Growing up I always wanted a twin sister. I was convinced that my life would be so much better if only I had a twin. In fact I would spend my days dreaming up what we do together and it was everything...from sharing secrets to creating mischief and all else in between. But alas, as life would have it, I was without a twin sister. Instead I was the only girl smack in the middle of my two brothers and my dream remained just a dream.
So, you can only imagine how I must have felt when I came across Vale Jewelry, a jewelry line designed by twin sisters, Eva and Ava Bai. Their style is feminine, classic, and simple. And perfect for the woman who wants to have a glamourous style everyday. I think you will love their story and their jewelry as much as I do.
How would you describe your own
personal jewelry style?
We both love
accessories that are modern, low-key, elegant, and feminine with a minimal
aesthetic.
How did you get into jewelry and
jewelry design in the first place?
Our
obsession with hands-on art started at young age. During our youth, we spent
many summers together at our aunt’s house in South Jersey where days were
pretty idyllic, where most of our afternoons were passed at the beach, time
marked mainly by meals and trips to the local shopping centers. No suburban
shopping center worth their salt would be without a Michael’s or Joanne
Fabrics, shops devoted to the craft lover. We’d spend hours upon hours in the
aisles of these craft emporiums, discovering all the hidden joys of building
hummingbird houses, needlework, lanyard braiding, painting, knitting,
jewelry-making.
The thing
that all these projects had in common is that they all require working with
your hands and having a dash of imagination.
Our official
foray didn’t pick up again after college. We opened up a store with some other
designers also just starting off. The boutique was in the Lower East Side, when
it consisted just of rows and rows of bodegas, bars and late-night greasy
spoons. The traffic didn’t catch up until years later, but after a year, we
decided to focus on wholesale. Within another 2 years, we were carried at over
90 stores around the world.
Where do you get your inspiration?
We continue
to read, study and travel, keeping our eyes and minds open to the experience,
people, culture and ideas we encounter. We’re lucky to have the opportunity to
have been to so many places around the world and we find that our collections
are inspired often from concepts, tastes, colors, histories and art from those
places and cultures we’ve been able to see and experience.
Are you inspired by other people?
Absolutely,
we are continually inspired by both people from other eras as well as by our
own contemporaries.
What do you enjoy most about
designing jewelry?
Watching
someone put it on and really loving it! We never get tired of that!
Tell us about the design/making
process? Do you have a design routine or does it happen more organically?
Our days are
generally pretty unpredictable. It’s what we like best about our work. From
handling wholesale orders, rushing special projects, meeting with couples to
co-design wedding rings, participating in last minute trunk shows, there is a
such wide range of activities.
When we’re
in our office, our mornings typically involve meeting with our diamond dealers,
purchasing raw materials like gold and silver wire and plate, handling and
approving castings, preparing the pieces before we bring them for the hands-on
work in our studio in Queens.
In our
downtime, we spend a lot of time at museums, reading, researching, looking to
see how we can build our next collection. The wonderful thing about being in
NYC is its frenetic and vibrant culture. Even a day spent sitting at cafes
between buying appointments and competitive research involves a lot of
interaction. We draw an incredible amount of inspiration from the environment
around us, from our friends, keeping our ears to the ground for how we can
design styles that people respond to and that speak to them.
Tell us about your latest collections
or designs?
Our latest collection centers on using raw diamond slices as well as sapphire slices in a range of gorgeous colors.
How would you describe the woman who
wears your line? And who would your
dream client(s) be?
We’re really
lucky to be working with our dream client. Kelly Ripa wears many of our pieces
and she is our ideal modern woman. She is chic, smart, funny, sassy, and
manages to never take herself too seriously. She radiates a confidence that
makes her incredibly beautiful and appealing to everyone she meets. Despite her
success, she still remains humble and is a generous human being. It’s hard not
to understand why so many people feel that they can relate to her and would
want her as a friend.
We believe
that accessorizing should be fun and easy. Our pieces are meant to be something
women can use to add to their personal style. We are big believers that
accessories are meant to accessorize and that is the reason why our line is so
universal and our clients range so different in terms of style. We design for
the Vale girl in mind. She is a woman who enjoys classic styles with a bit of
edge. She can be fun and flirty but loves playing with the current trend to
create a look of her own. She isn’t running around chasing trends but is
confident in her style. She mixes subtlety, elegance and good taste.
What are the greatest challenges to
running your own jewelry line?
Our biggest
challenge is really being siblings and running a business together. The key is
to not take one another for granted. We try to always be respectful of space
and our specific roles within the company.
How would describe the jewelry you
wear? Which piece of yours is a personal favorite, why?
One of our
favorite pieces is the 14K Rectangle Plate Necklace. It’s a simple
high-polished rectangular plate thin enough to feel comfortable and heavy
enough to make a statement. We’ve had it in our collection for nearly 6 years
but it continues to be a piece that is universally appealing. It is probably
the piece of jewelry that best reflect our personal style, one that is not
fussy or high-maintenance but low-key and chic.
It seems to be a really exciting time
for the jewelry industry at the moment why do you think that is?
Every
industry has its moment we suppose, but we feel there’s been a recent shake-up
and resettling of the trend jewelry industry, at least here in NY. The jewelry
trade is one that has relatively low barrier-to-entry, but to maintain a viable
brand and business, you have to offer something of value to your clientele and
you have to do that year-in, year-out.
While a lot
of the big brands are realizing the importance of adding accessories to their
ready-to-wear lines as well as offering collaborative collections within their
bricks-and-mortars, we feel it’s more a reflection of the way the retail
industry as a whole is evolving rather than the jewelry industry itself.
Retailers,
big and small, now realize that their modern customers like shopping from a
lifestyle shop rather than from a store with a narrow focus. The key is to
offer unique products that has a story to tell but that adds something to the
life of the person purchasing this item.
Who are the new or up and coming
designers you have your eye on at the moment?
We love so
many designers that are both new and established. We reach for The Row, Stella
McCartney, Rebecca Taylor, Prabal Gurung, Celine, Valentino. Brands that have
made it their business to add edge to feminine style!
Louise
Goldin has done an amazing job making structural but surprisingly flattering
pieces that are feminine but never too sweet. We love that Philip Lim and Derek
Lam continue to make incredibly wearable but hip clothing that doesn’t feel
tired or too put-together.
Do you have a piece you are most
coveting?
No, however,
we’re planning on a big trip to Vietnam, so some of the obsessions may have to
wait!
Where do you source your stones and
materials? How do you decide which materials to use?
We source
the majority of stones from India and Brazil. We are usually first inspired by
color and that sometimes leads up to a specific stone.
What is your biggest achievement so
far?
Surviving
through one of the toughest economic times in our lives and flourishing. We
have so many more places we want to take Vale.
What is your typical day like?
Please refer
to answer about Design Process.
What advice would you give a young
aspiring designer or someone toying with the idea of making jewelry?
The same
advice we’ll give anyone trying to establish a brand and start a business. Do
what you love and be kind and humble. Treat everyone with respect and never
underestimate what that person can teach you or how that person can help you
along your path to success. Despite our increasingly technology-oriented world,
business still ultimately happens between 2 people and the nitty-gritty takes
place in these interactions.
What’s next?
We’ll love
to continue working on more collaborative projects. We’ve created a capsule
collection with Alexander Ross, an American sculptor, draftsman and artist.
We’ll love to continue doing those types of capsule collections. Definitely
more collaborations and lines for bigger brands.
Any style tips?
Trust your
inner sense of style and don’t be afraid to try new things!
Describe your style/jewelry
three words.
