Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlie Ring.
Hi Carlie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My journey to jewelry design started in my childhood. I’ve always adored all that sparkled, from my own costume jewelry (most of which my young nieces and nephews now play dress up with) to the fine jewelry my mom wore. It wasn’t so much the process of creating that I was interested in at the time, but how special each piece made me feel. I enjoyed wearing funky, colorful kid stuff but always looked forward to wearing the “fancy” jewelry for special occasions. One of those pieces is a tiny monogrammed signet ring that I now lovingly wear on my pinky as a sweet reminder.
Between growing up on the Jersey shore and vacationing in South Florida, I spent most of my time either covered in sand or swimming in the ocean with my sister and brothers. My favorite memories consist of beach walks looking for sea glass, shells and sharks teeth (that I still use in my designs today), decorating sandcastles, and snorkeling around reefs. The movement of the waves, patterns in the sand, and the textures of those beach treasures have been the biggest inspirations behind my designs. You’ll find shells in every corner of my home, purse, car, my pockets… I carry the energy of the ocean and those memories with me wherever I go.
I was fortunate enough to translate that love for special adornment and respect for the ocean in a jewelry making class in my high school where we learned the basics of metal fabrication, wax carving, and lost wax casting. This was it for me! I moved across the country after college in 2007 to Los Angeles and have worked full and part-time jobs over the years in sourcing, design, assembly, handcrafting, celebrity and editorial PR for luxury jewelry brands, sales floor in a jewelry store, production management, and the wild ride of prepping and working major wholesale trade shows. Fast forward to 2021 where I’ve married the idea of sculptural fine jewelry and my fondness for the seaside into wearable works of art. These past 14 years have been a rollercoaster. I am forever grateful for each person and experience along the way because they all played a role in me being able to now thrive running my business full time.
Fun fact, I was supposed to be named Morgan Patricia after a sailboat my mom saw while pregnant with me, but when I finally arrived, my parents decided I was in fact a “Carlie”. I’ve always loved that story and giving the name Morgan Patricia to my sea-inspired jewelry line just felt right. All MPD pieces are designed to bring out the sea-inspired joy, love, and light I see within my clients… a fossilized shark tooth amulet to signify strength, a mermaid hug talisman as a reminder of self-love, an opal when you need the playful, colorful touch of a rainbow, or a delicate piece to add sparkle to the everyday.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think it’s only natural to face obstacles and challenges when in pursuit of your dreams, and I’ve jumped from one job to another in jewelry over the past 14 years. Other than the jewelry making class I took in high school, I’ve been learning solely through work experience, (expensive) trial and error, and the most gracious of jeweler friends sharing their tips and tricks along the way. I’ve welcomed this challenge! It means doing my best to tackle hands on, learn, and understand each facet that feeds into an industry that reaches around the world. I find myself in some wild conversations with traditionally trained jewelers where we discover we use two very different techniques and sets of tools to accomplish a similar goal. It’s eye-opening and a wonderful experience to see a process through another designer’s eyes. Sometimes after learning a traditional technique, I’ll merge the two because in the end it comes down to how the process makes you feel. I’m constantly aware of the way a tool feels in my hand or how soft wax can be molded with the flame from an alcohol lamp vs. an electric pen and files adjusting hard wax. When clients reach out because of their emotional connection to a piece of MPD, it only reinforces this rollercoaster I’ve found myself on. I can’t stress enough how important these technical obstacles have been for the growth of MPD!
It would be thoughtless to not mention one of my biggest emotional challenges to date and a question I get from a lot of beginners trying to carve their own path. “How do you live your dream across the country from your family and oldest friends?” Moving from a small town in New Jersey to Los Angeles at 21 years old was a real test of inner strength and determination. With the help of tattered and highlighted city maps and half-correct MapQuest directions, I found myself in the Los Angeles jewelry district my first week here, and I simply knew I’d stay. I think the details of those ups and downs are better served over a cup of coffee or a cocktail, but it’s safe to say I couldn’t imagine doing it any differently. Missing my home and the tangible support of family doesn’t go away, and sometimes you just really want that familial hug or shoulder to lean on after a hard day. Technology has been a real life saver in that way, and I’m so grateful to be able to see their faces at the push of a button! On the flip side of that emotion, I do feel like I found the silver lining over the years as I pushed myself to create a wonderful community of friends in LA who feel like family and now building a home with my husband and our dog Moh. My advice on processing these emotions and challenges? Be strong in who you are and you will find your people where ever you go. Big or small, challenges lead to growth. A blessing in disguise!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The meaning behind my brand is rooted in the inherent beauty of the natural world and carved into each design by hand. I believe in intentional and meaningful adornment, and so my line is inspired by the movement of the ocean, the creatures that live beneath the surface, and the feelings it imparts to the wearer. While individual collections focus on the sun, moon, sea, and heart-felt joy, I’m most passionate about creating bespoke designs that truly speak to my clients. The final piece is connected to what I’m passionate about as a designer, but I strive for my clients to enjoy jewelry that comes from our shared vision together. The custom design process is as inclusive with my clients as they want it to be. I’ve created full sets of jewelry from a simple gemstone request to customized variations of an existing piece in my line, all the way to pieces that are months in the making with photo and video updates each step of the way. I create talismans for people to mark the most important times in their lives and protection amulets when they need a solid, sparkling reminder of what they’re capable of. To be able to co-create a piece of jewelry that holds so much meaning and connection to your past, present, or future is what inspires me most.
