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Love Leigh Designs
Handmade Jewelry is Easy, Fun
and Affordable! By Melinda Lejman
Leigh Royal has always loved jewelry.
As a child, she used to dress up in her
grandmother’s pieces, picking out fun th ings
and wearing them around the house. Today,
Leigh creates one-of- a-kind pieces from
gorgeous items she finds at estate sales and
bead shows. “I like finding pieces and putting
them together,” says Leigh. “Jewelry trends
change pretty rapidly, and seasonally, so you
have to keep up with them.”
Right now, druzy* pieces are popular,
as well as big statement earrings and
necklaces. “I’ve always been into earrings
and necklaces,” says Leigh. “You don’t
necessarily need to wear big earrings with
a necklace. You don’t want to overdo it.”
For fall, Leigh recommends choosing either
a statement necklace or big earrings and
pairing them with a cozy sweater. “I really
like big pieces with a fall sweater in darker
colors. It’s fun to work with.”
All of Leigh’s designs are h er own, and she
touches every piece that makes its way to the
consignments shops and stores where her
jewelry can be purchased. “They’re all my
ideas, and it’s been a lot of fun,” say s Leigh,
who has been in business for about a year.
“I do get my money back from the business,
but I don’t gouge people.” sh e says. “Not
everybody can afford a big druzy necklace for
$150 at a boutique, so every thing I make is
under $100.” Making pieces affordable also
means customers can buy multiple pieces
at once and can afford to change up th eir
jewelry with the seasonal trends.
What Leigh sees trending for the fall and
winter is bead and chain combinations with
a big drop, as well as gunmetal, copper and
rose gold elements. “Silver is on its way out,”
Leigh said. “You don’t see it as much . It’s
harder for me to find silver because gold is so
big, and rose gold is still big.”
Leigh has been featured by multiple bloggers,
including Collins Touhy of “The Blind Side”
fame. “Social media really helps with my
business,” she says. “If I were trying to
do this in the 90s, getting into magazines
or stores would really be the only way to
promote yourself.” Followers get in touch
with Leigh on her Love Leigh Designs
Facebook and Instagram pages to order
pieces, and she even does some custom work
on request.
“Now, with social media, smaller businesses
and people like me can really grow,” says
Leigh.
She also keeps up with trends for the younger
crowd by checking in with her 12-year-old
daughter, Ellie. “Chokers are really trendy for
them right now and so are popular druzy hair
ties that you can also wear as bracelets. (Both
are perfect Hanukah gifts!)
“I kind of played around with jewelry before
Ellie was born,” she says. “I made earrings
and did a couple of shows, but I more toyed
with it.” Then last summer, she decided to
teach herself how to do more intricate work,
showcasing her pieces at Temple I srael’s
pop-up event that fall. “I’ve gotten a lot of
really good feedback, and it’s been great.”
Leigh has no desire to grow her business at
the moment, preferring to take things slowly
and maintain the handmade care and quality
of her work. “I love accessories because you
can gain weight, lose weight and it doesn’t
matter. Purses, shoes and jewelry are
universal, but I just love jewelry!”
Leigh’s designs can be found at Th e Women’s
Exchange, the Beautiful Soul Boutique, La
Maison and The Truffle Pig. She’s also done
some parties at friends’ houses. Follow her
on Instagram and Facebook to find out about
shows and pop-ups.
*In geology, druse, also known as
drusy or druzy, refers to a coating of
fine crystals on a rock fracture surface,
vein or within a vug or geode. Druse
occurs worldwide; the most common
is perhaps quartz druse within voids in
chert or agates.
24 September 2018 I www.jewishscenemagazine.com
Leigh Royal
/www.jewishscenemagazine.com