Meet Leslie Grant
Source: Bold Journey Magazine | Published August 4, 2026
Bold Journey Magazine recently sat down with our founder and designer, Leslie Grant, for an in-depth conversation about the story behind Leslie Herbert Jewelry. In the feature, Leslie shares how her lifelong love of art, design, and craftsmanship led her to bespoke jewelry — a path she describes as a gradual realization that she was "happiest when creating something that would outlast me."
The interview explores Leslie's design philosophy: every custom piece begins with nothing more than a conversation and a sketch, shaped around a client's personality, milestones, and memories. As she puts it, "I believe jewelry should be deeply personal — not something selected from a display case, but something created with intention and purpose." Leslie also opens up about the three qualities that have guided her journey — curiosity, perseverance, and a commitment to lifelong learning — and shares her perspective on one of the industry's biggest challenges today: helping clients understand the difference between mass-produced jewelry and truly custom, handcrafted work.
Looking ahead, Leslie discusses her plans to expand her bespoke collection with designs inspired by American craftsmanship and heritage, guided by a simple goal: "to create extraordinary jewelry with lasting meaning — pieces that people will treasure today and proudly pass on tomorrow."
Meet Leslie Grant
Source: CanvasRebel Magazine | Published January 21, 2026
CanvasRebel Magazine spoke with Leslie Grant about the risk she took building Leslie Herbert Jewelry without a traditional jewelry background. "I didn't have mentors opening doors or a built-in network showing me how to price, produce, source or sell," she shared. "What I had was an instinct... a deep creative pull toward making wearable art pieces that felt personal, powerful and beautiful." That instinct, paired with years of self-taught learning in sourcing, fabrication, and gemology, has grown into a studio she describes simply: "Leslie Herbert Jewelry is about intention, craftsmanship and confidence — creating jewelry that is meant to be worn, lived in and loved."
The conversation also touches on how the business has grown without a traditional storefront. Leslie credits word-of-mouth and the trust of her clients as her greatest source of new business, noting, "In many ways, my clients are my storefront!" She reflects on resilience as the thread running through her entire journey — "working past limitations and staying committed to doing things well, even when progress felt slow" — and offers a lesson for anyone building something of their own: "If you stay focused on quality and keep showing up, you can build something meaningful — one piece at a time."
From Sketch to Sparkle
Source: Southbank Living Magazine (Best Version Media) | August 2026 Issue | By Elliot Schirmer | Photos by Brittany Bays
Southbank Living's cover feature takes readers inside Leslie Grant's Covington, Kentucky home and studio, tracing the personal story behind Leslie Herbert Jewelry. Leslie and her husband, Jim, moved to Covington from San Diego and quickly fell for the historic homes, craftsmanship, and close-knit community of MainStrasse Village — a place that has grown into the backdrop for major milestones in their life together. "Every year, our connection to the city grows stronger and we feel fortunate to call Covington home," Leslie shares.
The article traces Leslie's creative path — from a childhood passion for art through careers in fashion and interior design — to founding Leslie Herbert Jewelry in 2011. Her work today spans an unusually wide range of styles, from heirloom redesigns and engagement rings to biker, gothic, religious, and bohemian-inspired pieces, all built around natural gemstones and precious metals. Her favorite way to describe the process: "From Sketch to Sparkle." As she puts it, "The most rewarding part of my work is playing a small role in my clients' special moments in life. The stories behind each piece and the reasons for creating it are beyond gratifying to me."
The piece also offers a personal look at life outside the studio — Leslie and Jim's six grown children between them, their Newfie-mix rescue dog Gadara, Leslie's travels to thirteen countries, and her love of painting and large-scale mosaic work. It closes with a look at one of her recent projects, a small jewelry collection commemorating America's 250th anniversary, inspired by memories of the nation's Bicentennial celebration in 1976.
Meet Leslie Herbert
Source: ShoutOut SoCal | Fine Jewelry Designer Feature
ShoutOut SoCal sat down with our founder and designer, Leslie Herbert, to talk about the inspiration and philosophy behind Leslie Herbert Jewelry. Leslie describes jewelry as "wearable art" that should offer "a window into the soul" of the wearer — and believes fine jewelry is meant to be worn and enjoyed daily, not saved for special occasions. That philosophy shaped The Haviland Collection, her signature line built for "the woman with an edgy, unconventional spirit," blending hard and soft edges, feminine lines, gemstones, leather, and pearls into pieces that move seamlessly from weekends to work to formal events.
The feature also traces how the brand has grown from that original collection into men's pieces, fine jewelry belt buckles with hand-tooled leather straps, and full bespoke design — the part of the business Leslie says she loves most. "It's magical for me," she shares of turning a client's vision into a finished piece, admitting it's often bittersweet to hand over a custom commission after spending so much time bringing it to life. "It gives me a great deal of happiness and satisfaction when I hand deliver a piece of bespoke jewelry and see the client wear the piece for the first time," she says. "It is very gratifying to know that my work will be a special and treasured item for the rest of their lives."
Leslie also speaks candidly about the realities of entrepreneurship in a creative field, calling it "a leap of faith and certainly not for the faint of heart." She credits her mother's unwavering encouragement and her partner Jim's steady support for helping her push through the doubts and setbacks that come with building a business from scratch — lessons she says are essential for anyone considering the same path: "Listen to your heart and start a business with something that you would love to do."
Check Out Leslie Herbert's Story
Source: SDVoyager | San Diego Local Stories
SDVoyager's feature traces Leslie Herbert's path from a childhood spent sketching on rolls of butcher paper to founding her own fine jewelry business later in life. A self-described lifelong artist with a Bachelor's degree in Art from the University of Arkansas, Leslie always designed clothing and jewelry for herself but never considered it a career — until her children grew up and moved away, and her mother, "an enthusiastic, natural entrepreneur," encouraged her to take the leap: "Go do it. Take a chance. What's the downside to doing this? I think it will be fun!"
The interview doesn't shy away from the difficulty of starting from scratch. Leslie describes having no mentor to guide her through sourcing gemstones and gold or vetting vendors, calling it having "to find my way through the dark." She credits formal gemology training at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad with giving her the eye needed to judge stone quality, and even funded her earliest work by selling off pieces of her own unused jewelry — including an engagement ring — turning what she calls "a negative into a positive."
Leslie also discusses The Haviland Collection, her original line built at "the fine line between rebellion and refinement," combining oxidized sterling silver, black leather, gemstones, and pearls for a biker/rocker-chic aesthetic meant to move from weekend to work. She shares how travel — often alongside her partner, an international airline pilot — continues to shape her design perspective, and reflects on custom design as the most rewarding part of her career. One story stands out: reworking a client's inherited jewelry into a cuff and two necklaces built from her late mother's gold and diamonds. "When I presented the finished jewelry to her, she started to cry and thanked me... and I cried too!"
The piece closes with a personal detail: Leslie is a U.S.P.T.A. Certified Tennis Professional who taught tennis for years and recently earned an international pickleball teaching certification — evidence, she says, of the discipline and dedication that carried into her jewelry career.