practice of sustainability as a lifestyle choice that reaches far beyond the studio and into every decision I make as a designer.In practice, this means that marketing and packaging materials are made from recycled paper and printed with soy-based inks, my studio is largely chemical- and plastic-free and working towards carbon neutral. Of course, the most important ethical choice for a jeweler is materials. I use recycled metals exclusively (with the exception of certain manufactured chains) and all of my white melee diamonds are exclusively post-consumer recycled and recut. For larger white diamonds, I use exclusively antique stones with a preference for old mine cuts. For all other stones, I prefer to work with American sourced materials and only purchase stones from trusted sources, my favorites also provide blockchain proof of provenance, so I know exactly where the stone was mined and cut.  Meaghan: This year has been challenging, certainly, for everyone. As a creative, how are you continuing to find inspiration for your own work?Shaya: For me, the creative process is always the calm in the storm. This year, being particularly stormy, is giving me a lot of focused, uninterrupted studio time to explore designs that have been on the back burner. It is often the most tumultuous times that yield the most intriguing results and I am excited to share the new designs that come from this unexpected year.  Thank you, Shaya! We are so happy to have your designs featured in our shop. Stylebook readers, you can shop Shaya's collection with us online or make an appointment to visit our showroom!