Designer Spotlight: Aaron Ruff of Digby & Iona

I first discovered the Digby & Iona through the Brooklyn-based jewelry shop, Catbird. I was instantly smitten with the line's quirky pieces - like the Big Bunny Ring - and the pretty gem pieces - like the Atreyu ring. 
 
The man behind the beautiful jewelry line is Aaron Ruff.  As a young boy, Aaron was fascinated with the idea of stumbling upon hidden treasures and unearthing ancient relics. Today, he transforms the beautiful treasures and trinkets from his mind’s eye into stunning and sometimes quirky jewelry. Created in 2006, and named after two quiet seaside towns in Nova Scotia,  Digby & Iona represents Aaron’s connection with the small province and wanting to maintain a level of anonymity.

Read on as Aaron offers us glimpse into his day-to-day life in his Brooklyn studio, where he draws his inspiration, and how his childhood fantasies influence his work. Once you've seen his work, you too will be dying to get your hands on a Digby & Iona piece.  I for one can't take my eye off of that Bunny ring!

Let's start at the beginning. How did you get into jewelry design? Are you formally trained, self-taught, or some combination of the two?  

I took a class when I was in school for furniture design. After graduating and a few years of running a wood shop, I started messing around with jewelry again - and from there is was a lot of trial and error.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? 

Almost all of my work is historically based - whether it's a specific time and event, like the current collection, war of 1812, or just based on the feel of a period, like the wanderer series.

Who would your dream client be? 

Well, the practical answer would be someone with unlimited budget and love for gems! But in reality I don't have an ideal. I really enjoy working on custom pieces because each one reflects the client's personality and presents a different challenge.

Being a jewelry designer, what do you like best about your job? What are some of the trials or toughest parts of running your own business? 

Being able to set my own hours and design what ever comes into my head is a pretty ideal way to work. The hard part is always the paper work. This presented the greatest learning curve, for me, since they don't really prepare you for that aspect in design school.

What is your typical day like? 

It really varies depending on whether I'm designing a new collection or working on any custom jobs that day. I generally split my time between the bench working on jewelry and the computer.
 

If you could go back and give your 20-year-old self some advice, what would it be? 

A few business classes would have gone a long way, although my 20-year-old self would probably have just ignored me.