Lauren Richards, founder of and designer for Gamin, a jewelry and homewares collection made in New York City, started making jewelry at 8 years old, messing around with wire and beads. 

“I just never stopped playing with it,” says Richards, who went on to study architecture in college and eventually landed an internship at a jewelry company that turned into a job.

The experiences introduced her to 3-D modeling programs and 3-D printing, which “really opened up possibilities for designing work on my own,” she says.

In 2014 she launched Gamin, with jewelry as its centerpiece, to offer up her casual-cool aesthetics, which layer a function-first minimalism on top of decorative flourishes inspired by classic Eastern design (shades of antique Egyptian and Indian design abound).

Arcata bracelet, $98

 
Valenta earrings, $260

Berber bracelet, $374

“I love looking through antique and ancient designs,” says the designer, who strives to create “that little extra detail that makes you feel like whatever else you have on is ‘together'” in her work. She adds, “When you come across an element of design that grabs you, owning it is like having a little secret.”

Richards believes her pieces, which are stocked in stores including Assembly and Willy Chavarria in NYC, “appeal to someone who…doesn’t want to wear what everyone else is wearing. Our pieces aren’t a screaming statement that says ‘I’m different.’ The  unique details only stand out to people who are really looking.”

(Top: Madrazo bracelet, $254; all images courtesy of Gamin)