March 9, 2026
To celebrate International Women’s Month, we’re shining a light on some incredible women from the TGF community, starting with TGF's very own Imogen Lehtonen.
Originally hailing from New Zealand, Imogen has carved a name for herself in the LA community as both an incredible biker and also the charismatic boss of the first TGF outpost in the States.
She is TGF through and through; she was born on the floor of the old TGF shop in Harrow-on-the-Hill and used to live upstairs above our Soho store, where she worked and trained alongside our founder Paterson.
Read on to hear about her inspiration, her favourite TGF pieces and carrying on the family legacy.
My name is Imogen Lehtonen and I am part of The Great Frog family! My uncle Paterson and aunt Carol founded TGF in 1972.
In the early 80’s Paterson’s sister (my mum, Felicity) and Carol’s brother (my dad, Brian) came from New Zealand and the US respectively to work with their siblings at the family business in London making jewelry.
My mum and dad fell in love while working and living together there and consequently I was born on the floor in the flat that the whole extended family (Pat, Carol, mum, dad, uncle Gavan, Reino, his sister Mercedes and my two older siblings) lived in above The Great Frog in Harrow-on-the-hill in 1988.
My parents moved our family to New Zealand when I was a baby and at some point in the 90’s Pat and Carol opened a TGF in Auckland NZ which my parents eventually took over.
I worked on the shop floor and in the basement workshop and continued my benchwork education under Paterson's tutelage. This time had a huge impression on me, I loved London and felt right at home in the dark atmosphere, skulls, tools, good music and good people!
I haven’t had any formal training in jewelry work, just a lifetime of learning from family members, as well as picking up tips from jewelers I’ve hired to work with here in LA.
Pictured below, Imogen (left) and her father Brian (right).
Growing up in the family business I was in workshops from a young age and would work in the shop after school. As well as the retail side of things, my mum taught me how to bead necklaces, bracelets and earrings. I would shadow my dad while he tinkered at the bench from a young age, teaching me bits and pieces over time, including the casting process, wax work, soldering, polishing and how to use saws/files/hammers etc.
When I finished high school in NZ, I saved up money and left at 19 to travel and ended up in London between 2007-2008 living and working at The Great Frog in Carnaby/Ganton St. I know it looks very different now, post renovation, but it was very grungy and creaky then. I lived in the small and dark attic (called ‘the rat’s nest’) and Paterson lived in the bedroom on the floor below.
Occasionally there were inspections to make sure no one was living in the building as it was illegal and we would close the attic hatch and prop up Pat's mattress!
I worked on the shop floor and in the basement workshop and continued my benchwork education under Paterson's tutelage. This time had a huge impression on me, I loved London and felt right at home in the dark atmosphere, skulls, tools, good music and good people!
I haven’t had any formal training in jewelry work, just a lifetime of learning from family members, as well as picking up tips from jewelers I’ve hired to work with here in LA.
After my travels I ended up back in NZ and did a couple years of University but was I itching to get back out. I was dating a musician at the time who wanted to move to Los Angeles to pursue music and I encouraged it. I ended up moving to LA in 2010 - being a dual citizen of NZ and the US made this fairly easy.
I worked catering jobs at fancy Hollywood parties and events for a bit and then was reunited with my cousin Reino at my sister's wedding in NZ and pitched an idea about opening a TGF in LA.
He said he’d keep it in mind and only a few months later an opportunity came up with his friends at DiCE magazine (British motorcycle mag). They also wanted to open a store in LA. We teamed up with them and a men's clothing brand to create ‘TRIco’ in Hollywood which we opened in September of 2011 with a massive party that Lemmy attended.
I managed that store for 2 and a half years, pushing TGF, selling motorcycle apparel/helmets/boots etc and getting enmeshed into motorcycle culture in LA.
At the time, it was very rare to come across anyone who had heard of The Great Frog over here - we’d never had a presence in the US (the NY store had’t yet opened) and social media hadn’t taken off in a big way quite yet. I had a whole spiel about the family business and our rock’n’roll history that I would recite to customers and we started doing pretty well!
I again appealed to Reino about opening our own stand-alone TGF store…
We opened the official TGF LA headquarters on Melrose in West Hollywood in February 2014 - it was a whirlwind of painting and building, outfitting the shopfront and workshop, sourcing vintage cabinets, getting a sign made etc.
My (now) husband, Lucifer was involved every step of the way and we have since been running the shop together.
My role has been wearing many hats over the years, basically! Hiring and training staff for the shop floor and workshop, head jeweller, managing and directing daily operations, customer service, visual merchandising, social media (now outsourced to other staff), planning events, admin, scheduling, networking/outreach etc.
Currently there are 4 staff including myself, although it has fluctuated over the years. This is the smallest crew we’ve had, it's been as many as 6 or 7 in the past.
We have Lucifer who takes care of payroll, managing accounts/bills, shop and storage maintenance, and running all of our outsourcing to downtown vendors for laser sizing, engraving, stones and workshop supplies.
Rosie, a long-time friend who I met in the TRIco years (is the daughter of the late Matt Davis who was a founder of DiCE magazine). She works on the shop floor and is also our office wizard who takes care of emails, customer service, stock and ordering from London and packing/shipping.
And Ary, our little goth queen who’s been with us about 5 years, she works on the shop floor and manages the social media for the LA shop.
The area is pretty cool - Melrose Ave is an iconic street in LA and we are situated on the more western area nearer the famous sunset strip music venues/ Rainbow Room etc and Beverly Hills, so we get a good mix of people from all over. We have our long time neighbors and friends Agent Provocateur a few doors down. Other shops are coming and going all the time.
The area has taken a hit since Covid, like a lot of LA. We’ve dealt with riots and looting, wildfires and armed robberies in the area in recent years. But we’re still standing strong - It’s been an adventure!
My dad is my biggest inspiration. He passed away in 2014, the same year we opened the Melrose store. Working with my hands and using the skills he instilled in me at a young age keep me feeling connected to him. He was my favorite person in the world and I aspire to possess his energy, attitude and outlook on life every day.
Honestly my whole family lore and history inspire me hugely. It’s pretty cool what TGF has evolved into over 50 something years and I’m so proud to be a part of its evolution. My cousin Reino’s talent and vision inspire me hugely, as well as my uncle Gavan Riley who recently retired after decades of making beautiful nature inspired jewelry in NZ - he also made a lot of early TGF pieces that are still best-sellers today. The connection to music and bands that I love, motorcycles. All of it!
I love jewellery making because it grounds me. I love working with my hands, problem solving, creating beautiful things and playing my part in carrying on my family’s legacy.
Ooh, that’s a tricky question. I have built up quite a collection over a lifetime! My Vertebrae Ring might be one of my most favorite - it’s such a statement piece always catching the eye. When I lived in London in 2007 I was organizing the rubber mold storage and shooting waxes when I came across the mold for the vertebrae ring which had been forgotten about for many years and hadn’t been on the shop floor. I was immediately obsessed and took it to my uncle Pat, questioning why we didn’t have any. We got a bunch cast up for the shop floor and the rest is history.
Pictured below, Imogen with her Vertabrae Ring
Becoming a mother has been the most transformative experience of my life. My boys are 2 and 4 and are often involved in shop life. One of my four year olds first words was ‘skull’, as he’d see them at work. I’ll sometimes set them up with a hammer and a steel block on the floor of the workshop so I can get things done.
Their wonder at the world is a huge part of what drives me, inspires me and helps to form the attitude in life I strive for.