I use only precious metals in my jewelry with my original collections featuring Australian opals with diamond accents and fossilized sea life… sharks teeth, ammonite, coral, and sand dollars. This has expanded over the years to incorporate even more unique and rare gemstones and seashells not traditionally used in fine jewelry. Golden Rutilated Quartz, Golden Apatite, and Oregon Sunstone wear like tiny pieces of the sun, Aquamarine, Lapis Lazuli, Zambian Emeralds, and blue Chalcedony are like little pieces of the tropics, and multi-color sapphires from Australia and Montana just scream mermaid to me. In recent years I’ve taken a particular interest in the ethics of sourcing when it comes to hand-selecting the gemstones I work with. While my gemstone collection is years in the making, it’s exciting to research and ask harder questions when purchasing, hopefully ensuring that the mining communities and their local cutters and artisans are not being exploited for profit. It’s an aspect of jewelry design that’s hard to swallow for most of the retail world, but I do my best to be as educational, sustainable, and transparent as I can with my clients.
When I’m first designing a piece thats been swimming around in my head, I’ll sit with the featured gemstone and work (and re-work) a basic setting and shape with soft/liquid wax before breaking out my trusted carving (dental!) tools. This is where temperature of the room, wax, tools, and my hands are key! Every angle of the piece is considered, and it still blows my mind how a minor adjustment or swipe of a tool can transform a piece from “in process” to complete (i.e., Do Not Touch). From there, the gemstone is removed and a wax sprue (looks like a tree branch) is fused to the piece and brought to my caster in downtown Los Angeles for casting using the ancient technique of lost wax casting. Once cast in metal, I use a series of tools to file off the sprue, clean the casting, pre-polish, set gemstones, and give it one more final polish before it’s complete! Sounds easy, right? My husband says it sounds like we live in a dental office on the days I’m cleaning castings from home (helloooo 2020), and I can’t remember the last time my hands were tarnish-free for more than 24 hours.
It’s hard to pick favorites when so much of what I do is truly one of a kind, but I’d have to say my specialty pieces are my Mermaid Hugs, Tidal Moons, and Sunbeams. Shortly after moving to LA, I read about how holding a hug for six seconds would significantly improve your mood, heart and brain health, and pain management. It was a very soul-affirming article that inspired the creation of the Mermaid Hug ring! What could be better than your own personal, miniature hug that you can wear as often as you’d like? As a self-proclaimed hugger, I wear mine every day. The Tidal Moon collection was inspired by my interest in the effects of the moon on our tides and the vast collection of bi-color “moon phase” tourmalines and opals I’ve acquired over the years. I create these in small batches when certain color combinations strike me, and they’re always the hardest to let go! The Sunbeam details are more subtle and have featured a wider variety of gemstones, even stretching into the Joyful Heart collection. These pieces are for those who want the vibrancy and organic hand-carved style of MPD but the ability to stack and layer with ease.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk it for the biscuit. Do people still say that? I do! I think this circles back to how one accepts challenges and obstacles in their path. It can feel easier to turn away from them, but the risk in taking them head on will always be a valuable lesson (no matter the outcome). While there are certain risks that I do shy away from, there are plenty that I’ve taken and would take again!
One major risk that I’ve decided against taking is working with clients’ fragile heirloom gemstones. I can usually tell by a (clear, close up) photograph if I want to take the project a step further and inspect it in person with my setter/gemologist. If the gemstone is deemed too far gone or delicate I’ll suggest they work with a bench jeweler or jewelry store who is comfortable with handling antique gemstones. It’s truly an art form!
It’s not often that a prospective client will ask me to create a piece that falls outside the MPD aesthetic (religious charms, architectural jewelry, traditional CAD, etc.), but when they do, I find myself paying more attention to how we click in our initial interactions than the project itself. There’s always risk involved when you go outside your comfort zone, but I believe that if you are honest and upfront in communicating, everyone will be pleased with the result. There’s even an added risk in my using CAD itself, as those styles won’t portray the hand-carved feel of classic MPD jewelry. With many of those projects, the risk has paid off because I was pushed to think outside the MPD box with the encouragement of a passionate client. The biggest risk I’ve taken (more than once) is with wholesale trade shows. Designing a line composed of mostly one of a kind designs on a smaller scale just wasn’t the right fit for the traditional shows I’ve participated in in the past. While I’d love to expand my wholesale offerings and sell to more specialty boutiques. I love the shops currently carrying my work and will do what I can to foster more of those relationships from my studio.
Contact Info:
- Email: carlie@morganpatriciadesigns.com
- Website: www.morganpatriciadesigns.com
- Instagram: @morganpatricialove
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganpatriciadesigns
