JEWEL CITIZENSHIP
For three Kiwi jewellers who launched brands abroad, New Zealand remains a key influence, says Phoebe Watt
Kiwi designers on the world stage
“I think every woman has a bit of dichotomy to her being: a desire to feel strong and intelligent, but also to feel love and show a sense of softness. I try to design jewellery with this in mind.”
Meet 29-year-old Ella Drake, the New Zealand-born former face of Gucci and founder and managing director of Monarc Concierge. Launched last year, the brand is every bit as dichotomous as its customers, comprising a ready-to-wear line with a focus on strong, classic pieces, and a bespoke service that caters to those looking for something more elaborate, opulent and sentimental — a future heirloom, in other words.
“I’m not one for fast fashion,” says Ella, who modelled for several luxury fashion houses after moving to Europe aged 21. It wasn’t planned; what was meant to be a quick turn on the catwalk during a university break became a major change of direction when the high-fashion contracts began to roll in. But despite quickly building an impressive portfolio, she didn’t really see herself as a model — she was far more intrigued in the creative process behind the ensembles she wore. “My life had changed drastically in just a few months,” she recalls, “and the thing that kept me from freaking out was my genuine interest in watching designers work their magic and actualise new collections each season. It left me feeling really inspired.”
Having been obsessed with collecting antique and vintage costume jewellery as a child, booking a shoot for Italy’s Vogue Gioiello (Vogue Jewellery) was the final push Ella needed to enrol at the prestigious Gemology Institute of America (GIA) in Florence. There she gained a strong foundation of jewellery knowledge, and was able to hone her taste and approach to design. But it was working for a major international jewellery production company after completing her GIA training that she believes made her the jeweller she is today.
“The responsibility of co-designing and managing a number of European accounts taught me how to make seasonal collections commercially viable,” says Ella, for whom being down to earth and approachable in business remains a priority. “No customer should feel threatened or undeserving when discussing luxury product.” This brand ethos, which Ella says comes naturally to her as a New Zealander, is especially applicable to Monarc Concierge’s bespoke offerings. “I steer every part of that process, which starts with getting to know the client and what they’re after, then issuing concept sketches or computerised renders to help build a profile of the right piece.”
When a client has selected their unique design, production can begin. Sustainable and ethical practices are important to Ella, and her stringent requirements regarding the origins of the materials she uses and her manufacturing techniques mean that she occasionally has to deny customers’ requests. “But I won’t compromise social and environmental justices for the sake of extraordinary jewellery. It’s important to me that all of my jewellery goes into the world with a clean conscience.”
Luckily for Ella, the Monarc Concierge customer has a discerning eye; “She appreciates quality craftsmanship and highly considered materials.” And for her part, Ella isn’t in the business of creating ‘just’ jewellery — her pieces are personalised heirlooms. “Jewellery acts as a transferable token, passing memories from generation to generation,” she says. “I recognise and appreciate that, which is why I create well-designed items to be treasured over time.”
In a small light-filled studio in London Bridge, 32-year-old Kasun Ekanayake spends his days at a computer, creating new concepts for his premium, cutting-edge jewellery brand, Kasun London. “Everything is digitally rendered,” he says. “Even the initial sketches. It’s amazing the unique features you can develop using 3D software, and how far you can use technology to push jewellery production techniques.”
Considering himself more analytical than artistic, when Kasun moved to Auckland from Sri Lanka at the age of 12 he was, he says, more interested in cricket than anything else, and only picked up art in high school because his English “wasn’t very good”. Ironically, it wasn’t English but art that he failed at Bursary level, but when it came to applying for university, he found himself drawn only to creative disciplines. “My mum and dad thought I was crazy,” he says. “But they gave my sister and I the freedom to find ourselves.”
Noting their son’s affinity for maths, Kasun’s parents convinced him to go down a design path, so he enrolled in an industrial design degree at Massey University in Wellington. He thrived, and after graduating interned at Graham Shirley Goldsmith in Auckland, where he helped to manufacture collections for Kiwi brands Meadowlark and Stolen Girlfriends Club. Then the only local jewellers to utilise 3D design software and 3D printing, Graham Shirley showed Kasun the potential computer technology had to impact jewellery production, and it was there that he realised he wanted to be a jewellery designer. “But the market for designer jewellery in New Zealand felt quite small at the time,” says Kasun, who adds that he was 22 and “ready for an adventure”.
