IN THE FAMILY

IMOGEN LEHTONEN WELDS TOGETHER THE WORLDS OF MOTORCYCLES AND JEWELRY-MAKING.

- Devon Preston

Riding is in her blood.

Imogen Lehtonen has been around motorcycles her entire life. As she grew older, riding became more than just a way to get from point A to point B. “Riding has kept me in touch with my dad,” Lehtonen says. “When I was younger, I always knew I was going to ride a motorcycle because I used to sit on the back of his bike with him. He was diagnosed with cancer and given a year and a half to live, but ended up getting seven years. To this day, whenever I’m on my bike he’s right there in my helmet and it makes me feel close to him.”

Lehtonen was born a floor above her family’s London jewelry store, The Great Frog, but spent most of her childhood between New Zealand and the United States. New Zealand gave her an appreciation for the outdoors, but the States taught her how to ride. “Every year, we’d travel to Florida to visit my dad’s family,” Lehtonen says. “We would take the bikes out and there were no other cars on the road, so it would be a free-for-all of figuring it out. I remember following my dad and there was no gradient between where the road ended and the grass began. I got to know the streets around my aunt’s place and I started experimenting with bike yoga—standing on the seat or taking both hands off. Since then, it’s just been a constant learning experience.”