Ursula Masterson is the creative force behind URSULINE. An only child, Ursula’s growing up was uniquely wondrous. If economically frugal, it was culturally bountiful with formative years spent touring Europe in a Volkswagen bus whilst her parents – an artist and a writer – pursued their professorial research. They packed as many museums, palaces, castles, and cathedrals as possible into each day. Thus Ursula embraced the thrill of traveling through (and sometimes settling in) foreign lands steeped in history. The medieval bestiary of faded tapestries, Baroque putti flitting above fluffy clouds pierced by gilded sunrays, rampant lions, and castle ramparts… all of this imagery would form the bedrock of Ursula’s design ethos.  

With a first career as a network television journalist, Ursula went on to live and work across two continents and five countries. But her enduring passion for jewelry design was initially ignited in Russia, where she was based as a producer and correspondent for NBC News throughout the tumultuous, but hopeful 1990s. After doing a feature story on the post-Soviet rebirth of Faberge’s workshops, she spent weekends apprenticing with Russian goldsmiths who helped her turn rough sketches and ideas into glimmering jewels. From then on, she was hooked! Eventually, after returning to New York City with her English husband and young family, Ursula honed these skills further at The Craft Students League, Studio Jewelers School, and private workshops in Manhattan’s Diamond District. Over the years, Ursula has worked hand-in-hand with the best artisans to share her passion with others in the form of noteworthy few-of-a-kind jewels to treasure forever.