I’m excited to share that Jelena Behrend Studio has moved to a new location—28 Elizabeth Street. This marks my eighth studio space, and in many ways, it feels like a full-circle journey, returning to Chinatown, where it all began on Catherine Street.
Each space I’ve worked in has carried its own energy, shaping my creative expression and deepening the connections I cherish with each of you. This new chapter is no different—it’s a continuation of my passion, dreams, and aesthetics, inspired by the support and inspiration you bring to my work.
The Hydra Seriesis a new collection of sterling silver jewelry that captures the essence of anticipation and reflection. It continues the tradition of naming my work after ancient Greek gods and mythological figures.
Jelena Behrend Studio is a gay, woman-owned business, proudly serving a wonderfully diverse array of clients, including the LGBTQ+ community, for over three decades. During Pride Month and all year round, when you shop here, you’re directly supporting a business that values and promotes equality for all.
P.S. With this year's celebration in mind, a 10% discount on all priced sterling silver items is automatically applied at checkout (until June 11, 2024, online shopping only). simply click here
My longtime collectors understand the significance behind these names. However, for newer connoisseurs who may not be as familiar, 'Jolie,' 'Zeus,' and 'Pitbull' are the names of my signature link designs, serving as the foundation for necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. From my classic, more uniform link pieces to the recent interpretations, this variation of the oval link has proven its enduring appeal while staying above trends.
Your wedding ring isn’t just a symbol of love and commitment, it's a piece of jewelry you’ll wear every day. It is essential to choose the one that suits your lifestyle.
Here are some thoughts to help you find a perfect wedding ring for your individual way of life.
Consider your daily activities. Think about your daily routine and activities you engage regularly. If you have an active lifestyle, you’ll want a durable ring that can withstand wear and tear. Opt for a metal like platinum, known for its strength and resilience. Keep in mind that metal like platinum might be more costly upfront, however it often requires less maintenance and can last a lifetime.
OurDream Earrings are now available in three spectacular versions. Embellished with baguette-cut precious stones of your choice: elegant white diamonds, enchanting blue sapphires, or exquisite forest-hued emeralds.
An excellent choice for both special occasions and memorable holiday gifts.
It is that time of the year! The favorite holiday season of many is upon us and we have put together our annual Dark Edit to commensurate the occasion. Take a look!
There are times I would step out of my space to tend the shrubs and perennials in my studio garden to reflect and find inspiration. Transitory moments like these have led me to enjoy a parallel between the role of a jeweler and that of a gardener—the ceaselessly moving hands. As a gardener digs and cultivates the soil, nurtures the vegetation, and harvests the seeds and fruits, a jeweler creates models, melts metal, forges, inlays gemstones, assembles, solders, and polishes finished works. Though, unlike the gardener who races with time to produce an optimal yield, I, the jeweler, have the allowance of time to contemplate and realize every single creation one by one.
This modality of producing annually a small, highly individualized, and focused body of designs was already there in my vision at the very moment when I undertook the role of a metalsmith. As I chose to depend on a minimum of machinery and chemicals, I also chose to optimize the use of my hands, retaining and re-developing the conventional or historical methods of jewelry-making within my own practice. It is a kind of muscle memory or perhaps choreography that consists of numerous tools, which, over time, like the hoe and sickle to a gardener, become the very extension of me.
Jewelry, as a personal object, is exclusive. This very idea characterizes my practice and philosophy of producing deliberately and manually so that each motif and design, new or renewed, carry meanings after each pounding, stamping, forging, and welding. Equally important is the intention behind each commission of bespoke jewelry by my clients; whether it celebrates the success of a career, matrimony, the birth of a child, or the death of a beloved one, the work becomes the index of a particular moment of one’s life. It’s humbling and meaningful to be able to encounter and intimately engage with different individuals, to infuse their narratives and personalities while creating a unique work that speaks only to them and them alone. These encounters also become the ultimate source of inspiration and support for my work and craft.
