Happy Valentine's Day lovers! To celebrate we asked a few members of our team to share their stories of love.
Meet our designers and founders, Claire and Greg. The love story behind Meadowlark.
How did you meet?
Claire: We met through friends, online at first and then we finally hung out in person, and we have been in love ever since.
Greg: We started chatting online, having mutual friends, I messaged her one day and from there we chatted everyday for months, before finally meeting in person.
What is the thing you love most about each other?
Claire: I love so much about Greg! I love his intelligence, he is full of interesting knowledge and is super open to my unusual perspectives, I love our conversations. I love his kindness, he cares for us infinitely and unconditionally. I really am so lucky and I never forget that.
Greg: I love her sense of humour and her sense of fairness. I love the way she sees the world as a place that needs beauty in it. I love her warmth. I love her creativity, she will have ideas and vision that I can't fathom where it comes from. It's like being blindsided with a whole new perspective from out of nowhere. Her ideas and the way her creativity works is so good and although she would disclaim her talents, it is a thing to behold.
What does love mean to you?
Claire: Love for me is full acceptance of who someone is, no matter what someone is going through and how they behave, you still love & support them just as they are and allow them to be their full self, flaws & all. I hope my closest friends know I love them like this too.
Greg: For me, love is a sense of being connected via harmony, although it's more like a synergy. It's a lot of different things within that though, there's a sense of warmth and a sense of trust. There's a mix of needing someone and of helping them and of accepting help. Love is a level of intimacy where you can care, understand & accept each other and have that back in return.
What piece of jewellery would you gift each other?
Claire: Greg only ever wears his wedding ring that we designed together, so I'm not sure if he would wear anything else, but I would give him a personalised signet ring, covered on all areas with engravings that hold meanings of our love and our family.
Greg: I would give Claire one of our limited edition pearl necklaces, no.7 I think. The asymmetry and the very nature of pearls implies an imperfection, yet they are an elegant modern, as well as classical, creative expression. I also like the idea of each pearl representing a life event, small and repetitive, and then sometimes suddenly large and unusual...
Meet Kirana, our Showroom Manager and her best friend, Eva.
How did you meet?
Kirana: We went to the same high school but later became friends through friends. I used to turn up at Eva’s flat in Newtown as a baby 18 year old and party there every weekend!
Eva: In the hallways of high school in Wellington. We were a couple of years apart, and became proper friends post-high school.
What is the thing you love most about each other?
Kirana: I love Eva’s intense loyalty to her friends. She always gives you her undivided attention and all her heart. Eva makes me feel like I am at home whenever I am with her. She often comes over to my house and gets straight into my bed and we have no option but to watch a movie and order Uber Eats. She makes everyone feel warm with her laugh and her hugs and she has a big brain! I love Eva.
Eva: I love how Kirana is and has been for as long as I've known her, so unabashedly herself. She’s confident, talented, silly and hilarious. I’ve had the honour of getting to know the soft gooey parts beneath her (sometimes) tough exterior. She has the biggest heart. I’ve always been able to be deeply honest with Kirana without fear of judgement. Any time I’m with Kirana, even if it’s a so-called ‘bad day’, it ends up being lovely in its own special way. I love the hugs Kirana gives. I love her ruthless honesty. I love Kirana.
What does love mean to you?
Kirana: Love to me is something that sees through the day and night, hours, minutes, seconds, through the silences of life and through all of the mess. It’s always there. Friendship love sees it all, especially the ugly crying over a break up in a kebab shop at 3am.
Eva: Love’s definitely not as glamorous as it’s made out to be, but it is pretty miraculous. A friend once told me that love is the combination of respect and admiration. Plenty of things flow out under those terms – care, understanding, joy, selflessness, and so on, but those two are the key ingredients. I think I agree? When I think about the people I love deeply, it’s because I respect and admire the way they think, act and care about the world around them. Friendship love is especially miraculous, because you choose to love one another through it all.
What piece of jewellery would you gift each other?
Kirana: A matching Melrose Charm Necklace with an engraving. Then I would gift Eva a Claude Ring with Green Sapphire.
Eva: We agreed on a matching piece, the Melrose Charm Necklace with an engraving. Also the Hera Hoops for Kirana because hoops are a staple for her.
Meet Taylor, our Showroom and Dispatch Assistant and her wife, Kelsey.
How did you meet?
Taylor: Typical of 21st century couples but we met (officially) via Instagram. I knew of Kelsey through a few mutual friends that had been tattooed by her but I had no idea what she looked like. One weekend we were both at a market and spotted each other unknowingly - once I figured out who she was I was definitely intrigued. About a week later I got a follow and message from her on Instagram, we started chatting and I guess you can say the rest is history!
What is the thing you love most about each other?
Taylor: I love her big heart. Although she is seemingly very stoic on the outside, her kind and generous spirit really shines once you’re a part of her inner circle.
Kelsey: I have never felt so loved and understood until I met Taylor. She makes you feel like the most supported and loved person in the world.
What does love mean to you?
Taylor: Love is the intent to wake up every day and choose each other above all else. It is being kind, patient and understanding towards one another - and making lots of coffee!
Kelsey: Love is always choosing one another. You have to put in the work everyday to be better for each other and wearing your heart on your sleeve.
What piece of jewellery would you gift each other?
Taylor: I would gift Kelsey the Wilshire Signet Ring. It’s a timeless piece for the person who loves quiet luxury and I feel like it would last a lifetime as a reminder of my love for her.
Kelsey: I would gift Taylor the Claude Ring and Claude Band. They are classic styles that can represent two different pieces that fit together perfectly. The shape is soft & feminine and that really reminds me of her.