Today we’d like to introduce you to Gaby Israel Grinberg.
Hi Gaby, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My path to fine jewelry hasn’t been a straight line, but looking back, it feels like the different parts of my life were quietly preparing me for it all along.
Jewelry has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I grew up surrounded by women who understood that jewelry could be far more than decoration. It carries history, marks a milestone, expresses identity and empowers you to feel like your most authentic self. My maternal grandmother worked in the jewelry industry for the formidable Mr. Hans Stern and his eponymous brand H. Stern, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 1960s—a time when it was uncommon for women of a certain age and social class to work outside of the home. She started with very little knowledge of jewelry and gemstones to eventually becoming one of the managers for the flagship store and one of only a few employees to hold the keys to the vault of gemstones owned by the company. Her love and passion for jewelry and gemstones was definitely passed down to me!
The idea of potentially starting a career in gemology and jewelry was planted in my brain at the age of 16, after a visit to our relatives in Texas. My father’s cousin was a talented artist, diamond expert and fine jeweler. I visited his atelier, met one of his gemstone dealers and even got to make a piece of fine jewelry for myself with a Brazilian-mined gemstone (kunzite). I was hooked! While my career eventually took me down a different path, the love and fascination with jewelry and gemstones always remained strong.
I eventually steered in my career into marketing, brand strategy and client experience. Throughout my 20+ year career in marketing, I had the great fortune to work for both agency and in-house brands. Companies large and small, from family-owned to Fortune 500. I’ve managed client accounts in non-profit, higher education, sports activation, retail and CPG, and most recently working in the B2B industry with medical device companies, agricultural management software, consulting firms and other various tech companies. Over more than 20 years, I helped businesses clarify their stories, understand their customers and create brands that felt meaningful and distinct.
My career eventually led me down the path of co-founding (alongside my husband Mike) Proofpoint Marketing, a remote B2B marketing agency. We started the company in 2017 while living in Minneapolis, MN—two-years after having our first daughter Lana, who was born severely premature at 24-weeks gestation. I had developed severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome very early into pregnancy and the only way to save both me and my unborn daughter was to deliver her via emergency C-Section.
While juggling the needs of our little family and navigating our daughter’s complex medical needs, we were also building a company that bucked the traditional stereotypes of what a marketing agency is. We focused on providing our clients with exceptional service and results, while also providing our employees with higher-than-average salaries, strong benefits, unlimited PTO and a company culture that emphasized radical transparency, health & wellness and autonomy. We also embraced a remote, WFH ethos—a full three-years before Covid! Basically, we built the company and culture we always wanted but never quite found in our career. That chapter taught me an enormous amount about entrepreneurship, leadership, relationships and what it takes to turn bring our vision to life.
By the time I reached 39, however, I found myself asking a question that many people eventually confront: Is the path I’ve taken thus far still the path I want to continue following? While building Proofpoint Marketing, I had developed some really unhealthy work-life habits. I also didn’t prioritize my own health or wellbeing, despite creating a work culture that enabled our employees to cultivate their best work-life balance. While building my company, I was also caring for a child with complex medical needs and dealing with my own trauma from her premature birth and 6-month NICU journey and post-NICU life. I had gained a lot of weight, was mostly sedentary, spending long hours in front of the computer (upwards of 12-16 hours per day!), and had developed high blood pressure, high cholesterol and was suffering from high anxiety, and a high stress lifestyle. Somewhere along the way, I had fallen out of love with the work. I loved my team, I loved working with my husband, and I loved building a people-first company culture…but I lost my interest and desire to continue working in B2B marketing. It left me feeling unfulfilled, uninspired and utterly bored and restless.
On the verge of turning 40 in April of 2024, I knew I had to make a change—for a variety of reasons. After a 6-year struggle, my husband and I were finally welcoming another child into our family via gestational carrier, our daughter Bella, in November 2024. This was a dream for so long that we didn’t know would ever happen. While we were going through one of the happiest times of our lives, we were also experiencing tremendous challenge with our business: client and employee churn, low sales pipeline, and a dwindling cash position, following a few mistakes that had serious repercussions in the business. While experiencing the highest of highs (the joy of bringing another much-anticipated daughter into our lives), we were also experiencing the decline and eventual demise of our beloved business in the spring of 2024. We transitioned the company from a remote agency to a solo-consulting practice that my husband now runs on his own. We helped as many of our employees at the time to find new jobs, and I eventually exited the company in September 2024.
While I never planned to make such a hard pivot in my career, it was ultimately one of the best things to happen to me. At the time, I truly grieved and mourned the loss of the company we had worked so hard to build, and the career that consumed so much of my life. I wasn’t prepared for how difficult that was going to be. Feelings of failure and depression started to spiral into my life. The only thing that kept me grounded was the impending arrival of our daughter Bella.
I threw myself into baby preparations and attending every single appointment with our gestational carrier. I also finally dedicated time and resources to focusing on my health. I enrolled in a weight-loss clinic and over the course of 11 months lost 50+ lbs.
