Nancy E. Leung is the Brooklyn-based founder and creative director of leungdesigns, a jewelry studio she established in 2013. She trained in furniture design at Pratt Institute after beginning her career in advertising and print design, and studied at Danmarks Designskole in Copenhagen, where she won Best in Show for a chair design; a coffee-table design of hers was also selected for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair at the Javits Center. Her thesis research took her to France, where she worked with architect Simon Velez to build a bamboo pavilion at Domaine de Boisbuchet. She later shifted from furniture to jewelry design, and now produces handmade pieces in leather, metal, and stone guided by a philosophy of simplicity and designs meant to outlast trends.

leungdesigns focuses on the 'simplicity of design' so, designs are created to stand the test of time. Care in choosing the best combination of materials is important and how they balance and interact with each other is key. Ultimately, form does follow function but, as the German designer, Hartmut Esslinger put it, 'form should follow emotion'. To add, designs should carry a lightness, as should life...