Nashville native Brooke Worthington designs custom jewelry and breathes new life into heirloom pieces for years to come.
Brooke Worthington stumbled—albeit gracefully—into the jewelry industry. Zircon Rings
After attending the University of Alabama for two-and-a-half years, the Nashville native transferred back to her roots as a student at Belmont University. Needing a creative outlet, Worthington began making bracelets with beads. By the time she graduated from Belmont, the burgeoning entrepreneur had her own little business selling her jewelry wholesale to boutique stores around Nashville, complete with a small studio in Germantown. Then, in 2014, she attended a mechanical jewelry school in Arrington.
“I went with the intent of learning the mechanial side of things so when I design, I would know the terminology, lingo, and what is considered good and bad in terms of setting styles. But I had no idea what I was signing up for,” Worthington laughs. “One of three females in the class, I completed the three- month-long intensive graduate bench jewelers’ program and it was really hard. But it made me feel more confident in the craft.”
Worthington was ready to elevate and define her brand. Enter, diamonds. Fast forward two years, and the jeweler was getting restless selling her products wholesale. So, on a whim, she assumed a lease for her now storefront in Green Hills, gutted the entire space in a month-long buildout—including redoing the floors herself—and opened to the public in 2016. Much like the jewelry she designs, her showroom feels effortless and elegant. The space is outfitted with high ceilings and is painted white from top to bottom. Neutral accents including vintage mannequin busts, linen-colored books, and a taupe area rug, plus natural elements like white florals, birch tree branches, and textured vases blend together to create a cozy and welcoming space.
Unlike a typical jewelry store, Worthington’s showroom is lit with warm hues that play off the gold accented mirrors and gold-leaf chandelier. And because most of her work is custom design, only a handful of glass cases with limited sitting inventory add just enough sparkle to the space. Most recently, Worthington teamed up with Alyssa Rosenheck, interior photographer and best- selling author of The New Southern Style, to redesign the shelving and customer table experience.
“Brooke is a longtime friend and client, and to know her is to love her old soul, casual nature, and warm heart,” says Rosenheck. “When styling the space, it was my priority for the aesthetic to be an extension of her goals and future vision for her brand. My objective with Brooke’s store was for the styling to communicate visual peace and comfort, and to set the stage for her jewelry designs allowing them to be the main focus of the space.”
When working on custom jewelry with clients, Worthington guides them towards the rear of the store to her newly designed customer table nook.
“It was important to create a space honoring her client collaborations with room to breathe, ideate, and create,” says Rosenheck. “The redesign is supportive of peace and the quieting of a noisy world to honor the heirlooms being reimagined and the love being celebrated through her engagement pieces.”
In this cozy space, Worthington meets with clients at a bleached vintage table to discuss their individual desires and what they envision for their piece. She sources the diamonds on memo and offers up three to four options and presents the pros and cons of each while keeping in mind the budget. From there, once the client selects the stone, Worthington sends them a CAD of the design for approval.
“I am doing the designing but outsource a good bit of the bench jeweler labor now to friends from jewelry school who are in the industry,” she says. “Anything I create, whether it’s bridal or engagement is custom. I don’t have stock stones and so I source according to the clients’ needs and wants. No two couples are the same and neither are the designs.”
The final product is usually complete within four to six weeks. Worthington also breathes new life into heirloom jewelry.
“I think because it’s just me, I am really able to sit down and connect with my clients whether it’s to repurpose something old or create something new,” she says. “I really didn’t set out to start a jewelry business, but what [I’m doing] is super personal. My jewelry is easy. Dainty. Everyday. I just try to stay true to what I like.”
(2182 Bandywood Dr., 615-589-4945; brookeworthingtonjewelry.com)
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