The process of losing myself and then finding myself again ultimately led me to fine jewelry.
Starting over at 40 was both exhilarating and terrifying. I had experience, perspective and a clearer understanding of myself, but I was also stepping into an entirely new industry where I still had so much to learn. It required me to become a beginner again, let go of the idea that reinvention needed to look perfectly planned and trust that a meaningful next chapter could be built one decision at a time.
At the age of 42, I founded Modern Heir Fine Jewelry, a Scottsdale-based fine jewelry brand centered on identity, memory and legacy. I specialize in custom fine jewelry and heirloom redesign, working closely with clients to create pieces from scratch or transform inherited and unworn jewelry into something that reflects who they are today. I’m also developing limited-edition designs that bring together fine metals, gemstones and unexpected natural materials.
What surprised me most is that I didn’t leave my previous career behind. I brought it with me. Storytelling, brand-building, careful listening, creative problem-solving and client experience are all fundamental to the way I now approach jewelry design. The medium has changed, but the heart of the work is still about understanding people and helping them express something meaningful.
I believe every jewelry project begins with a story. Sometimes it’s an heirloom that carries deep emotional value but no longer feels wearable. Sometimes it’s a milestone someone wants to honor. Sometimes it’s simply the desire to create a piece that feels entirely their own.
Today, I’m building Modern Heir one project, one relationship and one meaningful piece at a time. I’m still learning, experimenting and growing, but this is the most creatively aligned I’ve felt in years. Also the most excited and grounded. I’ve come to understand that through the storms of life is where we build our strongest, highest and most accomplished selves. Starting over doesn’t mean discarding everything that came before. Sometimes it means gathering all of those experiences and finally using them to create the work you were becoming capable of all along.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Through Modern Heir Fine Jewelry, I create custom fine jewelry and heirloom redesigns rooted in identity, memory and legacy.
I work closely with clients to design pieces from scratch or transform inherited, sentimental and unworn jewelry into something that feels relevant to their lives now. That may mean resetting a family diamond, reimagining old gold, creating a piece to mark a milestone or designing something entirely new that captures a person’s style, story or sense of self.
My design aesthetic is modern with a hint of nostalgia. I’m drawn to clean geometric lines, bold gemstone color, sculptural forms and thoughtful details that make a piece feel distinctive without becoming overly ornate. I love bezel and flush settings, delicate claw prongs, unexpected material combinations and the subtle use of pavé or diamonds to add light and dimension.
Alongside my custom and redesign work, I’m also developing limited-edition collections that combine fine metals and gemstones with unexpected natural materials, including Makassar Ebony. I’m interested in challenging traditional ideas about what belongs in fine jewelry and treating wood not as a decorative accent, but as a precious, sculptural material in its own right. Each piece will be produced in limited quantities, allowing natural variation to become part of the design and giving every finished piece its own character.
I believe what sets Modern Heir apart is the combination of deeply personal storytelling, thoughtful design and a highly collaborative client experience.
My background in marketing, brand strategy and client experience shapes the way I work. I know how to listen for what someone is really trying to express, even when they don’t yet have the language or design vocabulary to articulate it. I’m not simply asking what type of ring or necklace someone wants. I’m trying to understand what the piece should represent, how they want to feel when they wear it and what part of their story deserves to be carried forward.
Every project begins with a story.
Sometimes that story belongs to a grandmother or mother. Sometimes it marks a marriage, birth, achievement, loss or new beginning. Sometimes it’s about reclaiming jewelry that has been sitting untouched because it no longer reflects the person who owns it. My role is to preserve what matters while giving it a form that feels personal, wearable and enduring.
I’m especially proud of building a business around the belief that honoring the past doesn’t require remaining visually or emotionally stuck in it. An heirloom can carry history while still reflecting the identity of the person wearing it today. To me, that is what makes a piece a true modern heirloom.
I’m also proud that I’ve approached this new chapter with humility and intention. Fine jewelry is an industry with deep traditions, specialized knowledge and extraordinary craftsmanship. I’m continuing to learn from bench jewelers, manufacturers, gemstone professionals and other experts while bringing my own perspective on storytelling, design and client relationships to the work.
Ultimately, I want Modern Heir to be known for creating jewelry with soul: pieces that feel beautiful and distinctive, but also deeply connected to the person wearing them. Jewelry that honors the legacy you carry and the identity you continue to create.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Im first generation American. I speak 4 languages and I’ve lived in 8 different states as well as Montreal, Canada by the time I was in 5th grade! I grew up mostly on the East Coast in my pre-teen, teen and early adult years. I moved to Minneapolis, MN in my late twenties and met and married my husband Mike of 13 years (we’re celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary on July 28th, 2026). I come from a musical background and played the trumpet from middle school, high school and into my college years. I also played with a non-professional community ensemble in my mid-twenties when I moved to Minneapolis.
Contact Info:
- Website: Coming soon! www.modernheirfinejewelry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabysjewelryjourney/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellaisrael/
