Sancy and Regent is the brainchild of two sisters, Emily and Katy. Emily Long is currently studying for a Masters in the History of Decorative Arts and Design at Parsons. This background aids her conviction that jewelry is more than simple accessory and its stories and histories are integral to its appreciation. After working as the Jewelry Editor at Russian Vogue for several years, Katy felt there were too many talented designers being under-and misrepresented and she saw something could be done about it.

Together the two decided a platform needed to be established that would suitably present jewellery designers’ artistic ingenuity and inspirations. Sancy and Regent is dedicated to representing its designers and their creations to their full extent, where the aesthetic, historical, cultural and design are duly considered.

Katy resides in London while Emily currently lives in New York and both relish the opportunity to visit the other. This love for travel transcribes into Sancy and Regent’s eclectic geography of designers, including: 1064 Goldsmith’s Guild (Moscow), Finn (New York), Dalila Barkache (Beirut/Paris), Nora Kogan (Brooklyn), Line and Jo (Copenhagen), Abraxas Rex (LA/New York), Magdalena Tello (London), Sabina Kasper (Stockholm), Ursa Major (New York).

Below, Emily Long answers some questions about the innovative online portal, which re-imagines jewelry as a design practice rather than an accessory.

What current project are you at work on? 

I direct an online platform and e-commerce space presenting a small curation of some of today’s most inspiring and talented fine jewelry designers. The whole ethos is to present their individuality and artistic ingenuity authentically, as legitimate works of art. I’m currently considering doing an exhibition or limited physical presentation in New York. There are some really inspiring jewelry designers in London currently and I’d love to highlight them over here.

What inspired this project?   

Earlier this year Sancy and Regent exhibited a presentation for our first collection of designers in Marylebone, Central London. It was so exhilarating to put something ethereal and intangible like an online presence into a physical space. This was a collaboration with retail design agency Sheridan and Co. They created a blank canvas of a space for us, which worked so well with our gallery initiative, and then we displayed the jewelry by creating a sort of architecture out of various clear rectangular and square boxes. It was all very geometric and clean. The theme was ‘Love & Logic’ so the idea was to present a dichotomy of beautifully delicate pieces on a minimalist—almost mathematical— framework.

Technology is about taking natural and spatial ideas we have of the world and altering them for a new design platform. We chose to use a website because the possibilities it allows are so exciting and being contemporary, in terms of our designers and minimalist aesthetic, it made sense, but then to reverse that process and bring these conceptual ideas to life was a completely different and rewarding project.

Do you find connections between these projects and your current, future, or recent work for Parsons? 

Absolutely.  My entire approach to jewelry is influenced by my studies in the MA History of Decorative Arts and Design program. For instance, the idea that we must take a holistic approach to understanding pieces of jewelry is integral to what we do at Sancy and Regent. By “holistic”, I mean expressing the whole story, including the designer’s influences, culture, art, and various histories. I’m also hoping to focus on the idea of relationships between people and their possessions in my thesis and I think this is particularly pertinent to jewelry because of both the physical and sentimental connections we form with certain pieces.

How have New York’s resources contributed to your current work? 

Almost half of the designers we represent are from New York (Nora Kogan, Ursa Major, Abraxas Rex and Finn) so the creativity of New York’s inhabitants and the constant stream of inspiration the city gives to them is a massive contribution to us. We are first and foremost inspired by the designers we work with so really any culture they take from is of significance to us, and it’s important we convey these in the stories we tell.

If you are at the culmination of a project, do you have plans for your next endeavors?  What should we look out for from you in the future?

I wish to continue finding more talented designers, perhaps expanding to an even more diverse collection of origins, and to keep encouraging them to present their ideas in the best possible way. I would also be interested in creating a platform to help customers find suitable and corresponding jewelry designers for their bespoke commissions. I know the designers delight in the opportunity to create on such a personal and individual level.  This would also offer a unique experience for the customers to get a piece created just for them from a promising designer of such talent just as they begin to make their mark on the jewelry world. I also sense that bespoke jewelry is going to continue and grow in appeal to those who want something truly unique, which is an idea Sancy and Regent is sensitive to, and which serves as a major criterion for us as curators.