Caroline Ventura

Caroline Ventura, jewellery designer for brvtvs.

“I grew up in LA at the beach in a little town called Ventura, which is also my married last name. It’s this cool little beach town that’s outside of Los Angeles.

I did some modeling for many years, and then once I turned into an old horse I had to be shot. You know, when I was like 25. [smiles]

I’ve been in New York on and off for over 10 years now. I was modeling here for a little bit, and then I bounced around Europe for a little while… I became very accustomed to living out of a suitcase. This is actually the longest I’ve ever lived in a single city. I’m lucky that I can travel with what I do. I can pack up at any stage and go to any city to check out what boutiques are there and what kind of jewelry they are selling.

I started doing jewelry almost two years ago. I’ve always been doing stuff that has been in a creative field, and I love creating things. I was just constantly getting dragged down by executing something that somebody else wanted me to do. I’m the type of person that likes to create my own things.

I love seeing something come from nothing and seeing that process from start to finish. When you get a hunk of metal and you’re able to turn it into something really dainty, delicate, and beautiful, it’s an amazing process.

I love clean lines and really simple stuff, but what I make is still kind of graphic. Aesthetically, I’ve never been into things that are fussy. Even the way that I dress, I don’t like things that are complicated. I like things that are comfortable. I’ll wear something until it either breaks, or is so incredibly out of style that I just look ridiculous, or it is falling apart. I’ve always had a bespoke approach to everything, so it makes sense that I’d want to make jewelry. I always get my clothing tailored to fit. I’ll buy something that’s like 8 sizes too big if I like it, and then I just get it made it to fit.”

shopghost, photos by stevie dance