STYLE//Nature + Nurture: Aroc Urtu Jewelry

*UPDATE: Aroc Urtu can now be found at several NYC stores and their new site www.arocurtu.com!”

We’ve been using jewelry from the new line, aroc urtu on photo shoots for some time now, but it had always been our little secret. Crafted from hand chosen beach and river rocks combined with fine gems, the necklaces and bracelets fit nicely into any wardrobe. At last, Lauren Bergman, the designer behind aroc urtu has launched an Etsy shop just in time for Valentine’s Day gifting, but really they are appropriate for any occasion involving a unique present! Who wouldn’t want a beautiful stone accented by either diamonds, rubies, sapphires, or emeralds? Lauren also uses high quality leather and recycled 18 carat gold findings to accent each piece. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we’d like to share the gamine’s exclusive interview with Lauren. Below is an image of a photo shoot from this past summer in Amagansett where we focused on the beauty of the jewelry.

Photo Credit: Antoine Verglas

the gamine: How did you come up with the name aroc urtu (pronounced: a rock ‘er two)?

Lauren Bergman: Originally, the name was going to be Hampstones because almost all of the stones I had collected were from out in the Hamptons but I wanted a name that was reflective of stones found all over the world. I was standing on the subway platform and saw a train come by with Indian writing that looked like what the logo is now (see above), and it just came to me! I like that it’s playful, it’s about the rocks and the dualism of one being formed by nature and one being a precious gem.

the first step in the aroc urtu process: Lauren collecting the stones!

tg: Once you collected a significant amount of stones, what was the next step in the process?

LB: I had been collecting stones for years and thought, what do I do with them? I wanted to embrace the knowledge I had of fine jewelry and the question was, how do you link a rock with fine jewelry? I played around with design a lot and now with this basic design (the stone with one fine gem), I like the simplicity, the cleanliness and the pure design of gem and rock. I actually used to sit at the bench and create jewelry so I’m accustomed to using the jeweler’s drill, which we use to create aroc urtu.

tg: So now you’ve set up an Etsy shop which we are beyond thrilled about. Who do you see as the typical aroc urtu customer?

LB: I think aroc urtu can be for everyone but most especially for someone who appreciates things that are organic and embraces simplicity and nature. So many of us find special, treasured objects as we go through life and the person that values that can be anybody. The aroc urtu customer is the person that takes real pleasure in finding that special object or in this case, the perfect stone.

tg: Are all of the stones hand collected by you and where do they come from?

LB: Yes with one exception. My mother was also a person who collected special objects; shells, stones, etc. and I recently found a bowl of beautiful, perfect stones from her travels – so I used them. I felt that finding them was a real validation for the whole project. I was just looking in the basement for some stuff and here were these perfect stones. In terms of location, they’ve been collected during trips to places like the Hamptons, Montana, Maine, British Columbia, Bali, and Costa Rica among others. I’ve actually learned quite a bit about geology through this project as well. For instance that the Hamptons is a glacial moraine. This means that it’s at the very end of where the glaciers reach, so it has deposits of stones that come from the arctic as well as lots of variety. These are stones that have been crushed and polished for thousands of years.

For more information on Lauren and aroc urtu visit her etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/arocurtu or the aroc urtu website: www.arocurtu.com. Additionally, Lauren is an accredited artist and you can check out her artwork here. The gamine would like to thank Lauren for giving us so much insight into this project and we expect to see great things from aroc urtu in the future!

On a final side note, we (as in 1/2 of the gamine + boyfriend) made dinner for the girls at one of our favorite cooking sites Big Girls, Small Kitchen last week and our recipes were featured on the blog along with a shout out to the gamine! So for V-Day, buy the one you love a necklace and then cook him or her dinner with our yummy recipes posted here. We promise lots of love in return.