Fresh from debuting her new fine jewellery brand Louise Petersen at Paris Fashion Week, Louise Stokes of Loulerie gives us an exclusive insight into her next chapter …
Louise Stokes has a rebellious streak. Whether it’s wearing contraband nail polish in secondary school, or starting an outlier jewellery business, her inclination is to go against the grain. “To be honest, when I look back it was a total rejection of all rules,” Stokes says of starting her own brand. “Every time there’s been a shift and I’ve faced a challenge – a recession, COVID – my instinct has always been to go left of centre. Maybe it’s just the stubborn part of my personality,” she says. Stubbornness, or simply an innate grit, it’s a quality that’s paid off as Stokes’ jewellery boutique Loulerie celebrates 19 years in business this year. Spot its awning adding elegance to Chatham Street, where it’s become a treasured staple in its cosy nook of town, just off Grafton Street and adjacent to The Westbury.
It’s a brand, however, that has a global seed. Stokes’ life in jewellery began while interning in New York at Alexis Bittar. Following that was a five-year stint at a fine jewellery brand, before she returned to Ireland and established Loulerie at age 27. The year was 2007. At the time, the jewellery aesthetic in Ireland leaned heavily into the traditional. “Investment pieces were diamond studs, eternity bands or engagement rings,” she says. Loulerie soon became known as a go-to for stocking international names that had both a refinement and a sense of sprezzatura: brands like Alexis Bittar, Mignonne Gavigan, Pearl Octopuss.y, Lié Studio and, most recently, Lebanese designer Joanna Laura Constantine. There’s also been a series of successful collaborations with Irish fashion influencer Erika Fox. In 2017, Stokes established Loulerie’s in-house line of fashion jewellery, which continues to be a key pillar of the business.
Crafted in 14 carat yellow gold and set with natural diamonds, the Seafoam Ring (pictured on the centre of the right hand) is an ode to the natural landscape of both Ireland and Denmark.
“I often think of our pieces as the Isabel Marant of jewellery,” she says. The comparison is an apt one: each Loulerie piece feels of-the-moment, but can also be styled in a very timeless way. Plus, there’s a sense of character that lingers: something that’s often lacking in the age of quiet luxury. It’s this notion that brought Stokes to her new baby: for the last eighteen months, she’s been incubating Louise Petersen, a new fine jewellery brand. Last month, it debuted to prospective buyers on the showroom circuit at Paris Fashion Week and Stokes is still riding high. “I was on the other side of the table, not on the buyer’s side where everyone offers you champagne and Diet Coke, and it was amazing because I thought, right, if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it in [a] world class [way],” she says.
The idea for fine jewellery came about organically. Stokes is no stranger to making pieces in the upper echelon of luxury: in 2010, a customer requested a piece, and fine jewellery has been part of the Loulerie world ever since. Rather than sitting under the Loulerie umbrella, however, Stokes felt that in order to properly realise this new chapter it needed an identity of its own: a proverbial wiping of the slate. She enlisted the help of France-born, London-based consultant Valery Demure – whose agency is known for nurturing high-end jewellery brands – and a new era was born.
The Triple Wave Diamond Earrings, crafted in 14 carat gold, are “designed to feel fluid and expressive”, according to the brand.
The brand’s highly-skilled all-female team includes an Irish gemologist trained at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). There’s also Brazilian artist and creative collaborator Fernanda, who stars in the campaign shots (pictured throughout). The Loulerie ethos has always been about female empowerment, so this feels apt. In fact, it all feels a bit full circle. Nearly two decades of building her own business have led to this. “I think everything I’ve been doing for the last 19 years has been my learning ground for this. Because if I’d done it in the beginning, I wouldn’t have made all the mistakes and know what I want from a brand,” she says. The timing feels right.
The pieces feel suitably covetable, too. The 15-piece collection comprises wave-like curve earrings inspired by the Irish sea, delicate diamonds and satin-finish gold that has incredible texture. If she had to sum up the collection in three words? They would be “soft, feminine and emotive”. Inspiration comes from the raw beauty of seafoam, from walks taken on the West Pier, not far from her home in Blackrock, and summers spent with her husband’s family by the beach in Denmark. Her favourite item is a gold signet ring that looks like it has a natural spray of diamonds, as if the metal has been kissed by a spray of seawater. 18 carat gold and bridal pieces are all part of the plan, too. “For me, it’s not just jewellery. It has to be the world that it sits in, too,” she says. The Louise Petersen world will incorporate art and nature; things that ignite Stokes’ creative fire.
A single pearl is suspended on a 14 carat yellow gold chain.
The surname Petersen is borrowed from Stokes’ mother-in-law Pia Bang, the Danish-born fashion designer who had stores on Grafton Street and South Anne Street. The name has been in Bang’s family for generations. Unsurprisingly, Stokes is a Danophile. The culture, the lifestyle and the aesthetic all appeal. Does she think Danish women and Irish women have an aesthetic overlap? “Absolutely. Both are influenced by the same climate and by nature. Irish women are brave with colour and silhouette too, much like the people you see on the scene in Copenhagen,” she says. Stokes’ style is a different kind of hybrid. A love of her adopted home of Denmark, fused with 1990s New York minimalism, the era that gave her her design awakening.
Family life centres around holidays on Denmark’s northern coastline each August with her in-laws. The raw beauty of the landscape never fails to inspire her. “It’s funny because I’ve been going there for 20 years. But I never thought about it consciously, like, ‘Oh, this has really shaped my aesthetic.’ It was only when my team came to visit recently that I realised, of course, the Danish side of things – being effortless with what you wear, picking flowers in the garden for the table – it’s all there,” she says. Summer life in Denmark is simple. “It’s cashmere sweaters that you might find in the house and a pair of linen shorts. The days are long because it’s so bright. We cycle to the bakery or trawl the markets on a Saturday,” she says.
A signet ring is sculpted in 14 carat yellow gold and set with natural diamonds to reflect the rhythm and textures of the sea.
Has her mother-in-law ever imparted any style advice? More by osmosis. “There’s a store in Denmark, that sells investment coats and beautiful knits, that we’re both obsessed with. More so, when we’re in Denmark, she often asks me to water the sweet pea, which is a job I take very seriously!” Stokes cites Copenhagen brand Sophie Bille Brahe as inspiration. Art is a big source of creative nourishment, too. “I love Joseph Walsh’s sculptures,” she says. Minimalism is a key part of her design ethos. But she finds its current trendy iteration off-putting. “Minimalism now represents this false sense of perfection; I’m not interested in that,” she says. The coolest way to wear fine jewellery is more human. “It’s those French women sitting next to you in a coffee shop. They might have a ring on every finger or they’ll have six bracelets and probably two are from their grandmother,” she says.
The Louise Petersen collection will be available to buy in store and online from late September, with more pieces being added in autumn. Passionate about taking her existing Loulerie customer on this new journey, Stokes introduced the brand at a fine jewellery dinner for her clients late last year. “It was important we thanked our existing customer first,” she says. The rest is all about looking forward. We’ve no doubt this new venture will inspire.
www.loulerie.com; @louisepetersenfinejewellery; @louisestokes
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