18k swoosh necklace
A logo on a container ship. A glimpse of the gaming tables at Las Vegas. Reading “Moby Dick” for the first time. Daniel Craig playing the role of James Bond. Geib’s wildly varied sources of inspiration are as eclectic as the whimsical pieces she handcrafts, from mother-of-pearl sun and moon earrings to a tea-length flower-bedecked necklace rendered in 18k yellow gold. “Ideas come from so many different places, the process can seem very random,” she says of her works, which Geib describes as equal parts humble and extravagant.
Trapiche emeralds with 24k whirligigs
Take, for example, the Swoosh necklace (available at August), born from Geib’s love of calligraphy and hammered to represent the thick and thin lines from a pen. “That is a reflection of the calligraphic drawings that itinerant folk artists used to do as they travelled from town to town trying to make money. I love that style.” Other pieces carried at August are the result of Geib’s experimentation with shapes and hints of ideas like Austrian Design.
“I like things that don’t match. Or, to go further, I could say that most things that match bore me—I prefer pieces that surprise you and speak to each other.” Case in point: a pair of Triple Drop Erewhon earrings featuring cascading flowers scrawled in 18k yellow gold.
When she’s not at the bench in her Brooklyn studio, expect to find Geib hunting down stones around the world, including emeralds from Colombia that make an appearance alongside moonstones in a pair of chandelier earrings. “It is completely exciting—wind blowing, sky changing, looking at millions of emeralds,” she says. Trips to Brazil—where a teenage Geib lived with her family for two years—result in a bounty of colorful stones. “A wonderful asset to making playful jewelry,” she adds.
“There is so much uncertainty when making something, but it is wonderful to finish a piece and be thrilled and excited by it, almost as if it had come from someone else’s hands.”