Feathered Dream

By Beth Rubin

Jewelry designer Loren Rochelle emerges from the glass doors of her loft in LA’s Historic Fashion District. She is coddling Fisher, a Yorkshire Terrier mix whom she recently adopted. Rochelle wears a black vintage dress and Ray-Ban Wayfarers: classic taste and style, all of which she brings to her elegant and whimsical jewelry line, LoveBIRDS. (Female FYI was excited to feature the jewelry line in this month’s Fashion section.) Rochelle’s debut collection is ethereal, earthy and organic. Simplicity and freedom come to mind. Favorites include the Eternity Band, available in five different metals, the Muse, a hairpiece of bright summer accented with an iridescent peacock feather, and the Cloud Daisy — earrings highlighting hackle feathers with black and yellow polka dots.

Rochelle describes herself as “a free thinker, artist and daydreamer living in the clouds where beauty nests.” She draws her inspiration from love, femininity, nature and healing — all central themes in her life and in her work. “Creating small treasures drenched in love,” is the way she approaches her art. “Every twist, swirl, bend and fold is unique, one-of-a-kind,” she says, a free-flowing creative expression for Rochelle — the process being as important as the product.

Rochelle, 22, created LoveBIRDS in 2009 when she was laid off as a graphic designer. While looking for another 9-5 job, she took a walk in the Jewelry District, her backyard, and shopped to her heart’s desire. “The really bright colors drew me in. I bought an assortment of feathers, beads, tumbled gems, stones and wire, not wanting to limit myself. I went home and made a Tiger’s Eye necklace wrapped in wire that I still wear today.”

Rochelle’s jewelry making started as a hobby, but it evolved into something bigger than planned, when everybody from friends to the public started asking if they could purchase her accessories. Lidia Jaime, boutique owner of Le Bohemian Chic in Echo Park, also approached her to showcase her line for LA’s 2009 Fashion Week it was then that Rochelle’s LoveBIRDS took off. The amazing response to her jewelry led Rochelle to develop her own website and branding, Lovebirdsbyloren.com, causing her dream to take further flight. She encourages other artists to take risks. Her advice on starting out? “Don’t worry about all the things that could stop you from creating. Instead think, ‘you can’t lose. If it makes you happy, you need to do it, and by doing it you will succeed.’ ”

Rochelle, a lovebird herself, was born in Ocala, Florida and immersed into the healing arts at a young age. Her mother Lynn-Ann Cuminotto, a Reiki Master and an artist in her own right, raised her to believe in her inner child and to live for love. When I asked Rochelle about her love life, she replied, smiling, “I am happily nested.”

We look forward to her next collection — entitled Loquillo — inspired by a trip she recently took with her girlfriend to the beaches of Puerto Rico. Lovebirdsbyloren.com
Photography by Nathaniel Taylor – Makeup Tatiana – Styling Valentina Silva