Posted by Melanie Bender on January 5 at 1:53 PM
Jewelry designer by way of Mechanical Engineer and Lawyer? Not your standard career path. But Rachel Dooley, designer and owner of
Gemma Redux (one of six
DMD Lab finalists), has no regrets. Dooley’s unorthodox background permeates Gemma Redux designs from inspiration through execution, with Mechanical Engineering spurring a penchant for industrial metals, while time spent as a Lawyer provided the impetus and need for a radically creative outlet. This week we caught up with the designer to talk balancing brains (right and left, that is), fans on the set of
Gossip Girl, and breaking into the fashion industry – minus the requisite design degree.
DMD: So what made you want to be a designer?
Rachel Dooley: I was always was the girl messing around with metals and random elements, and at the same time I really couldn't find much by way of jewelry that I liked and thought mirrored my personal style, so it just started to fall together as jewelry. My background is in Mechanical Engineering [Dooley studied it in college] so I have always loved industrial metals, and the idea of using industrial elements in an artistic way just stuck in my head. The natural elements I bring in keep the designs fresh, not too intense and are just so much fun to source
DMD: You just recently left a career as a lawyer.
RD: Yes, I studied Mechanical Engineering in undergrad, then on to law school and then jewelry. A bit of an organic path, right? But I enjoyed all three points and I love pulling form the Mechanical Engineering experience in my jewelry. And having the jewelry really develop while practicing law helped me be able to commit to over the top designs, and let my artistic brain freely express itself after the analytical brain had been working all day. It was a good balance for me in developing the line.
DMD: Does that mean you'll be dabbling in law for fun once you're doing design full time?
RD: [Laughs] It might. But I’m definitely taking a break!
DMD: So jewelry designer by way of Mechanical Engineering and Law, any regrets on how things played out?
RD: None, except for the law school loans.
DMD: How does your background manifest themselves in your designs?
RD: The Mechanical Engineering shows up as an appreciation for industrial metals. The main metal in the line is stainless steel and I also like to work with brass and copper, which are more industrial than precious. My engineering background also shows up in the manufacturing. I appreciate the manufacturing process as an art and not a means to an end, so Gemma Redux pieces are all manufactured locally. We'll never outsource the manufacturing outside of the community. It’s important to me to have Gemma Redux become a part of my local community and economy to the extent possible.
DMD: Why "Gemma Redux"?
RD: My dad, former Jesuit and a Latin scholar, helped me come up with Gemma Redux. It roughly translated to "gems reconstructed", which references the industrial metals as precious elements.
DMD: I'm assuming you didn't start out as part of the fashion and art community in New York, how did you go about breaking into it?
RD: I started getting pieces on my friends - some of whom are in fashion - and it slowly grew from there. And then friends of friends were stylists, and it ended up on Gossip Girl and on
Blake Lively and it really took off from there. But I was hesitant to really tell my backstory until it picked up, since my experience is that the fashion industry can be hesitant at taking to without an FIT or Parsons background.
DMD: As far as establishing your brand, has a celebrity endorsement like that been a bit of a double-edged sword?
RD: Yes. Blake is awesome and such an amazing person to have behind the brand, but I don’t want any one person to be seen as the face of the brand. I want Gemma Redux customers to have a personal connection with the pieces, so they really feel like it’s theirs.
DMD: Any New Years Resolutions?
RD: To cook more. And to learn to delegate. The second will be tough [laughs]. When you are so passionate about something, it’s so hard to let it go. But I’m working on it.
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