ABOUT
Meet the maker and designer behind
Lena Zaric Jewelry
As true of any artist, my experiences intensely inform my work. I believe this is what makes handmade jewelry meaningful: It carries the history of the maker within it.
My history begins in the Balkans, where I grew up in Serbia. I spent my childhood traveling around Europe and absorbing my homeland’s art and architecture, remnants of the Roman and Ottoman Empires.
The flowing forms and profound symbolism that surrounded me sparked a lifelong appreciation for art. After a few years modeling in Milan, I attended The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where I first fell in love with creating physical art forms, through sculpting.
But it was not a quick leap into hand-carving jewelry from there.
Instead, I felt pulled to move to New York City. And for 20 years, I made the city my home. New York is as much an influence on me now as my formative experiences in Europe.
It wasn’t until I moved to Los Angeles that I ventured into jewelry design—and Lena Zaric Jewelry was born. But looking back, it feels like all my experiences were leading me right to this place.
My work represents a blend of the spiritual with the aesthetic of the old world, inspired by my “cultural mutt” upbringing and decades of meditative practice.
Today, I live in a small town in North San Diego county with my two teenage daughters, who are my biggest teachers. I am a mother, daughter, lover, poet, yogini and a fellow human who’s dedicated to self-discovery.
I like to say I create with feral alchemy. Feral, like Lilith, who refused to be held back by expectation. And alchemy, a mystical process of making.
- Lena
Purchase with Purpose
Lena is dedicated to raising aWEARness with jewelry designed to craft change
aWEARness ; to be adorned with realization and knowledge of self and of our global community
Lena is a true citizen of the world who knows in her heart there is so much more that can be done to heal our planet. She believes we must care for each other globally, and that deep care starts from within. Each piece of Lena’s hand-crafted jewelry is designed to heal the wearer and the world, from initial concept to everyday wear.