Stella Flame: Bridgehampton Jeweler, Curator Wins International Awards

Stella Flame, jewelry designer, curator and owner of the Stella Flame Gallery in Bridgehampton, is a true Renaissance woman – underscored by the multiple awards she’s taken home in the past year.

“These awards were very acknowledging of the culture of my gallery,” Flame told Dan’s Papers. “What we try to do philanthropically, how we try to make people feel when they come in, what we try to impart to them within the three physical spaces within our high concept gallery, how we work within the community and with our neighbors is all part of our DNA, and it’s wonderful to know it’s being noticed and appreciated!”

In the last year, Flame won the Visionary Award in an international competition sponsored by the Cultured Pearl Association of America for a ring she designed that tells the story of the Greek gods Daphne and Apollo. In August, InStore Magazine named Stella Flame Gallery one of the “Coolest Stores in America.”

And, in early October, in a true Renaissance moment for Flame – she was a featured designer at Rome Jewelry Week 2024. It was a full circle moment for Flame, who has deep family ties to Italy.

“The Italian jewelry historian and journalist, Laura Astrologo Porché asked me to be one of the featured presenting designers for 2024 and said, “You live and work in Istanbul. It’s called Rome Jewelry Week for a reason. So tell me truthfully, is there enough of a connection to Italy? Because even though Istanbul is fascinating, they’re going to want to hear about an Italian connection.” 

I said, ‘Oh, there’s an Italian connection that I don’t often speak about.’ My mother, who was from Poland was enslaved in a labor camp during World War II as a young girl,” Flame said. “She befriended a young Italian Christian woman named Stella who did not survive the war. My mother promised herself that if she survived, and were to have a family and children and a girl, she would name her daughter Stella. And so here I am.” I produced a minute-and-a-half video to open my Rome Jewelry Week presentation on the genesis of my name and I had their undivided attention. People were weeping.”

Her mother Hanna’s life story was one of ultimate perseverance, and Hanna became Stella’s muse. “My mother had a real love of jewelry and fashion, and was a very elegant woman,” Flame said.  “Regardless of her circumstance, whether her circumstances were, ‘Everything’s going great,’ or certainly after the war, ‘Everything is so difficult,’ she always had a very gracious and charming way about her. She literally went from going to the opera to a concentration camp, became a displaced person, married my father, came to America and for a time lived on a farm. In hindsight, it was a real life ‘Green Acres’ situation for her. And so, I believe that I inherited my resilience and love of jewelry, fashion and style from her.”

Being both an artist and a collector, the Stella Flame Gallery represents Stella herself and as many as 12 other jewelry designers from around the world. Her workshop is located in Istanbul, Turkey, which she visited in 2008 with her daughter .There she fell in love with both the city and the art of jewelry design. When a small group of rings she designed during that trip was picked up by a NYC showroom, her jewelry found its way into museums, boutiques and galleries across the United States. Fast forward a few years and and she found herself back in Sag Harbor opening a concept shop with a few friends in what is now Harbor Books and then her own gallery which she operated for seven years before moving it to its current Bridgehampton location.

Her ties to the East End run deep. When she married in the early 1990s she and her husband owned a unique Sag Harbor home and property at the end of a peninsula in Morris Cove that attracted bird watchers.

“Sometimes I would wake up and there would be people on the peninsula with binoculars in a rowboat,” Flame said. “At high tide there was no beach, but at low tide, we had a beach. I learned that our peninsula was a big draw for bird watchers that came to see the swans and cormorants. People would sometimes come up to what was basically my yard. So. We used to wave them in and give them a glass of wine or some lemonade. We had a young child who got such a kick out of seeing people motor or row over. It was a special time.”

Flame has a bachelor’s degree in cinema arts, and a master’s in public health, and worked in various capacities across numerous industries – including a project involving the Dixie Chicks in the 2000s for Penn, Schoen and Berland.

She then went on to create an award-winning bed and breakfast in New England – before focusing on jewelry.

What makes the Stella Flame Gallery in Bridgehampton stand out is its unique, personalized selections and relaxed atmosphere.

“We offer a personalized experience,” Flame said. “A more individualized experience. A lot of people in sales have that thirsty, aggressive approach, whereas our approach at the gallery is the antithesis of that. We encourage people to come as often as they like to browse and discover. Some people tell me they like to come by when they’re in a bad mood. I don’t care if someone comes in 10 times and buys something on the 11th visit. I don’t want anyone ever to feel that there’s any pressure to do more than discover what we have to offer.

Our team is very knowledgeable. Mago Martinez works on special events with me and curation – he was previously at RJD Gallery who occupied our current space a few years ago. Elle Borg has spent her entire career in sales and merchandising and has such a lovely way with clients and these two are just the tip of the iceberg.

“We all say enjoy it and let us know if you’d like any attention, learn about it, purchase it if it feels good. Basically, we’re in the business of making people feel good.”

As for advice for both aspiring jewelers and consumers?

“I really feel one has to have an emotional connection to what it is that they’re doing, particularly if what you’re purveying or creating is supposed to tap into something emotional,” Flame said. “You have to be excited about selling it. You have to be excited about wearing it. You have to be excited about living with it.  I’m always on the hunt for things that are unexpected. And, if my team isn’t excited I pass.

Some of the value of a piece of jewelry or a piece of art is what you assign to it. If you love it – that’s worth everything. Something can be worth a million dollars and not mean much to you. You have to have some kind of connection and passion relating to it. So I say, educate yourself. Travel as much as you can. Try to be discerning and look for pieces that work well together because people like stories.”

The Stella Flame Gallery’s holiday catalog is out now. Expect the unexpected and contact info@stellaflamegallery for a copy. The gallery is open year round and located at 2385 Main Street in Bridgehampton between the Candy Kitchen and Bobby Van’s and steps from Round Swamp Farm and can be reached at 917-696-4955.