Keeping it in the family: Zoe and Morgan

Many people with brothers and sisters would agree that the cliché about never working with animals or small children should also be extended to include one’s siblings.

They know too much, can expose weaknesses and don’t have the distance and diplomacy of strangers.

However, sometimes that closeness creates something amazing, as has been the case with jewellery brand Zoe and Morgan, the brainchild of siblings Zoe, Morgan and Ruth Sibbald.

“I love working with my sisters,” says Morgan. “We are in sync with one another and can be relaxed in a totally different way with each other, as we know we are
all in it for the long haul and totally trust each other.”

The three siblings didn’t always work together in jewellery despite having a jewellery designer, Douglas Sibbald, for a father. Morgan was working in the music business, Ruth was at a modelling agency and Zoe was doing millinery.

“The jewellery element was always there though,” explains Ruth. “Morgan was experimenting with ethnography and making stone jewellery with no metal tools.”

Trip of a lifetime
It was a visit to India that finally pushed jewellery making to the forefront.

“I went to India to visit friends and meet the Dalai Lama,” says Morgan.

“I went to Jaipur and started to buy stones. I had intended to get a pocketful but ended up falling in love with the gems and getting loads.”

Morgan showed the stones to Zoe and they decided to start designing some pieces together. Slowly jewellery making took over from their day jobs and
in 2006 Zoe and Morgan was formed.

It may sound like serendipity, but Morgan always had a keen eye for design, as did Zoe with her millinery background.

“I’d had a go at designing furniture and clothes but for me jewellery has a longer life and relevance,” says Morgan. }

“I didn’t want to make something disposable, such as clothes, which are discarded within such a short space of time. I want to work with a medium that extends beyond trends.”

Standout style
The first collection was based around graphic logos called kamon, which are Japanese crests or heraldic symbols.

Zoe and Morgan created its own mon with hearts and arrows, themes that are still in the brand’s DNA.

“I think we made something that was really different to what was on the market at that point,” says Morgan. “Within three months of designing our first piece we had people like Claudia Schiffer writing us cheques. None of this came through connections or money we had either; it happened because people liked what we were doing.”

Such was the success of the brand that, with Ruth now also on board, they decided to launch a fine jewellery collection in 2008.

“We have always designed things that we loved and not wanted to follow seasonal trends,” says Morgan. “I love that our jewellery has an heirloom quality and that good pieces can have a life well beyond the original owner.

“Fine jewellery is exciting to make because you know the pieces will have a long life. We have always loved and been influenced by antique jewellery so we wanted to make pieces that would look cool in 50 or 100 years time.”

And these are certainly pieces that will. It is fine jewellery for people who want longevity without any hint of twee. The Zoe and Morgan signature is there in the skulls or swallows on the shoulders of rings but the collection has a definite fine jewellery opulence to it.

World of influences
In keeping with their international lifestyles, Morgan currently lives in Southeast Asia, while Zoe is in New Zealand and Ruth is in London - the influences on the collections are myriad.

Autumn 11 was based on tattoo art, while spring 12 is inspired by travellers and explorers and contains references to tribal jewellery and textile patterns.

“It isn’t referencing any culture specifically but we wanted to create designs that were graphic yet had a lightness and delicacy to them. It also has that element of Zoe and Morgan jewellery where the more you look at the piece the more you discover.”

Despite the size of the brand, Morgan still carves 90% of the waxes by hand.

“In the beginning we did everything ourselves but even with relatively small orders it was really hard,” says Morgan. “Now we have a small team that can do the polishing and soldering, while I work primarily on making new masters.”

Coming at a cost
Unsurprisingly, as with everyone over the past year, the brand has been affected by the rising metal prices.

“It’s hard to see our profits shrinking overnight and it’s annoying to think it’s all being creamed off our entire industry by some greedy speculators who gamble with commodities,” says Morgan.

“Speculators do nothing positive for our industry. The profits they make bring a lot of negative social effects and they have no responsibility for them. I have seen so many big jewellery factories in Asia close in the last few years; they just can’t make money anymore. The positive side to it is that silver is more respected now than it was before and the whole tatty side to the market is almost gone forever.”

However, it seems that, if its current reputation is anything to go by, Zoe and Morgan will be able to weather this storm. Its jewellery is regularly featured in consumer magazines and seen on the necks, wrists and fingers of the cool and quirky, plus the private commissions side of the business is also doing well.

For most people, working with your siblings will only lead to arguments and animosity, but for Zoe, Ruth and Morgan it has lead to magic.

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