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After 40 years of designing jewelry, it’s hard to believe Alex Monroe didn’t always covet this career.
Monroe wanted to go into fashion, but when he didn’t get into college for it, jewelry was his second choice. He enjoyed making things, so it turned out to be a perfect option.
Monroe takes a large part of his inspiration from nature. As he goes about his day, he notes down his thoughts and the things he sees.
“I love gardening and walking and exploring outside,” he shares. “I notice so many beautiful things, like the way a flower opens or the shape of a leaf. This is a bit like my harvest of information, like a cook might harvest from a garden. My harvest is all about nature, so it follows that the jewelry is going to be very nature-focused, too. There’s not much you can’t find in nature: beauty, generosity, softness, harshness, order, chaos, life, death and rebirth. I mean, it’s all there.”
For his brand’s 40th anniversary, Monroe created the Menagerie collection. When designing it, he was interested in seeing how people were wearing jewelry these days, including their approach to layering pieces, such as stacking rings and multiple piercings.
“I wanted to scale things up, use chunkier chains and make some strong statement pieces,” he says. “I was really interested in surface texture, too. So I paid homage to my 40 years, referring to some of the classic pieces [I created] over the years, but I’ve really had fun with them. They’re bigger, ornamented with lavish engraving, chunkier chains. Everything has a strong impact and makes more of a statement.”
He took some of his original motifs, which he describes as “quirky,” and amplified them for the collection. “We have a funky pig with floral engraving on a heavy chain,” Monroe says. “A chunky elephant necklace on a decorative bail and chunky chain. It’s so fun, but to really appreciate it, you’ve got to feel the weight and see it close-up.”
Aside from the Menagerie collection, Monroe launched a wallpaper pattern for the anniversary.
“You know what I’m looking forward to this year?” he asks. “A holiday, a trip, where I can take my sketchbook and fill up on ideas for the next 40 years.”
Main image: Alex Monroe. (Alex Monroe)