The archive of my work exists largely in the form of finished pieces and models, though there are significant physical editions that I intentionally hide in various boxes, so that, when the time calls for a revisitation, I can rediscover and reconnect with them. The archive, the vault of my previous works, leaves traces of my thoughts for me to return to, develop, and find a continuum into the present time of my repertoire, just like the seeds in the deep woodland that would only germinate and prosper under the right conditions. The world today spins faster than ever, and changes occur unpredictably and at times chaotically, and I find it centering and anchoring to have this archive to return to, savor the past, and remind myself to be in the present and continue to grow as a thoughtful and conscious artisan. If new commissions set the direction of my jewelry practice, then the earlier works set the foundation, both of which continue to feed, rejuvenate, and sustain my practice and vision.
I have reached the point in my career where I have built the signature style and developed my own key design elements that define me as a designer and a brand. Like sand in a desert, my work has also shifted and transformed over time as I keep re-working and re-shaping mediums into something new and adapting the core components of my work to my clients’ lifestyles and my own moods. Because of the techniques that I employ, each piece has its own distinct characteristics. My practice evolves, seldom repeating.
The meticulously chosen materials I work with make a great influence on the final look of each piece and although I have worked with colored gemstones in the past, recently I have created a more significant gemstone work and entered another realm of this practice. See it for yourself.
Over the past several months, what was once a solitary or singular engagement with talismans has multiplied through reciprocities of conversations, care and generosity of close friends and loyal patrons. These heartfelt, inspiring exchanges guided me in the most organic way possible to create this talismanic coinage.
Though these creations may not immediately align with the strict definition of a talisman, they, with their shared emphasis on and potent of love, are just as magical and powerful to me and conceivably more so to the individuals who have commissioned me to create these works.
2020 has been a challenging year for all and I am not an exception. It was the 26th year of running my studio and it has been full of surprises and I am grateful and humbled to say that many of them were pleasant, despite the collective trauma we were (and still are) going through. I received an outpouring of love and support from my family, friends, and clients and as we are about to ring in the new year I would like to say thank you:
to everyone who supported me by commissioning bespoke pieces despite the uncertainty of times
to everyone who purchased my work online (many of you for the first time!)
to everyone who scheduled their video consultations with me
to everyone who wore my work and introduced others to it
to everyone who replied to my emails with encouraging words
to everyone who liked, shared, and commented on my social media posts
to everyone who agreed to meet me on my terrace in the heat of the summer
to everyone who did not blink when I asked for curbside pick up (for everyone’s safety)
to Lia, Elizabeth, Jordan, and Jiahui for acting as my copy editors and writing advisors when I was lost for words
to Julian who delivered my work to clients on his motorbike through the worst of the raging pandemic in NYC
to the cousin of my client’s now-husband who drove 7 hours to deliver wedding jewelry for the bride and groom so they could exchange their rings and be adorned on their wedding day
and perhaps I am forgetting someone... please forgive me, 2020 has been quite a ride.
Cheers to 2021! My wish is for all of us to stay healthy and to come out as winners!
Jelena Behrend, Vaginal Davis Presidential Gavel, 2020. [DESCRIPTION: A gif of four images of a gavel, shown from each three-quarter view in clockwise succession. The gavel has a dark brown wood handle with gold head, onto which four horizontal bands are engraved, as well as the the words "SPEAKING FROM THE DIAPHRAGM" horizontally engraved in serif text beneath the lowest band.]
I am no stranger to making jewelry for men. My work was always meant to be worn by all. Myself, a fan of men's garments, I always tried to fill in the fashion gap between genders. Let's be honest, only recently fashion designers started paying attention to "masculine" fashion and creative, innovative, fashion conscious men or men with a strong sense of style do not have to suffer for a lack of wardrobe and accessory choice anymore.
In my experience, men tend to choose less embellished jewelry, pieces that are perceived as simple and understated. By creating men's engagement ring* collection, I portrayed gold and precious stones in a masculine way. The designs (except the ring I custom made for Paul) are focused on the metal itself, its texture, luster, strength, and durability. The gemstones are incorporated to transform a particular ring into a celebratory piece, but without being overly flashy. Rings in this collection are designed and meant to be worn every day, as a powerful representation of commitment and love.
