Main Line Native Jeweler Returns to Her Roots

For Megan Steer, the journey from Baldwin schoolgirl to professional jeweler has been arduous—but ultimately, rewarding.

“We were adorning ourselves before we were dressing ourselves,” Steer, 36, says of her creative impulses. “It’s a primal instinct.”

Steer designs and creates her own jewelry, which she sells mainly online. Although her introduction to jewelry design came at Baldwin, she initially planned on a more conventional college education. After a brief stint at Connecticut College (“It wasn’t for me”), Steer decided to study fashion. She trained at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Philadelphia University, and Parsons The New School for Design.

When the chauvinistic attitude of the fashion world and its ignorance of the “full spectrum of beauty” left her doubtful of this career choice, she found herself drawn to jewelry once again. “I believe that what you put out comes back to you,” she said of the downside of fashion.

Lura Jewelry was born.

In spite of her original interests, art stimulates Steer more than fashion. The Art Nouveau period serves as her primary source of inspiration. Art Nouveau, which flourished from around 1890 until the start of World War I, formed in response to the Industrial Revolution. It is characterized by undulating lines and features images of nature, particularly insects, vines, and flowers. Steer uses several of these themes in her jewelry.

Steer has also begun her foray into the world of scarf-making, the result of a polishing wheel accident that left her with an injured wrist. Her scarves, which are made of silk, will debut at the Clover Market in Ardmore on April 10.

Steer sees minor differences between her sales in New York and Los Angeles and the Main Line; overall, she said, it’s a trickle-down effect. “Someone once said that New York doesn’t create trends, but gives them the stamp of approval,” she said. Main Liners tend to wear similar clothes to New Yorkers, but several months later. Eventually, they bought the same big necklaces and rings that were popular in cities months before. Earrings make up most of her sales (although Steer, a redhead, doesn’t like how earrings get caught in her hair).

Steer’s jewelry will be on sale on April 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clover Market, which is located at 12 East Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore.

Prices vary from $30 for simpler earrings to $800 for gold, whose sharp rise in price the past few years – from $400 an ounce in 2006 to $1,400 now – has made jewelers who once worked only in gold to use other metals. Steer works mainly in silver and bronze.

“It has forced people to become more creative,” she said.

“When we’re children, we believe that the world can be a magical place,” Steer said. “I still believe that.” She wants this mindset present in her art. “I want people to feel beautiful and special and loved when they wear my jewelry.”

You can find Steer online and on Facebook.