About Luxella
About Ana Guimaraes
I'm Ana Guimaraes, the jewelry designer behind Luxella Design. I'm a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a mother to three wonderful kids. Family is the center of my life—family and nature are my inspirations.
I was born and raised in Mexico and have lived across Canada. My family and I moved to the United States five years ago. All my designs are handmade with love in my studio in Berkeley, California. I have always dreamed about creating art, and jewelry is my canvas.
I started studying jewelry design soon after I became a mother. Motherhood is beautiful, but I needed to express ‘the art in me’. My children are a prime inspiration to me—motherhood created in me a strong desire to create, and my creativity flourished.
I studied jewelry design with David Casella at the California Academy of Arts and also at the Silvera Jewelers School, both renowned jewelry design programs in California. I fell in love with the endless possibilities of lost wax casting, a process by which hand carved wax creates the form for finished fine metal jewelry.
In addition to my ready-to-ship designs, I also create custom jewelry—I can bring your jewelry ideas to life. All my designs are handmade by me and I strive to maximize the use of sustainable metals and jewels.
Family, friends, and creativity are everything to me. I hope you can become part of my family, too.
What is special about Luxella?
1. Sustainability—I strive to maximize the use of sustainably sourced products to create my jewelry.
2. Modern Organic Aesthetic—I combine modern shapes and lines with organic textures in creative ways to create jewelry that is classic and will last for generations.
3. Global—I bring a pan-American perspective to my creative process, having lived and worked in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. I'm inspired by the natural and human environment and bring this to my Made-in-America line of jewelry, from the coral from the beaches of Mexico to the giant seeds of the great Californian redwood trees.
4. Handmade in the USA—Each piece of jewelry is hand crafted by me in my studio in Berkeley, California using mostly sustainably sourced products.
5. Innovative Designs—I bring together metals, precious gems, and designs from Europe and America to meld unique, hand crafted creations.
6. Commitment to Community and Giving Back—Luxella Design donates to The Practice Space, a non-profit organization in the Bay Area which teaches youth and adults effective communication strategies in a safe, supportive place. The Practice Space primarily works with underserved communities and helps grow leaders who inspire positive change.
7. Family Inspires Me Every Day—I'm a working mother to three wonderful kids. I draw inspiration from their learning, vibrance, and their natural curiosity about life.
8. Diversity Matters—I'm a Latinx woman, and I firmly believe in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Diversity does not subtract from or divide us—diversity multiplies.
9. Locally Trained—I studied with David Casella at the California Academy of Arts and at the well-known Silvera Jewelers School. I learned from Anat and Joe Silvera, as well as specialist instructors including Jenn Parnell. Students travel from across the USA to train with these renowned instructors.
10. I'm an Artist at Heart—I originally studied accounting in Mexico, because it was one of the few professions available to women to work outside the home. But my dream has always been to run an arts-based business. As a child, I danced to folkloric music. In Canada, I honed my eye for design while studying photography. Now, at Luxella Design, all these experiences come together in the form of beautiful handcrafted jewelry.
Luxella Design
