In the past you've worked exclusively with natural materials, such as leather and silver. Why the switch in this new line to something synthetic like Gore-Tex?

The Gore-Tex is insane in the sense that it will last forever and I love that, because I love to surf in it and I love for people to wear it and not take it off. It will never have to be restrung or anything. The new jewels are cool because my forms and shapes are natural and organic and the contrast with Gore-Tex is beautiful. The pieces look very delicate. In reality they're incredibly strong.

There also seems to be a "primitive" influence in your designs.

A lot of people say that and I 'm a little bit ignorant in that I don't study cultures. I think the Native American and African jewelry is brilliant, but I don't study it. I think it's unique unto itself too, because it's inspired by something so pure.

Is it true that you name your pieces?

I have to name them. They're little creatures, each one its own "self"... They adapt themselves to each individual's style, and become part of that person.

Where do the names come from?

I name them after exactly what they remind me of at that instant. Vera here looks like slices of aloe vera. She's such a Vera. These new kids – the water spider, the sea swimmer, the rhino horn – they're definitely animal plant flower kind of things. Definitely the base of inspiration is nature.

How did such a nature lover wind up in New York City?

I was so lost in high school, my career counselor was just like, "Don't bother applying to schools," because my grades were so bad. Then a friend of mine who lived here in NY said, "Come on down," and I said, "Cool," and that was it. I was a freak. All I did was skate and hang out. A friend of mine and I used to sell juggling sticks by the side of the road. I had like a hundred pairs made and I was going to sell them all. BAD business move. I still have fifty pair.

How did you make the transition from juggler to jeweler?

I just started taking classes at Parsons trying to figure out what I wanted to do. It was kind of a fluke how I got into the product design department, which is a lot of different things. Furniture, metal working... I started working with metal and I was like, "Wow, this is something that I really like." and I had never had that, because I hated high school. I always liked art in my art classes, but I had no idea what I wanted to do.

When I started working with metal and building things it was like, "This is definitely right". I felt at home. When I was in school, I got my first Barneys order and then it just kind of took off from there. I solicited them and I don't know how I did it, because I'm really shy, but I just called them up and said (in a high soft whisper), "Hi, I'm Jill..." When I graduated I continued showing them stuff a couple times a year, and they continued buying it.

They must have been very impressed to take a chance on someone still in school.

Our relationship has slowly evolved over 7-8 years. Barneys has been a positive outlet for me, it's where I've built a solid clientele. It takes time to grow. It takes time to learn the business and time to build a name for yourself.

Now that you've made a name for yourself and the workload has intensified, how has all the attention affected your work?

It's affected my work in that I haven't had time to try out the jewelry. That's such a big thing for me – the comfort, how does it feel on your body, how does it fall on your body and how does the weight feel. I've been doing it for long enough that I have some base formulas I know work, but it's still too fast. For instance, these bracelets are going over to the showroom Monday and I'm like, "I don't want them to go over there! They're not ready, they're not ready for the world yet."

You sound very attached to your jewelry...

Every one is my favorite piece when I first make it. I definitely have love affairs with my pieces and then you have to give them away, it's hard. But I want people to know about the jewels, and wear them and love them. It's wild to walk down the street and see someone wearing one of my "kids." It makes it all worthwhile.

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