Lucas+

Good vibes only —

it’s a mantra jewelry designer and fashion model Lucas Goossens abides by wholeheartedly, informing how he lives his life and even runs his business.

The 24 year old was born - along with his twin sister, Pauline, in California, grew up in small town in Oregon, and have most of their family now residing in the French territory New Caledonia, just off the coast of Australia. They remember their childhood fondly, always playing and spending time together.

During one point in our photoshoot— as only a twin sister could— Pauline calls her brother out for being “greedy” as a child. Lucas concurs: he says the impetus of his positivity-celebrating jewelry company, LucasPlus, was actually his (former) perpetual negativity. The change came about four years ago, when he resolved to be nicer to the people around him on New Year’s. The goal stuck. To commemorate the change, Goossens bought himself a ring and just like that, a designer was born.

He immediately wanted more pieces for himself but was dissatisfied with what he was finding on the market. He’d learned CAD in high school and always loved “nerding out” on his laptop, so he taught himself how to use Google SketchUp and started creating digital jewelry designs. With no background in metalworking, Goossens turned to 3D printing to get his designs from the computer to his fingers.

He began with the “plus” symbol as the foundational piece of his entire business; he wanted a visual reminder to continually think good thoughts, even in the face of bad. He believes it to be a magnet for positivity and considers it a philosophical representation of the way he wants to live his life.

An integral part of Lucas’ journey, of course, is his twin sister Pauline. Lucas calls having a twin “a blessing in life” and considers her his female counterpart; this male/female dichotomy is at the basis of his jewelry designs, as they’re all meant to be unisex. Pauline even directly inspired a specific piece in his collection; the spiritual hamsa symbol. Her boyfriend had mentioned to Lucas that he was planning to gift Pauline a hamsa necklace for her birthday; Lucas knew immediately he’d make one for his sister. The hamsa is meant to ward off evil and attract good and is found in many different cultures and countries, regardless of their national religious beliefs.

“The hamsa is meant to ward off evil and attract good and is found in many different cultures and countries, regardless of their national religious beliefs. ”

As for the future of LucasPlus, Goossens has his sights set on space. Citing a life-long interest in the cosmos, he’s started creating designs based on the shapes of galaxies. The swirling, spectral shapes are almost impossible to achieve on a computer so Goossens has taken to the page, designing by hand to get the forms exactly correct. He’s definitely ready to take his jewelry line to the next level in 2016 and from what we’ve seen, it’s going to be a good one!

While the twins each have their own lives and loves in New York, the twins definitely still orbit closely around one another to this day. Living together— sharing a womb, a bed, a cat and often a brain — Lucas and Pauline consider themselves more than just brother and sister. There’s a special connection between the two, an obvious affection and ease as they move in and out of two different conversations at once, finding words for the other when their counterpart is searching for the right phrase.