Rich leathers. Chunky chains. Wrapped stones. Vintage components. Natural bone and horn. Every piece designer Theresa Wangia creates is steeped in her singular world of style, arranged to perfection under the brand Beltshazzar Jewels.

Theresa's vibrant aesthetic draws from a life richly lived — shaped by 1970s music and art, a multiracial heritage, and the indigenous cultures of the American West, the Amazon, Kenya, and Papua New Guinea. A former model, she honed her craft apprenticing under a London jewelry designer before developing her own definitive approach. Central to her work is a passion for unearthing found objects and vintage materials, reimagining them into entirely new creations that carry the weight of history and the thrill of discovery.

Photographing Theresa's work has been an ongoing collaboration I return to with genuine excitement. It’s one that pushes me to create in a completely different way from my usual lifestyle work. Each shoot comes with its own set of challenges and creative solutions. During our fall/winter shoot it was so cold we could only have the model outside for a few minutes at a time, so we improvised, doing our close-up detail shots in the front seat of Theresa's minivan, pushing light through the window to get that moody, intimate glow. For the spring shoot, we chose to work inside the stunning Jewel Box greenhouse in St. Louis' Forest Park, trading the unpredictable elements for a lush, tropical backdrop that gave the pieces an entirely different kind of drama.

My goal with every shoot is to honor the bold, tactile beauty of her work crafting atmospheric imagery that draws the viewer in and lets the raw interplay of brass, leather, stone, and crystal speak entirely for itself.

DESIGNER & STYLIST:Theresa Wangia | WEBSITE:Beltshazzar Jewels