He moved to Leeds in 2007, and quickly landed a job at multi-brand jewellery retailer Azendi. As their in-house designer, he was instrumental in launching their own branded jewellery — an exercise that taught him about the limitations of designing for the commercial market. “High street designs have to meet a certain price point, so there is a certain amount of compromise required,” says Kasun. “I knew if I wanted creative freedom, I had to start my own brand.”
Relocating to London in 2012 to consult for leading UK jewellery brand HD Group put Kasun in the position to do just that. He’s now able to meld his interest in industrial design with his love of luxury to create what he describes as “beautiful, thoughtprovoking pieces that are forward-thinking, yet timeless”. Known for their abstract forms, Kasun’s mostly unisex pieces feature sharp angles, dark colours, gloss finishes, and gothic, machine-made details. They’ve captured the imagination of celebrities including Jourdan Dunn, Kendall Jenner, Ellie Goulding and FKA Twigs, and will feature in Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi film Ready Player One, which is set for release next year. But Kasun isn’t complacent. “Celebrity endorsement is a great compliment for the brand and the jewellery, but you still need to create good product to get good sell-through.”
With several accolades to his name and nominated for Jewellery Designer of the Year at the 2017 Retail Jeweller UK Jewellery Awards, Kasun is clearly delivering on this front. His key to success? A consistently positive outlook, for which he credits his New Zealand upbringing. “When you live in a city like London and work in a sector like fashion, life can be very demanding and stressful, but I think growing up in Sri Lanka and then New Zealand made me immune. It’s that island mentality of not worrying too much or taking anything too seriously,” he says. “I just stick to my vision and the rest will take care of itself.”
As senior features editor at harpersbazaar.com, Olivia Fleming has what many would consider a dream job. At the very least, it’s her dream job — the one she wanted since she was 10 years old, that she set her sights on as a journalism student at Auckland University of Technology, and that kept her focused throughout her early 20s as she worked her way up from Fashion Quarterly intern, to Teen Vogue assistant, to full-time contributor at one of the most prestigious fashion titles on the planet.
But a few years ago, and despite her professional success, Olivia realised something was missing from her life — a mood ring made of quality metal that wouldn’t make her finger turn green. Eventually, a friend told her to stop complaining and get creative, and Olivia Kane Jewelry was born.
“I think it’s very much a New Zealand trait: if you want something badly enough, you just make it work.” This is Olivia’s explanation not only for how she manages her brand on top of her day job, but also how the brand came into being. The latter involved a whole lot of problem solving. A year’s worth, in fact, from when she first approached a friend in the jewellery industry for guidance (“I bought her a beer and asked her to tell me everything she knew”) to her launch date. But she had certain circumstances on her side.
“When I googled ‘how to launch a jewellery brand’, the biggest challenges people talked about were finding retailers, luring customers to an online store and getting exposure in magazines,” says Olivia. With a fiancé at website-building company Squarespace and several boutique-owning friends, creating a beautiful website and securing stockists weren’t huge hurdles. But Olivia’s trump card was her connection to the publishing industry.
To date, Olivia’s designs have featured everywhere from Man Repeller, Refinery 29 and WWD, to Australian Vogue and, of course, Harper’s Bazaar. Undoubtedly, her insider access to these media outlets helped her cause initially, however she never for a second considered continued coverage in print and online to be a given. “In my world, you’re only as good as your last article or design,” she says. “You have to continue to prove yourself. So as crazy, validating and exciting as that affirmation from the fashion industry is, it also just drives me to demonstrate that they weren’t wrong to believe in me.”
Olivia says the specialist craftspeople in New York’s jewellery district play a big part in keeping her standards high. “That’s the beauty of starting a business in Manhattan — the island is full of experts to call on.” The quality of her materials is also key, with conscious production practices paramount. She uses 14-carat recycled gold and the pouches her pieces come in are made from discarded leather. Her stones are natural and ethically mined, and not just any will do. “I’m obsessed with unique and rare stones,” she says. “I spend hours and sometimes weeks searching for unusual inclusions in precious and semi-precious gems.”
The sentimentality of jewellery is at the forefront of Olivia’s mind when she’s designing. “I love selling pieces as gifts. I have a weakness for men who buy them for the women in their lives, and I spend a lot of time running around New York in the weekends delivering jewellery, because the idea of her not getting the gift in time is too much for me to bear.”
It’s a scenario that sums up Olivia’s MO. “I cannot overstate the importance of customer service. Treat your customers like royalty and you will be rewarded for it.”