Meet the Calgary founder & designer behind NVR NUDE

In just a few short years, Kelsey Merkeley has built a jewellery brand with a distinct identity, much like the wearer of the collections. Cue NVR NUDE. The Calgary-based fine jewellery brand comprises custom work and made-to-order collections featuring Merkeley’s flair for avant-garde and decadent pieces largely inspired by her world travels and upbringing.

We caught up with the local designer to chat about her inspiration behind the brand, what’s next, and why YYC has been the perfect place to launch her business!

When did you decide you wanted to pursue a career in jewellery?

My two favourite things to do as a child were collect rocks and play dress up. Playing dress up with my sisters at our grandmother's house are some of my best childhood memories. My grandmother was a glamourous woman who epitomized the timeless ideals of beauty expressed by Hepburn, Taylor and Monroe — she was always very well put together, with stacks of jewellery on, a bright pop of pink on her lips, and a neck scarf tied perfectly around her neck. As you can imagine, she kept our playroom very well stocked!

Our grandfather, was a surgeon who volunteered his services to war torn countries. While he was away, he would always bring us home exquisite trinkets from afar. I marvelled in the intricacy and beauty of each culturally distinct object he brought home, all of which I cherish to this day.

It was a deep connection to these beautiful objects and my grandfather’s bravery that inspired me to backpack around the world, which led to me becoming a conservation officer, and then to studying anthropology. While studying anthropology, my focus was on cultural anthropology and ritual adornment. Understanding the significance of adornment as something distinctly human and a quintessential expression of individuality that has the ability connect us to a person, place, or moment in life, paired with the cultural importance of craftsmanship, is what ultimately made me realize that I wanted to become a goldsmith and make jewellery for the rest of my life.

What inspired you to build your own business?

Early on in my Goldsmithing career, I became obsessed with the idea of one day moving to Italy. Florence — the historic heart of the renaissance, to this very day still honours traditional craftsmanship skills, unparalleled anywhere else in the world. When I decided to pursue my Masters in Florence, Italy in 2019, it was a dream come true. Although, unfortunately, my time in Italy, was cut short by Covid 19. As such, I dedicated the “downtime” associated with the pandemic to creating a body of work that honoured, celebrated, and mourned my time in Italy. As the collection evolved, so did the brand and influence of my grandparents and the memories of my childhood. As such, NVR NUDE was born.

NVR NUDE invites women into a world that is culturally curious, artistically inspiring, and creatively clever. The brand serves to celebrate stories, quality craftsmanship, and time-honoured techniques. It empowers women to love themselves, be confident and courageous in themselves, and chase their ambitions. To savour the small sensuous delights that surround them and explore their insatiable curiosities. NVR NUDE helps women express their style and commemorate their personal milestones through playfully sophisticated jewellery with a splash of signature quirk.

Your designs play with a lot of colour and pattern - where do you get your inspiration from?

Signature Stripes is NVR NUDE’s first collection. It is a tribute to time spent in Italy. The pieces celebrate the domed structures and arched bridges of its cities and the bright Mediterranean beach culture of stripes on stripes (umbrellas, lounge chairs, towels, etc.). The sense of the exceptional and the quotidian, which surround us in foreign climes, informed each piece of jewellery in this collection.

What influences did you draw from when creating your own brand?

Small decadent moments that are simple but feel incredibly luxurious. The kinds of things that make you stop and really appreciate life at that moment — feeling sunshine on your cheeks, waking up to a blue sky, your first summer peach, etc. I believe that the sensual resides in the simple and it's these small details that refine into the memories we savour for decades.

Why did you choose Calgary as the city to launch your business?

I have lived all over the world, but in-between my travels I’ve always returned to Calgary. I feel that artists/artisans/brands often feel like they need to move to large centres like Toronto, New York, London, or LA to be successful in the fashion industry. While it’s true that Calgary doesn’t offer the same infrastructure that these larger centres do, the art/fashion scene is vibrant and the emerging talent here is incredible — being a part of this cultural emergence is extremely rewarding, fulfilling and exciting.

What has that experience been like so far?

The Calgary community has been incredibly supportive. Being here allows me to establish personal relationships with my customers and vendors, in a way that larger centres don’t provide. In fact, the relationships run so deep that I’ve been invited to almost all of the weddings I’ve made custom engagement/wedding rings for!

What's next for NVR NUDE?

Currently, NVR NUDE is running a campaign until April 30, 2023. In celebration of Her Majesty's legacy, NVR NUDE is crafting 70 special edition commemorative rings in honour of the Queen’s reign with 50% of the proceeds going towards the Canadian Cancer Society, a charity long supported by Queen Elizabeth II.

This limited-edition series was created not only to honour Queen Elizabeth II, but to celebrate the virtue of the 7,000 Albertans, and numerous other Canadians, who recently received Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for making a significant contribution to Canada. The award honours contributions to the community through outstanding citizenship, leadership, public service and voluntary endeavours.

The Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Ring

The exquisite commemorative ring features scintillating round and princess, brilliant cut, white and dark blue cubic zirconias, paired next to freshwater pearls on an elegant band of sterling silver. Each ring will be engraved with a limited-edition sequence number, making it a perfect keepsake for the collector in your life. The ring is priced at $500 CAD and our funding goal is $10,000 CAD.

NVR NUDE has also partnered with Wings of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation, to create an exclusive line of jewellery to support low-income families living with Breast Cancer. Everything in the collection is priced under $325.

In a nut shell, NVR NUDE is focused on creating partnerships with retailers worldwide, creating brand awareness locally, and creating charitable partnerships within Calgary that give back to our community members who are in need.

ABOUT KELSEY MERKELEY + NVR NUDE

NVR NUDE founder and designer, Kelsey Merkeley.

Within its first year, NVR NUDE has become widely recognized for its impeccable design and craftsmanship, having recently been featured in WWD, noted as a Rising Star by JA New York and MJSA, and selected by Toronto Fashion Incubator (FTI) as one of 17 Canadian brands to be showcased through its wholesale platform, Showroom Canada in partnership with JOOR"

Kelsey is not only one of Canada's top fine jewellery designers, but she is also a professor at the Alberta University for the Arts and has been the recipient of the International Jewellery Design Excellence Award and Canada Council for the Arts Research and Creation Grant. As a designer and a female entrepreneur, Kelsey has a unique story that lends to her ambition and creative edge.