Where to Find Inspiration for Your Custom-Made Jewelry Design

Are you in the market for a custom-designed jewelry item but find yourself stuck with the ‘custom’ part? You’re looking for design inspiration for the perfect piece that sends the perfect message to your loved one? We can help get those creative juices flowing for a stunning jewelry design imbued with meaning, heart and soul (and sparkle, of course)!

Even the most accomplished jewelry designers – Keezing Kreations included – can fall prey to the design version of writer’s block. There are times when our creativity feels like it’s left the building and we are at a complete loss for inspiration when it comes to designing something new and stunning. How do we rekindle our creativity? Where do we find our jewelry design inspiration? Well, for us, much of that inspiration is fired up by you – our clients. The love, excitement, and energy that you bring to us when you have your heart set on finding, and designing, the perfect engagement ring for the love of your life, the perfect jewelry gift for someone close to your heart, the perfect design for your perfect partner, is absolutely guaranteed to reignite our creativity. Which is all well and good for us, but where does that leave you, you’re probably asking? Well, much like any artistic process, finding inspiration for your custom-made jewelry, designed by you and crafted by us, is an intensely personal process… your inspiration has to come from within your own heart. That being said, there are a few tricks you can employ to help that process along, and get your heart beating faster, and we are here to teach them to you!

Read on for a few do’s and don’ts to follow when searching for jewelry design inspiration.

LOOK TO TRENDS… THEN IGNORE THEM

Let’s start with trends… We’re here to tell you that trends are not where you should start your search. Trends come and trends go. Today, vintage is in, tomorrow, the modern aesthetic rules design circles. Yesterday, dainty, multi-stone, multi-color eternity rings were all the rage, today, a single, stunning rock is the ‘It’ style. Today’s black diamond is tomorrow’s lump of coal. (Okay, we exaggerate – black diamonds, while not to everybody’s taste, are simply stunning and will never be less than stylish in our opinion. But you get the picture.) What we’re trying to say is that when it comes to finding inspiration for your jewelry design, you can certainly look at trends – fashion trends in clothing and jewelry can certainly spark something in you – but don’t let them rule your decision-making.

Trends: Do or Don’t? It depends. Don’t let them overrule your heart if you hate them; but if you love a current trend? Go for it!

LOOK WITHIN… WHAT DOES YOUR HEART WANT?

They say that love conquers all… and this applies to jewelry design too! When you set out to design a custom jewelry item, the impetus for that usually comes from a place of really wanting to show the recipient how much you care. The love and attention you lavish on creating a bespoke jewelry item is simply a physical manifestation of the love you feel for them, and the attention you intend to lavish on them day in and day out.

With this in mind, you can look to your heart to find inspiration: what, in your mind, heart and soul, speaks of the love you feel for the giftee? Is it a pink diamond, indicating a blossoming, forever blooming love? Is it an eternity ring, built of multi-colored stones, indicating your eternal love, built on a multi-faceted fascination with all that makes them who they are? Is it a diamond pendant, nestled near the heart, that speaks of a strong, unbreakable bond, held forever in your heart?

Get in touch with your inner feelings, your passionate, emotional side, (if not now, then when?), and tap into that to find the ultimate source of jewelry design inspiration.

Your heart’s desire: Do or Don’t? An unmitigated Do! This is the ultimate source of jewelry design inspiration – don’t be afraid to access your mushy, slushy side and tap into its power.

LOOK TO PERSONAL TASTE & STYLE PREFERENCE

Not sure that your heart holds the key to designing a jewelry item that will speak to the recipient’s soul? Well, why not turn to their heart? What their heart desires. What their personal taste and style preferences are when it comes to jewelry.

If you’re gifting bespoke jewelry, it’s likely that you know the giftee fairly well at this stage and this relationship – be it love or friendship – is one for the history books. It’s the real deal; the long haul. Which means you know their personal style and preferences, even if you don’t realize it. Take the time to really observe their fashion and jewelry choices and bring those observations to the design process. Do they prefer subtle over bling? Small stones over massive sparklers? Blue over pink? Black over clear? Yellow gold over white gold? These small style choices can make all the difference between being grateful for a gift of jewelry, and being over-the-moon, do-a-happy-dance delirious over a gift of jewelry.

