Independent Jewelry Designer Lauren Hoehn Wows Hollywood with Her Line, Lapis Beach Jewelry

Lapis Beach makes LA’s The Place “THElist 2012” for Best Independent Jewelry Designers! Great Christmas Gift Idea ~ Some of the most fabulous jewelry comes from independent artisans. One of those that LA’s The Place has discovered is jewelry designer Lauren Hoehn of Jarretsville, Maryland, with her divine handcrafted jewelry line called Lapis Beach Jewelry.

Lapis Beach designs really stand out and we discovered her line of gorgeous jewelry at Hollywood award show gifting suites, where celebrities fawn over her designs. Hoehn is an experienced celebrity gifter. Her work is of the quality necessary to be selected for gift bags and it is distinctive enough that once it is in front of celebrities, it gets their attention.

Alicia Witt with Lapis Beach Cuff

A case in point is when Janina Gavankar of the hit HBO series “True Blood” chose a Lapis Beach cuff as her favorite piece at the entire GBK Luxury Gift Lounge during the 2012 Golden Globes—and then featured it on her blog. Giada de Laurentiis, Katie Holmes, Nicole Ritchie, Sarah Jessica Parker, Camille Grammar, Alicia Witt, Isabella Cruise and Suri Cruise all own Lapis Beach designs as well.

Camille Grammer with Lapis Beach Cuff

Hoehn is best known for her hand knit bracelets, cuffs, rings, necklaces, which she describes as “simply chic, modern designs that are versatile from day to night.” Her one-of-a-kind pieces draw the eye with their unusual texture and exquisite color sensibility and are popular with successful women who, as Hoehn put it, “have a lot, have seen it all before, and don’t want the same old, same old. Basically – I took an Old School technique and turned into Modern Day Chic- I think the biggest compliment I get is that people have never seen anything like it!”

Every bead is handpicked, hand strung and hand knit, producing a one of a kind piece of wearable art. New stones are added constantly to create evolving color lines and creations. Currently Lapisbeach offers two types of knitted jewelry, a soft knit fiber line strung with various semi precious stones and a sleek wire knit line adorned with pearls and crystals. All pieces are hand knit on knitting needles by Lauren. This feminine unique line of jewelry can go from casual to couture with a simple change of outfit. Lauren has launched a new line of statement pieces that she has unveiled this year.

Hoehn works her design magic out of her home, where she is inspired by a huge stash of beads and gemstones, which she combines in glass bowls so that she can see color combinations materialize. “Truth be told, my studio is not any one particular place in the house. Much to the dismay of my husband, I have beads, bowls and wire everywhere,” laughed Hoehn. “However, I am delighted with the arrangement; I sincerely don’t like being away from my family so this approach allows me be where the action is.” Lapis Beach was launched in 2010, with the goal of providing income while allowing Hoehn to be an “on call” mom for her one son, who was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 7. She named the business after her love of the beach and the fact that one of her favorite stones is Lapis Lazuli.

Hoehn is a long time “closet knitter” as she describes it, obsessed with needles and fiber long before it was geeky cool. She eventually turned her attention to knitting jewelry with wire and before long had amassed enough clients to realize that she could actually make a go of selling the work as a serious business endeavor. While Hoehn is highly focused on gaining new clients, she also nurtures her existing customers who come back again and again to purchase her designs in fresh color ways, which she introduces several times a year.

With a Ph.D. in Distance Education/Instructional Technology, Hoehn is a strong believer in taking the time to create positive relationships with her fans, whether they choose to purchase immediately or not. “I firmly believe in fabulous communication when selling online through sites like Etsy,” said Hoehn. “Connecting over long distances, without the benefit of face to face interaction, takes work but done right it can make you a very effective seller.” Lauren has learned to work every angle when it comes to achieving success with her business Lapis Beach Jewelry, including wholesaling to galleries, running a successful shop on Etsy, as well as participating in celebrity gifting opportunities as often as she can.

Hoehn maintains a successful Etsy shop ), where favorable comments about her work number in the hundreds. Her jewelry is carried by Take Me Home, Tiger Lily and With Gratitude in the cities of St. Michaels, Bel Air and Towson, Maryland. Over the long haul, Hoehn says she would like to expand Lapis Beach to include a couture line in addition to her everyday pieces. “This would be a natural extension of my current custom wedding work, where I work with brides to custom coordinate for various aspects of the ceremony as well as pre- and post-events.”

Hoehn is also interested in expanding her wholesale business to other cities and states if the right opportunities arise.