We were lucky to catch up with Imogen Lehtonen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Imogen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Everything I have learned about jewelry work and silversmithing has come from my family. I’ve never taken any courses. Growing up in a family of jewelers, the craft didn’t entice me when I was young. I dutifully learned some basics and was put to work on the polishing machine after school at my parents jewelry shop in New Zealand to help out. But really my education in silversmithing began in my teenage years when my dad taught me the processes of making my own ring.
At 19 I went to London and continued my education with my uncle, working in the basement of The Great Frog. He taught me to carve wax and tutored me on benchwork. Being immersed in that environment is what really sparked my interest in the craft. In the years since then, I’ve learned more from my cousin who is now the designer for the company, as well as through trial and error, late night FaceTime calls with my dad, and in some cases YouTube. I’ve now been running the Los Angeles store and workshop for over 10 years and it’s been an adventure.. I’m still always learning and am so proud to be a second generation jeweler and involved in carrying on my family’s legacy, especially now that my father is no longer with us.

Imogen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born on the floor above my family’s jewelry shop ‘The Great Frog’ in London which was started by my aunt and uncle in 1972 and where my parents met working together. I never saw myself being involved in the family business, but my interest was ignited while living and working at the original shop in London at 19.. I was surrounded by the history and roots of my family’s craft as well as the music, lifestyle and culture that came with it, and the direction of my life felt somehow changed.
Not long after that I moved to Los Angeles where opening a TGF store and workshop unfolded quite organically. Although the company had a history and following in the UK, it was quite unknown in the US and I saw a gap in the market which we seemed to fit into quite perfectly. As a family business with a 50 year history of hand made rock ’n’ roll jewelry, it just made sense to have a flagship store in a place like LA.

Alongside running a jewelry store and workshop in a new country and all of the problem solving that came with it, I became an ambassador for The Great Frog in the US. Helped by the publicity that came through my adventures in motorcycling, a passion passed down to me from my dad, I championed the brand, wearing my collection, talking about it in interviews, and sharing clips of behind the scenes benchwork I was doing in the workshop on social media. This lead to a side hustle of modeling work in the motorcycle world, which took me on more great adventures, working with incredible people and brands
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The quality of The Great Frog jewelry spoke for itself and word started to spread in LA and beyond and I’ve never looked back!
I’m so proud to be a part of the continuing legacy that my family started over 50 years ago, to introduce it to a new audience, and to be involved in collaborating with entities such as Harley Davidson. I am passionate about the history, quality, lifestyle, skill and aesthetic that The Great Frog represents. I love seeing the brand grow and become loved by more and more people and I’m excited for all that’s next to come!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My audience on social media grew very organically. I didn’t set out to gain followers or build a presence, but just to share my adventures and thoughts authentically. For me, less is more… I have never been someone who posted daily. I always worked to post high quality content with honesty and a bit of fun.. I never wanted to take myself too seriously. It takes time, but I found sharing my work and passions was infectious and it led to more opportunities for me, a bit of a snowball affect. I truly believe that if you’re passionate about something and share your authentic feelings/talents/hobbies etc, using social media as a visual art form, people will pay attention.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There have been many struggles in my career over the past decade. The most challenging being that only 6 months after the opening of our flagship store on Melrose Avenue, I lost my father in his battle with cancer. My dad was my mentor, my inspiration and one of my most favorite people on the planet. At the time, I was already overwhelmed, figuring out how to run this business, working 7 days a week, sometimes sleeping in the back of the shop as my commute was over an hour each way and I was spending late nights in the workshop fulfilling customers jewelry orders. After he died I was devastated, grief stricken and lost. I was ready to give up, and considered moving back to New Zealand. I was truly burnt out.
Somehow I flipped a switch and turned that pain into power, strength and passion. I put everything into living FOR my dad and trying to live my life in a way that would make him proud. I poured myself into working and riding. I used riding motorcycles as a way to connect and feel closer to my dad and threw myself into any opportunity that came my way, even if it scared me. I used my grief as fuel… I had already faced my biggest fear, an incomprehensible loss, so what could be worse? What could be scarier? Nothing. This experience made me resilient and gave me the confidence to know that when faced with the scariest of challenges, I have the strength to keep pushing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thegreatfroglondon.com
• Instagram: @imogenocide

Image Credits
Grant Puckett Harley Davidson Eric Hendricks