Born and raised in Houston, TX, Belle Brooke Barer established Belle Brooke Designs in 2006. Belle began her jewelry studies at The Crucible in Berkeley, Ca, and later attended the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco, where she received her professional certification as a goldsmith. After completing her studies, she worked for Studio 311 as a bench jeweler. Belle has been the recipient of various awards, most notably the AGTA Spectrum awards in 2012 and 2018, the Mort Abelson New Designer of the Year award in 2008, and the Halstead Grant in 2007. She currently lives and works in Santa Fe, NM.
I am drawn to the art of goldsmithing because the techniques it utilizes today are not so far different from the ones it has used for hundreds of years. I strongly believe that myself and my generation need to leave something more tangible behind than just a digital footprint. It is with this in mind that I have chosen to remain traditional in my studio. Each piece at Belle Brooke Designs is made using traditional tools and techniques, with human hands.
The circle is a universal symbol of flow, life force, cycle, and interconnection. The circle is the beginning and the end, the empty and the full, it is everything and it is no-thing-ness, it never ends and it never begins. The circle reminds us of oneness and that we can never fall out of it, that we are everything and nothing all at once.
Each piece embodies the essence of this concept through the use of a signature circular filigree matrix that I created and have been refining since 2005. It is organic in nature and encased in hard edge frames that bind it. Using color and contrast in the metal, as well as negative space, colored gemstones and diamonds, each piece engages those who gaze upon it. Some pieces are of abstract shapes and designs, and some are earthly elements.
ARTWORK
