Governor to Attend Jewelry Company's Launch of New Local HQ

Loren Hope, a growing independent jewelry company, is celebrating its new headquarters in East Greenwich Thursday night.

Governor Gina Raimondo, along with Loren Hope owner and designer Loren Barham and other officials will be on hand for the launch of the new headquarters, located in Greenwich Mills at 42 Ladd St.

The jewelry company offers a line of upscale products made by hand in the United States. The company boasts modern and vintage “sensibility with a contemporary twist, featuring rich, saturated colors,” according to a release.

With the move to a new headquarters, the company is eyeing future growth. In fact, Barham said she said she hopes to help lead a resurgence of the state’s jewelry industry, which once controlled most of the nation’s costume jewelry industry and provided thousands of jobs.

The launch event begins at 5 p.m.

In a blog post earlier this year, Barham said that the move to East Greenwich is the result of needing more space, though she said she’ll miss her old space.

“It was my first dedicated creative space – a place created solely for designing and developing ideas. A huge milestone for me as an artist and entrepreneur,” she said. “My very good friend and colleague Sara Kate Huff helped me with designing the studio and it emulated my taste perfectly. A mix of old and new, masculine and feminine.

“As sad as I was to close the door one last time… gushing at that gorgeous northerly light I’ll never see again- I’m excited to watch the new year unfold. We are growing as a company and needed more space. Something I’ll could never be sad about. I am so thankful for our wonderful customers, friends, families, vendors, the entire LH team and everyone else that understands, supports and shares my vision for Loren Hope. It’s about so much more than jewelry. It’s about the story it tells. The hands that have put it together, the heritage of craftsmanship, the history of the industry here, and it’s mostly about being inspired. Inspiration, after all, is what has brought me here.

Photo Courtesy: Loren Hope

Editor’s note: The headline for an earlier version of this story stated that the headquarters is located in South County. East Greenwich is not part of South County, a fact this editor should have not overlooked considering he grew up in South Kingstown. It might be worth mentioning that South County is not an official Rhode Island County, but if you saw the old headline and recognized the earlier mistake, you probably knew this already. We regret the error.