Background

Jewelry has been the most enduring expression of Nicole Penn’s uniquely creative and intuitive design sensibility. Synthesizing organic and mechanical elements in the subtle details of her jewelry, Nicole draws inspiration from contemporary art, architecture, industrial design, and classic cars—a longtime personal passion of hers. In each piece Nicole creates she finds the balance between timelessness and contemporary influences, rigid industrial design and the feminine fluidity of fine jewelry.

Nicole’s longstanding love for the process of creating instinctively led her to gain a holistic understanding of the technical side of jewelry making. When Nicole moved to New York City from Arizona her persistence to make her dream become a reality led her to an unpaid internship at Fragments, which quickly turned into a full-time position. Nicole spent 7 years designing their highly successful private label line sold in Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, and Anthropologie, among many other high-profile retailers. Nicole immersed herself in this dynamic environment and leveraged her knowledge of the construction of jewelry pieces. This skill is pervasive in all of Nicole’s designs and allows her to put innovative details in the piece she makes.

After a year off to travel, Nicole was eager to get back to designing but this time on her own terms. Whether it’s in art, music, fashion, or film Nicole identifies with the inspired originality of the outliers. Not unusual for the sake of it, but approaching her creative process with a different outlook because it catalyzes creativity in a way that is genuine and instinctive to Nicole.

Nicole is fascinated by purposeful design—jewelry that functions as beautifully as it adorns. Her simultaneous curiosity about math, science, and how things work combined with a distinctive visual palette from her upbringing in Arizona, as well as her varied travel experiences, manifest in how Nicole has created the jewelry of Probably French. The line is produced by hand in 18K gold and diamonds by a close team of artisans in New York City’s Diamond District. Probably French challenges the pervasiveness of logo mania and fast fashion by creating jewelry that is elegantly modern in its design and thoughtfully crafted in its creation.