Loulerie: ‘It’s very fulfilling that I still love a piece of jewellery now as much as I did then’

For Louise Stokes, Loulerie began as one simple idea: jewellery from the female perspective. While working for a large jewellery corporation in New York, she would pick up simple pieces for her friends at designer events or art fairs, or even from street sellers. “They loved them because they were well made but not super expensive,” explains Louise. With so much focus on gifting jewellery, Louise began to ask, “is there anyone catering for the woman who just wants to buy for herself? Maybe she’s celebrating a new job, maybe something sad happened, or maybe she just wants to treat herself.”

During her five years in New York, she collected so many ideas and thoughts that by the time she decided to move home in 2007, Loulerie was already fully formed in her mind. “I was drawn to designers and their stories, their inspirations, and I wanted to set up a store like a gallery space that could really showcase their work,” she explains. “I wanted that wow factor, that when you walked by the window you were immediately drawn in.”

Now Loulerie in Dublin’s Westbury Mall features a handful of carefully selected designers from around the world, as well as Louise’s own collections of both plated and fine jewellery. Originally intended as a curated edit of jewellery, like the brand itself, Louise’s own design collections came slowly.

“I was commissioned to do some custom projects and although interpreting someone else’s vision wasn’t for me, it sparked something.” So when they struggled to find a new supplier for their disc pendants, Louise began making them herself, and her collections grew from there. “It was very much trial by fire. I didn’t go to design school and while I was familiar with all the elements of the jewellery business, I still had to make all the mistakes, but it was the best training.”

The Loulerie fine jewellery collection is now one of the most popular instore and online, and she brings the same design approach to her gold-plated fashion pieces too. “Even though the price point is lower, it’s still about taking classic pieces but making them the Loulerie way, asking how can I make it feminine, how does it feel on, how can I make the catch as small as possible?”

One of her favourite pieces are the Gold Wave hoops, which have been a part of the collection for years. Louise always aspired for each piece and each collection to be enduring. Through the years, she has often turned back to wearing her classic earring design. “It’s very fulfilling that I still love a piece of jewellery now as much as I did then.” Which really, is the whole ethos of Loulerie.

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