We caught up with designer Michelle Oh to find out more about her style and get her take on the bespoke process.
Michelle is a predominantly bespoke designer; her delicate touch making even large diamonds and gemstones feel wearable and subtle, particularly through the prism of her gentle colour palette.
Each piece is made in the UK and finished in her East London studio using ethically sourced stones and recycled metals. Michelle specialises in creating unique alternative engagement and wedding rings for modern lovers.
Where are you based?
We have a showroom / studio in Shoreditch. We are about to move into a larger space next Spring actually which is very exciting.
How would you describe your style of jewellery?
Being a predominantly bespoke designer, my work is driven mostly by working around my client's very different personal preferences but applying my own signature take on it too.
I often like to harmonise the old with the new.. so if a ring design is already going to involve a lot of unusual, non traditional design elements, I like to then balance this maybe in the choice of colour or materials.
I love playing with contrasting colours, asymmetry, and treading a fine line between tradition and modernity, what is architectural and what is organic.
What elements make for a great bespoke ring?
The most successful bespoke rings are ones where the client has been totally honest with themselves, and us, what they really like, completely in disregard for what is currently trending or fashionable.. or what they think they 'should' have for an engagement or wedding ring. Are you a diehard Harry Potter fan and want some part of your ring to reflect this? That's wonderful, you should have a ring that reflects you.
Equally, are you someone who very much just wants a single stone massive diamond ring, but tailored specifically to your taste in the small details? Then that will be the best ring for you and we can make that happen too.
What's your favourite thing about creating bespoke rings?
I love that it's very much a personal and unique process for every new client. Every 'brief' that comes my way is always so different because everyone likes such different things.
It ensures I'm always working on something different each time and it also opens me up to new perspectives, learning something new always meeting and speaking to new people every day keeps this work exciting.
If you could make a ring for anyone (dead or alive) who would it be and why?
I would love to have been able to create something for my grandmother. She passed when I was a teenager and never got to see what I ended up doing now. She was a very creative person and I feel I owe a lot of my own creativity to her, I would have loved the opportunity to get to know her more and to be able to create something for her to wear, I think she would have loved that too.
