Interview with Officially-Licensed Mucha Jeweler Kelly Morgen

By Jean Martin
GBACG Finery Editor

How did you start making jewelry? What was your inspiration in starting out?

I originally fell in love with jewelry making while I was studying abroad in Florence, Italy during my junior year in college. I immediately realized that this was it: here was exactly what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I was lucky enough, and persistent enough, to secure the coveted apprentice spot in the studio: I stayed on for another six months, studying under the master goldsmith who worked on the Ponte Vecchio. After I returned to the States to graduate college, I apprenticed with Heyoka Merrifield, a Cherokee silversmith and shaman who I met at the Renaissance Faire. After a few months of studying together, he turned to me and said, “Well, I think you’re ready to start your own jewelry business!” I was completely taken aback because I still saw myself as an apprentice. But he gave me the push I needed. I moved back home to California and started Kelly Morgen Jewelry from my father’s garage that very summer and less than nine months later, I was supporting myself financially and had moved to my own place. Everything fell easily into place. I think because I was so passionate and excited about my work, people couldn’t help but respond to that energy. 15 years later, it’s still working, and I still love it! 

What inspires the designs for your work? What types of themes do you usually work in?

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, my childhood home always had these big beautiful Alphonse Mucha prints hanging on the walls. My dad was a huge fan of Art Nouveau–which always came as a bit of a surprise to visitors, as he was a very analytical mathematician–and I just adored those prints. They were in harmony with the natural world, feminine and mesmerizing… goddesses in their own right. I remember looking back at all the thousands of mermaid and fairy and princess drawings I’ve made since age four and realizing that there’s never been a time without this strong feminine force in my life. As things change in the external world, my deep love for Art Nouveau has always been a constant wellspring for me.

Do you have any advice to people who are starting out in making jewelry?

If I were to give aspiring jewelers a piece of advice from my own story, it would be “passionate persistence.” At every major turn in my life, I had the choice to either sit back or actively pursue my goals. When something excited me and I knew in my bones it was for me, I would fling myself at it with utter dedication and persistence. I secured my formative apprenticeship in Italy by being constantly at the studio, even showing up for classes in which I wasn’t technically enrolled. I picked projects that were far beyond my ability level because I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I earned my other apprenticeship with silversmith and shaman Heyoka Merrifield because I sent him the “most comprehensive” resume he’d ever seen. I believe my first jewelry sales happened because I couldn’t stop talking to people about my work and my passion. To this day, I still seek out learning opportunities and things that excite me. I took a sabbatical in England for six months in 2015 to learn new techniques like enamel and blacksmithing. I couldn’t see at the time how they would fit into my work, but I was then nominated as a Saul Bell Award finalist in enamel in 2018! It’s a big world, with millions of opportunities: ask yourself how you want to be spending your time, and then follow that answer with all your heart.

Do you make jewelry for yourself or mostly just for others?

Only for others. I had to be very strict from the beginning that I wasn’t allowed to keep my work, because otherwise I’d end up never selling anything! Once every couple of years, I’ve fallen in love with a piece I’ve made, either because it has a special story or meaning to me, and I’ve kept it. I probably have about six of my own pieces now, so far fewer than the vast majority of my collectors!

How many designs do you make each year?

I usually create about eight to 10 new designs a year, and of those, usually two or three make the cut to be created again. Overall, I currently have about 40 active designs that I will pull from, and I’m constantly retiring old designs if I feel I’ve grown beyond that style. Some are classics though, like one of my original designs of Circe, whom I’ve created at least once a year for 15 years.

What is your process for starting out an individual project and/or a line of jewelry?

I am incredibly inspired by old children’s books from the turn of the 20th century. I delight in haunting used bookstores and leafing through the mythological section, or the folklore section, or vintage Victorian schoolbook primers. They always have such charming illustrations, marked by their use of swirling lines and feminine movement. When my grandmother died, my dad brought me home all her old Andrew Lang fairytale books, and they were filled with the most captivating line drawings of queens, maidens, trolls, castles, and imps. Art can always be discovered in unlikely places, and I love the process of hunting for new stories waiting to be given physical form.

What type of materials do you usually work with? And what are your favorite materials?

I of course work with gold and silver, as well as natural gemstones, but the most interesting material I use is my recycled piano keys. I got the idea while studying in Italy: my teacher would often work on gorgeous masterpieces, while he taught me in the evenings, and some of them were the famous cameos so well known in Italy. I loved their beautiful faces and wanted to do something similar with my work in a sustainable way. I currently salvage antique keys that would otherwise be thrown away: saving this precious material in a piece of art that will last forever. I also wanted to give my women meaning. The cameos of Italy are nameless and can feel very powerless to me. This is the reason each of my necklaces tells a story from mythologies around the world: from strong Athena, goddess of wisdom, to Pele, the fiery goddess of Hawaii.

How long does it usually take you to make one piece?

I honestly don’t know! I rotate between pieces on my desk, so it often takes months for a necklace to be completed. I’m always a little afraid to count the hours and realize how many hundreds might go into a piece!

Do you mostly offer ready-made jewelry or are you open for commissions?

Yes, I absolutely take custom orders and am actually working on a very special shrine to the Japanese god Fudo Myo right now.

How did you become an official Mucha jeweler?

During my sabbatical in England, I decided to search for “Alphonse Mucha” and “London” to see if there were any exhibits to visit. I saw that the Mucha family lived in London, so I wrote them to see if they remembered me (I had donated a piece of my Mucha-inspired jewelry to the Mucha Museum in Prague). They immediately invited me over to their flat, and we had a lovely meeting talking about my jewelry and their plans to keep their grandfather’s work alive for generations to come. They invited me to the premiere of the exhibit “Alphonse Mucha: Quest for Beauty” at the Russell-Cotes Museum, and we finalized the paperwork to become an official Mucha jeweler. I’m currently one of only two jewelers in the world licensed to do so, and it’s been a really incredible experience. I would rather have that honor than have my jewelry hung in the Louvre, quite honestly!

How many Mucha pieces have you created and will you be creating more?

I’ve probably used about a dozen different Mucha paintings as inspiration, and will definitely be creating more. I honestly believe there is no greater harmony of line and aethestic than Mucha’s work, and am always the most happy with my Mucha necklaces.

What is your dream jewelry project that you would like to make? I would love someone to commission me to do a very large piece of an incredibly elaborate Mucha painting. Where size wouldn’t be an issue and I could use an enormous stone. I always enjoy stretching myself and working a little beyond my ability so I learn something. I actually created a real dream jewelry project back in 2016, the Wisteria Fairy, which you can read about more in-depth on my blog: https://www.kellymorgen.com/news/wisteria-fairy