Wait — so I guess we are all gems now? 💎
PLUS: Jessica Brooke Taylor's gem-filled art world and jewel-toned interiors.
Hi! I’m Emily Grosvenor, author of the book Find Yourself At Home and a design magazine editor. Start here to read about why this newsletter is called ★ I would do it differently ★.
I got called a “gem” three times last week. I only mention this because before recently, hearing “you’re a gem!” was exclusively the purview of my friend Amy. Now Amy’s annoyed because “You’re a gem!” used to be her thing and now everyone everywhere seems to be calling each other gems all at once.
Generally, it is women that call each other gems. And it seems to happen at the most mundane moments — when you’ve gone just a bit beyond what is expected or you show up for someone in a seemingly small but meaningful way. To be a gem is to sparkle for a moment, to catch the sunlight of attention because of what you’re naturally made of.
When people say “you’re a gem,” what they are really saying is: “I see you out there with your uncut beauty and your raw talent and the way you show up every day amid all of the dirt and the dust and the grime and people’s sticky fingers. I see you, and for this one moment, I’m going to acknowledge you as if you were the Hope Diamond herself.”
Yes, we are all gems now. Really — there is no other good way to be.
Side note: My husband says he has never been called a gem before. He told me this after I gave him the card below by FriendsNYC for Valentine’s Day, which I acquired at the local shop of my Sparkle Coach Taylor Brisbin.
Now that I, too, have started calling beloved people who show up gems, I know the real pleasure is to be had in bestowing this moment on others — what it says, what it means, what it acknowledges.
This week I’m looking at some interesting gem moments happening right now in the zeitgeist and talking to Portland artist Jess Taylor, who makes collages out of images of gemstones. I also have some links to some great stories about incorporating gem tones in the home.
Have you been called a gem yet? Are you hearing and seeing gems everywhere?
P.S. Women of a certain age will understand that this moment might be happening because we know that gem/Jem is glamour and glitter, fashion and fame, as well as truly truly truly outrageous.
Interview: The bright, sparkling world of artist Jessica Brooke Taylor
Portland artist Jessica Brooke Taylor first began incorporating images of gems in her collage work when she worked in the fine art department at Christie’s about 15 years ago. “Our office in San Francisco would receive these thick catalogs filled with giant, high resolution, zoomed in photos of fine jewelry and stones for sale,” Taylor says. “The colors, the details, the prices — it was all just stunning.” Though she now works digitally, it was these first forays into cutting up catalogs of jewels and moving them around that led her to create work that explores excess and overabundance. “There’s something interesting about a collage of jewelry that resembles a massive pile of trash,” she says.
Emily: Have you noticed that everyone keeps calling each other gems?
Jess: Oh totally… I love to say ”what a gem” or “she’s such a gem.” When I call someone a gem, I usually mean they are a keeper, someone special. It’s such a sweet endearment.
Emily: What's your process like for the gemstone collages? And then you sell them mostly as digital downloads?
Jess: My process really embodies serendipity. When I begin a new work or series, I start with a concept (like a “collage of each birthstone”) but then from there it becomes a game of luck for finding high quality images – lots of hoarding and organizing, then a long process of cutting them out. I work in both physical and digital collages and then print a high res copy of them on fine art paper. Even digitally, I “cut” by hand – I prefer the controlled result of using my apple pencil vs. an automated background remover. When it comes to composition, sometimes I’ll sketch out a loose boundary that I want to work within and build out the collage to those edges, and other times I lay out all the jewelry pieces and allow the arrangement to come to life organically as I move them around.
I sell a lot of digital downloads of my work on my Etsy shop, but for my gemstone prints, I only offer them as prints to be shipped. Because of the detail and intricacy of these works, I prefer to be in control of the final result.
Emily: Do you get a sense of what is drawing your buyers to the work?
Jess: Personalization, for sure. I do market research on trends in wall art a few times a year, and the theme in 2023 that inspired my birthstone art prints was an uptick in buyers searching for personalized, custom gifts. Birthstone jewelry was clearly popular, and I had this ah-ha moment that my collage technique would translate well to personalized birthstone art. After I launched the initial 12 print series, a friend reached out and asked me if I would be willing to mix together birthstones to represent her and her children all in one piece. The result was stunning, and now I offer these custom order collages as well.
Emily: Do people generally want their birthstone? Is this an outgrowth of astrology being so big?
Jess: The majority of orders I get are gifts for others, particularly mothers. People are excited to give these prints as wedding gifts, mothers day gifts and holiday gifts for people that are important in their lives. I designed one for my own mother that represents her five grandchildren. To me, the piece reflects the beauty she has created in the world through her growing family.
I don’t know the history of how birthstones came to represent months (that would be some interesting research!), but I do think many people right now really feel a connection to their birthdays and the characteristics and symbols associated with it.
Emily: Where do you see yourself within the Dopamine Art trend?
Jess: Right smack at the center! I love this trend, and I’m really inspired these days to make colorful, opulent art. The bolder the better. It’s one of the reasons why I started to offer low cost digital downloads of a lot of my work – so that buyers can experiment with color and add something joyful to their space without making the purchase feel too precious. Last summer I sold hundreds of bright disco ball art prints to folks decorating their dorms for college and I think that youthful, groovy spirit is really fun when it comes to decorating.
Emily: What interior styles work best with what you’re making?
Jess: I think my art can flex into a lot of decor styles. It connects with eclectic/maximalist interiors for sure, but one big birthstone collage in an otherwise neutral Scandinavian setting also looks pretty amazing! I believe that art can generally live wherever you want it to and that framing, matting and size can impact how it works within a larger space. And if you love a piece, it will always make sense in your home.
To see more of Taylor’s work, visit her website or follow her on Instagram.
Design stories about working with gem tones in the home
If you love the saturated look and brightness of jewel tones but haven’t experimented at home yet, here are some inspiring reads to get you started:
BH&G has a good primer on working with jewel tones, based on interviews with interior designers. I also like this one on the jewel-box powder room trend.
House Beautiful wrote up a fun piece on interiors that are inspired by specific gems — like jade and emerald.
Architectural Digest has a recent round-up of interesting projects that use one really bold gem tone on a surface, like a wall or ceiling.
Personalization through color is huge right now, and AD Pro has a piece out with the emergence of jewel tones as a 2024 trend.
Also, my favorite designers who work with jewel/gem tones are Justina Blakeney (forever amazing), Brandi Katherine Herrera from A Lively Manner, and Tineke Triggs, who has a great new book out.
Sparkle on!
"You're a gem" feels a little old fashioned, and I'm 100% for it. This is a great reminder to start bringing this back into my vocabulary. I'd also like to bring back "you're a peach" (though should I wait till stone fruit season?).
Thanks for sharing the gem art -- I'll look for her art around town. I don't think my sensory needs can handle gem tones in my home but they sure are gorgeous!