Bold by Design: Abra Couture

When a woman wears jewelry from Abra Couture, she showcases dramatic, eye-catching pieces that blend handcrafted detail with high fashion. Since the early 1990s, Abra Couture owner and designer Abra Gorby has produced creations that have become signature pieces for many of her clients because they are unique and make an outfit shine. What started as a high-school hobby making beaded bracelets became a successful career in jewelry design for Gorby.

Getting Noticed

From the moment she began creating beaded jewelry as a teenager, people were quickly enamored by her items—they would purchase pieces straight from her wrist. A Canadian American raised mostly in New Jersey, Gorby sold her jewelry at local flea markets including one in Greenwich Village. While attending Vassar College with the goal of becoming a teacher, she continued to sell her pieces at campus vendor shows.

After she graduated in the early 1990s, she could not find a teacher position due to a New York public school hiring freeze. As a result, she took a job on the Bergdorf Goodman sales floor and supplemented her income by selling her bold, vintage-inspired jewelry made from beads and found objects on Bleecker Street at night. As her popularity grew, Gorby was accepted to many craft shows, including the legendary Crafts on Columbus. Then one day, her life suddenly changed.

“This is a real New York story, one for the ages,” she says. “One day, I was selling my jewelry on Columbus Avenue when a fashion editor came by and loved my work. She asked if she could put some jewelry on models in magazines she worked with, and then I was contacted by other fashion editors and designers. All of a sudden, I was a rock star in the jewelry business. It was very exciting.”

A Distinctive Style

Within the fashion industry, Gorby was known for her wild jewelry designs using mostly recyclable materials. She eventually decided to refine her looks by going to night school at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Rhode Island School of Design. There, she learned more about form and function to create wearable pieces for the everyday person but still with a touch of boldness. Her skills included working with silver, alternative materials, and resin. She also gained experience on how to make jewelry out of cotton balls and became famous for her collection made from cotton balls and papier-mâché. Demand for Gorby’s work grew steadily. She was contacted by representatives and buyers from around the country and exhibited at the New York International Gift Fair.

By 2000, Gorby got married and relocated to Landenberg. Over time, she decided to step back from the fashion industry and focus more on high-end craft shows. Even so, her designs have remained visible in magazines and on television.

“I see my work on TV all the time,” she says. “Carol Burnett wore one of my pieces on ‘The Rachael Ray Show,’ Christiane Amanpour wore some on her news broadcast, Gloria Vanderbilt owned several cotton-ball necklaces, and I’ve seen stylists use my earrings and necklaces in commercials. It’s exciting and enjoyable to say, ‘Wow, I made that.’ It’s a thrill in my life.”

Throughout her career, Gorby has always had a niche clientele. She has sold to very conservatively dressed people who wear St. John Knits or Chanel jackets and put on her necklaces to make the outfit stand out. Her designs also appeal to women who wear a simple black T-shirt and throw on a piece of her jewelry to be the centerpiece of the outfit.

“People get addicted to my jewelry, and I have a go-big-or-go-home philosophy,” she says. “When people find something they like, they keep coming back for more. I’ve developed friendships with so many of my customers, and we’ve shared so many of life’s ups and downs together. I feel blessed to share my jewelry with them and connect on a personal level.”

Longtime friends and customers Sharon Segarra and Judi Rivkin enjoy coming to Gorby’s studio to check out her latest work. “Each piece is unique, and you know you have something special,” Segarra says. “You can tell Abra’s passion and creativity go into everything she does. When I wear her jewelry, I feel glamorous.”

A Creative Haven

Gorby had another major life change when she signed up for the New Hope Arts & Crafts Festival in 2004. She immediately fell in love with the people and artistic community and found Bucks County to be magical. A few years after welcoming twins in 2005, she and her husband decided to relocate to the area and found their forever home in 2008 in Upper Makefield Township. The property includes a main home built in 1790, complete with outbuildings and a greenhouse. However, many of the structures were in disrepair and overgrown.

“The property is beautiful,” she says. “Our front yard is the Delaware River, our backyard is the canal, and our side yard is Jericho Creek. It needed a lot of work and TLC, but we saw potential for it. It took 14 years to get our property into shape, but we turned it into something magnificent.”

Among their many projects was transforming an outbuilding into a customized studio where Gorby creates her designs, hosts private clients, and teaches small jewelry-making classes. The main room resembles a candy shop with jars filled with materials used in her designs.

Living in town has also inspired her artistic evolution. “Coming to Bucks County, I see beauty every day, birds on my feeder, a little farm in my backyard where we have fruit trees, vegetables, and colors of flowers,” she says. “That’s all reflected in my color scheme that has changed over the years. My early work was reminiscent of skyscrapers with black and gray metals, and now everything I do is feminine and floral.”

Since moving to Upper Makefield, Gorby has grown to know the local community by participating in McConkey’s Market at Washington Crossing Historic Park, Newtown Historic Market Day, New Hope Arts & Crafts Festival, and a craft show at Tyler State Park. Yet her favorite way to connect is more personal.

“I love it when people make an appointment at the studio and they can meet me in person,” she says. “They can either shop the pieces I’ve already made, which include the cotton-ball collection, gemstones collection, T-shirt collection, and costume jewelry, or I can do custom work. That’s one of the things I love. With Mother’s Day around the corner, people can come in and pick something out for themselves or a gift for someone special.”

Rivkin loves popping into the studio to shop. “I always can’t wait to see what’s new,” she says. “Abra’s pieces are light, whimsical, creative, and she has the ability to translate an idea into a piece of art.”

Continued Connections

The property’s restored greenhouse has become another source of joy. There, Gorby and her husband raise goldfish using a European-style aquaponic system in which the fish help nourish plant growth. The greenhouse is also a source of relaxation.

“I walk into the greenhouse and enjoy the flowers, pick a tomato, look at the goldfish, and pet them in the pond,” she says. “They are very friendly, know who I am, and come right over. We started with four fish that my children won at the Upper Makefield carnival when they were 5 years old. Now there are 25 of them, and they are ancient by goldfish standards.”

After more than three decades in the industry, Gorby continues to design with passion. While she stepped back from wholesale, her work remains available at select galleries, museums, and through her website. She attends a few craft shows every month and enjoys working one on one with customers. She also gives back by mentoring emerging artists through the American Craft Council.

Her core clientele remains between the ages of 45 and 65, yet in recent years she’s experienced a surge in popularity among younger generations. “I found a whole group of Gen Z people who love my work and they are now adopting it as their own,” she says. “They love the retro look. They love something fun and different and gravitate toward my vintage pieces. As time goes on, I continue to evolve and to create things that are fun, accessible, and light-hearted. I love what I do.”

Photograph by Juan Vidal Photography