Lauren Harper has always had a strong creative spirit. As a child, she was a classical violinist. As a young adult, she painted and sang. Lauren finally found her calling in the art of jewelry design and metalsmithing. "I wanted to work with my hands”, she says. “It was important to have something tangible at the end of a days work." Traveling to exotic destinations around the world, Lauren searches for precious gemstones such as moonstones, Peruvian opals, Thai sapphires, and brilliant diamonds, and then combines them with warm blends of gold. Lauren is inspired by merging the individual characteristics of each stone with the art, architecture and culture of the places she visits. From ancient Egyptian and Byzantine designs, to Khmer ruins, her muse is the world at large. "The collection has its roots in the past,” Lauren says, “so it is never off trend."