Most people show up to their first consultation with me clutching their phone like a life raft. They've got forty Pinterest screenshots and a half-formed idea of what they want. That's perfect. I'd rather have that than someone walking in with a polished moodboard and zero flexibility, because the second person usually ends up disappointed when reality bumps against the inspiration photo.

Here's what actually helps when you come see me.

Bring the photos. All of them. The ones you love, the ones that almost work, and especially the ones you keep going back to even though you can't say why. Those "almost" pictures are gold. They tell me more about your taste than the favorites do, because the gap between what you almost like and what you actually want is where the real design lives.

If you have an old piece — your grandmother's ring, an engagement ring you've outgrown, a brooch nobody wears — bring it. Even if you don't want to use the stones or the gold, I want to see how the piece is made. Old jewelry is full of clues. The way someone set a stone in 1962 tells me what your grandmother valued, and that often tells me something about you too. And if we are using the materials, I need to actually look at them. Photos don't show me whether a stone has a chip on the girdle or whether the prongs have worn down to nothing.

Bring the ring you wear most often. Your daily ring, whatever it is. I want to see what you've already chosen to live with, because that's the most honest version of your taste. People will tell me they love big statement rings while wearing a thin gold band that's clearly become part of their hand. The ring on your finger right now is the one I trust.

Sizing matters more than you think

If we're making something you'll wear, I need your actual finger size on a normal day — not after a salty dinner, not after a hot yoga class on Montana Avenue when your hands are puffy. If you don't know it, that's fine. We'll size you in the studio. But if you're flying in from out of town and we only have one appointment, get sized at any decent jeweler before you come. Saves us a step.

For surprise engagement rings: borrow a ring she already wears on the correct finger and bring it. I can size from a worn ring more accurately than from a guess.

A real budget

This is the part nobody wants to talk about, and it's the part that determines almost everything. The diamond, the metal, the complexity of the setting — every decision keys off of what you want to spend.

I'd rather you tell me you want to spend $4,000 and I'll show you what's possible at $4,000, than have you tell me $10,000 because you think that's the right answer and then panic when we get to the invoice. There is no embarrassing budget. I've made beautiful pieces at $1,800. I've made pieces at $40,000. The honest number is more useful than the impressive one.

If you don't know what's reasonable, ask me at the start. I'll tell you what your idea actually costs in five minutes, and we can adjust from there.

What you don't need to bring

You don't need a finished design. Honestly, please don't bring me a fully drawn rendering you commissioned somewhere else. I'd rather hear what you want it to feel like than what you want it to look like. The best client briefs I've ever gotten were one sentence long. "I want it to feel like my mother's hands." "Something I could wear gardening." "Subtle, but not boring."

Same goes for the technical vocabulary. People come in apologizing because they don't know the difference between a bezel and a half-bezel, and I always tell them — that's literally my job. I'll explain whatever you need to know as we go. No homework required.

The last thing, and most people don't expect this: a consultation is not a sales appointment. I keep my Santa Monica studio appointment-only on purpose. There's no pressure to commit on the day. We talk, I show you stones if it makes sense, and you go home and think about it. Custom takes time. The decision should too.

If you want to come in and start the conversation, you can reach out here and we'll find a time.