Behind the Shoot: Gear Jewellers at The Stella Theatre

The Stella is one of those places that makes you stop the first time you walk in. Originally built in 1923 and beautifully restored to its 1920s art deco glory. Think original ceiling mouldings, the iconic mosaic Stella logo in the floor tiles, plush leather armchairs and those extraordinary bronze-clad bars that seem to glow from the inside. During the day it's light-filled and architectural. After dark it becomes something else entirely. All warmth and shadow and the kind of atmosphere that makes everything look more beautiful than it probably has any right to. That was the version we wanted. The moody, after-hours Stella.

The catch: we had a two-hour window after the sun went down before the Cocktail Club opened for the evening. Two hours. That's not a lot of time, it’s a lot of adrenaline and a very well-organised team. We moved fast, shot everything we needed, and were out before the first cocktail of the night was ordered. I live for that kind of controlled chaos, honestly.

Before we arrived at the Stella, we got ready at a room at The Dean on Harcourt Street. Equally as stunning, bold, design-forward, full of personality. Marshall amps, custom Irish art, jewel tones, and that particular energy that The Dean just has.

Together the two locations gave the shoot a real range. Art deco glamour at the Stella, contemporary edge at the Dean, while staying completely coherent in mood. Dark, rich, luxurious. Dublin at night.

We shot three jewellery looks across the two locations, and the brief for each was the same: reflect the interiors. Let the richness of the setting come through in the styling. Don't fight the room, work with it.

I tried to keep the styling as accessible as possible, pulling looks from the high street. The pieces from Gear Jewellers did a lot of the work themselves, it has to be said. Fine jewellery in a setting like the Stella is genuinely extraordinary. Diamonds catching the light from those bronze bar details, gold against deep velvet and dark wood. The pieces looked like they'd been designed for the room.

Our model for this shoot was Niamh Dunne, represented by Morgan the Agency, and she was absolutely exceptional. Niamh has a presence in front of the camera that's rare. Something quiet and assured that reads beautifully in editorial. She wore every look with total ease and brought a real stillness to the images that felt completely right for the mood we were going for. No fuss, no nerves, just completely in it. I'd work with her again tomorrow.

Sarah Lanagan was back with us for this shoot and she absolutely delivered again here. The brief was more dramatic this time: hair and makeup to match the richness of the interiors, to complement the jewellery, to hold up under low light and still photograph beautifully. Sarah nailed it across all three looks without breaking a sweat. She has an instinct for what works on camera that is genuinely invaluable on a shoot like this.

When you have two hours in the Stella Cocktail Club before the punters arrive, you make decisions fast and you trust your team completely. There's a sharpness to images shot under that kind of constraint that I find really compelling. You don't have time to second-guess yourself, and the results often have an energy that a more leisurely shoot can't manufacture.

Every image from the Stella was shot in that window. We got everything we needed. And I have to say, knowing those rooms were about to fill up with people having a very good night added something to the atmosphere that you can feel in the frames, even if you can't quite name it.

Fine jewellery is often shot in a way that makes it feel aspirational but slightly distant. Beautiful but untouchable. We wanted the opposite of that. We wanted jewellery that looks like it belongs on a real person, in a real place, on a real evening out in Dublin.

The Stella and The Dean are both places people actually go. Places that feel alive. Putting Gear Jewellers' pieces into those spaces felt like the most honest way to show what fine jewellery actually looks like in your life. Not behind glass. On you. On a night out. Caught by the light of the flash with a well-made cocktail in hand. That's the feeling we were chasing. I think we got it.