About Virginie

Virginie is the one-woman-show running everything at Whimsy Jewelry. She designs, hand fabricates and enamels light-hearted and colorful pieces of jewelry in the form of visual storytelling. Her creations are made up of nostalgic childhood memories filled with joy, surprises and messages for the curious and whimsical child at heart in each adult. 

Originary from Normandy, France, she moved to Paris to study physics and chemistry engineering only to realize she needed something more hands-on and artistic to fulfill her creative drive and constantly flowing stream of ideas. She took adult classes for traditional metalsmithing at the renowned Ecole Boulle in Paris and fell in love with the beauty and the poetry of the craftsmanship. Understanding the right gesture, posture and techniques gave her a profound admiration for the handmade quality. 

Moving to New York in 2010, she decided to take a leap of faith and launch her jewelry brand and work on it full time. She took more classes in NYC with Klaus Bürgel for hollow construction techniques and in a Bangkok jewelry studio to improve her kinetic fabrication skills. She started doing shows all around the US and getting recognition for her playful designs.

Virginie is passionate about color combinations and their effect on our mood so she conveys emotions through unique enamel associations bringing her colorful signature look to life. Her goal with her Whimsy Jewelry is to transmit her French “joie de vivre” and confer positivity and smile to her customers and the people around her. Wearing her whimsical yet elegant creations is like putting on a happy mood: it will bring a smile to your face and spark conversations around you.

Photos credit: Constance Faulk for Made in NYC / Pratt Center