Jewellery designer Seb Brown on swapping Melbourne for Paris

After training as a graphic designer, Seb Brown began creating jewellery pieces during a time when he was between jobs and working in a coffee shop. Soon, customers were as interested in buying his hand-carved signet rings as they were in ordering a latte and thus his eponymous brand was born. Brown’s unisex designs are intricately set with glowing sapphires, cool grey spinels and diamonds, often in unexpected arrangements that play with negative space. His collections are stocked in Dover Street Market and Liberty in London, alongside a flagship boutique and atelier in his native Melbourne, where all of his pieces are handcrafted.

Brown moved to Paris in 2024 and lives in a light-filled apartment in the 11th arrondissement. Much like his jewellery creations, it has a clean-lined and contemporary aesthetic and is furnished with details that reflect his Australian roots. Below, he discusses growing up in Melbourne’s creative scene, where he hangs out in the French capital and his non-negotiable travel essentials.

Tell us about your apartment.

I live with my husband in an apartment in the 11th arrondissement, which is a little bit out of the action but still quite a lively area. It is near Square Maurice Gardette, which is filled with enormous trees – quite rare for Paris.

We were previously living in the Marais in a beautiful 17th-century apartment with a rickety staircase, but I prefer to live somewhere more calm.

We took a van to Cologne to buy some secondhand furniture and we’ve furnished it very minimally. We have a black Maralunga armchair here and also in our flat in Melbourne, so it is a nice reminder of home. We have some pieces by an Australian ceramicist called Owen Rye, who is in his eighties and uses a wood-fired kiln, and a hand-blown glass vase by Australian artist Peter Reynolds. On the wall is a framed hand-stitched artwork made from merino wool and silk thread by Max Thomas Sanderson.

What inspired your pivot from graphic design to jewellery?

I studied graphic design but I was finding it difficult to get a job. I started making jewellery because I had quite a lot of spare time. I was working in a coffee shop and would wear things that I had made, and people would ask to buy them. So I started by selling jewellery to customers, and it grew from there.

How would you describe your jewellery?

There is definitely a graphic element to my jewellery and I like to put a modern twist on traditional shapes. I’ll see a signet ring in a museum in Florence and reference that shape, but I’ll use pink gemstones to bring it into today.

What defines Melbourne these days?

It is a relaxed city and coffee is a huge thing. You go out for coffee or food almost every day, at least once.

Australia is really into the whole Gorpcore trend and the idea of going from the bushwalk to the nightclub in the same outfit. There is a restaurant in Sydney by Bondi Beach called Sean’s. It’s quite fancy, but people will go from there straight for a swim. I think that sums up the vibe quite well.

Tell us about Melbourne’s creative scene.

Young people can afford studio space relatively easily and everybody I know seems to be an artist, graphic designer, photographer and/or DJ. There is a really strong creative scene but there is also a ceiling. In terms of retail, there is not a lot of opportunity for young designers to sell their products, which is why I started to look overseas.

What do you miss most about Melbourne?

I miss the birds, the tap water and the smell of eucalyptus in bloom. There are so many plant species you can only find in Australia, which bloom throughout the year at different times. Some will bloom in the middle of winter and it smells so good.

What inspired the move to Paris?

I was visiting Paris every six months for fashion week and I was very familiar with the city. I have a ready-made group of friends here who I studied with at RMIT University. I wanted to connect the gap and open a European office.

For an Australian, the density of Paris is the most noticeable difference. It can be a harsh place to live at first, but it is a beautiful city. I love that you can walk almost everywhere and I like to just wander around.

On your day off, where will we find you?

I might go for a two or three-hour walk around the Marais or Bastille. I love the Giacometti Foundation on the Left Bank and also the La Grande Épicerie, which is the food shop next to Le Bon Marché.

Near my house there is a restaurant, Recoin, where I go a lot. Also the Chez Aline sandwich shop; it is really cheap and the owner, Delphine Zampetti, is so nice.

Where do you recommend for people-watching?

There is a place called Café de la Poste; the food is fine, the coffee is terrible, but it is where everybody congregates, especially during fashion week. It is great for people watching. The Buttes-Chaumont park in Belleville is where young people go to hang out and admire the view.

Where do you shop in Paris?

The Broken Arm, Dover Street Market and the Comme des Garçons store on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré for fashion, and La Trésorerie for homeware. Paris is great for little junk shops that you stumble across, where you’ll find something that probably needs a good clean. The flea markets, which pop up around the city, are great.

You travel a lot. What trips have stayed with you the most?

I went to Iran in 2017 and the people were unbelievably friendly and hospitable. We got invited by complete strangers into their houses for meals and we hitchhiked quite a bit. The landscapes are so varied and we visited a tiny village in the Zagros mountains, which hadn’t really seen any tourists before. It was truly incredible and very much – eight hours in a jeep – off the beaten path.

I go to Bangkok a lot for work and I am always so impressed by the service and the food scene. The metro is so efficient and the shopping is really good, too.

What kind of traveller are you?

I am very organised and try to pack as little as possible. I have an old Rimowa suitcase and I always take that ugly travel adapter brick, a couple of shirts and Lemaire wide-leg belted trousers. They are quite casual, comfortable and great for going from meetings to dinner.

What does the future hold?

I want to expand into clothing and homeware and offer a whole world but it has to be sustainable. I have never been in a rush to create more stuff. I need to find the right maker or craftsperson and ensure it is created in a way that won’t generate any more waste into the world.