Their heart’s desire: Do or Don’t? Do… but make sure you really do your homework and ensure that you really are spot on with regards to their personal style preferences.

LOOK TO NATURE

It’s very hard to argue with the magic, beauty and miracle of nature… The intricate patterns, simple but ingenious structures, and exquisite beauty to be found in all that is around us is almost limitless. Leaves on trees, snowflakes, flowers, rock formations, waves in motion, rainbows, sparkling ice, water pooling in the sun… Take a look around, really see all that is living and breathing, swaying and sparkling, around you in nature, and if you’re not inspired to design a jewelry piece equally magical, we’ll eat our hats!

Natural design magic: Do or Don’t: Do! By paying special attention to shapes, colors, textures, as well as nature in motion – think twinkling waves, blossoming blooms, fluttering butterfly wings – and you will find that nature is the perfect place to find inspiration for jewelry design that is both simple and stunning.

LOOK TO HISTORY

Jewelry – and jewelry design – is almost as old as time itself. People have always used jewelry to adorn themselves, to embellish, to make beautiful, to show love. What’s more, you don’t need to be a history professor to know that history has hundreds of thousands of stories, innovations, people, places, events, artefacts, fashion and jewels that can profoundly inspire us today. Whether it’s the history of fashion, the history of jewelry, the history of gemstones, or the history of gifts of love, there is a story, or an artefact of yore which can inspire you to design greatness.

More specifically, trend-setting jewelry styles of the 19th and 20th centuries continue to inform the jewelry design of today, which continues to showcase the gems, shapes, and motifs of bygone eras:

the romance and delicacy of jewelry from the Victorian era (lace filigree and dainty stones);
the intricately designed reimagining of all things in nature of the Art Nouveau period (think bejeweled flowers, animals, butterflies and insects);
the opulently decorative luxury of the Edwardians (ribbons and bows, opulent gemstones like opals, moonstones, palm-sized pearls and distinctive diamonds);
the strong, geometric patterns and designs of the Art Deco period (bold contrasting colors – white, black, blue, red, green; strong platinum designed in clean lines; abstract shapes and sleek streamlined designs);
the advent of gold and rose gold and focus on metals rather than stones of the Retro era, with emphasis on bold, sculpted curves, rather than sparkle and shine…

Today’s jewelry design incorporates many of these themes and design styles – the emphasis now being on personal preference rather than a sign of the times! You can pick and choose your favorite styles from within any of these eras and put them to use in your own, perfectly personal, piece of jewelry which tells your own story at this moment in time.

History lesson: Do or Don’t? Do explore jewelry designs from the past and incorporate what you like into your design. Don’t limit yourself to one era, which might result in a ‘trendy right now, but will look outdated in time’ design.

LOOK TO THE EXPERTS

Jewelry designers by trade have not chosen this career by accident. As a trade, it involves a lot of hard work, years of learning, expertise and practice, and bucket loads of creativity and artistic expression. Inspiration and ideas run in our veins where blood should be! We also know what works and doesn’t work when it comes to jewelry design that will outlive both trend and daily wear and tear. So, by all means, look at the jewelry designs of actual jewelry designers to find inspiration for your own.

Caveat: Even if you are drawing inspiration from the jewelry design of others, or relying on your jeweler to help you design something, make sure you work with a jewelry designer who will honor your wishes and desires. Your jewelry designer must be prepared to take all your ideas into account, instead of only imposing their own, and do their very best to translate those into a workable, stunning jewelry item, which speaks of heartfelt design combined with expertise in creation.

Expert design: Do or Don’t? Do draw on the expertise of the experts to fuel your creative mind and find inspiration, but don’t flat out copy them! Your customized jewelry design should speak of you, your feelings, your message, rather than be a carbon copy of the design style and inspiration of someone else.

At Keezing Kreations we have decades of experience, with the reviews and reputation to match, in creating custom made engagement rings and other bespoke jewelry, designed to meet your inspiration expectations and delight whoever you are designing it for! We can create the jewelry item or engagement ring of your dreams, to match your personal story – and your budget, and specialize in unique, handmade contemporary jewelry design destined to outlast trend and time.