MARLA AARON
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE JEWELRY INDUSTRY?
I have been obsessed with jewelry practically my whole life. During my 25th high school reunion, one of my friends showed up with something dangly around her neck. She asked if I recognized it because as it turns out, I had made that for her when we were kids!
DID YOU HAVE ANY TYPE OF DESIGN BACKGROUND?
None – zero.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT JEWELRY?
There is so much, but basically, I’m a frustrated product designer. The functionality and convertibility you see in our pieces is based on me loving to fiddle with things and seeing how things can be improved. Jewelry is my victim right now. I also have a deep love of stones and metal.
HOW LONG HAS YOUR COMPANY BEEN IN BUSINESS?
My company, since 2012 but I was making the locks for myself, friends and coworkers, long before that, around 2005.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO START YOUR COMPANY?
I had this idea in my head and while I so badly wanted to start my own jewelry company, I had a lot of trepidation and fear. I spoke with my husband because it was not a joke of a decision. After all, we had two small children in school, and I had zero jewelry experience. He said I should try it and if it didn’t work, I would just need to go back to work. So I did. I quit my job and started the company with zero experience, a dollar and a dream! I knew what was at stake. I was and still am so completely consumed with it. In fact, this past year, we have introduced more pieces than we ever have, all at once.
WHERE ARE YOU BASED?
New York City.
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
While I was born in Boston, I moved here as a child and I feel like a New Yorker.
ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR JEWELRY
Useful.
IS THERE A UNIQUE STORY BEHIND YOUR BUSINESS NAME OR LOGO?
Not a lot of thought went behind choosing my name. If I had known it was going to be as successful as it is now, I would not have chosen my name.
We just changed our logo. The first logo wasn’t a designed logo and we needed someone to think about our logo and think about us. I approached it with great care and spoke with a number of well-known branding companies. I then read a tiny article in the New York Times, about a guy who had designed a snack container. He was a Mexico based designer and I knew this was my guy. I am very specific aesthetically, but I decided I would go on this ride with him and accept what he suggests. He did a real study of the past, the colors of the logo and I could not be happier with the outcome. I am so happy to have worked with Rafael Prieto from Savvy Studio and Camille Chassagne who works with him.
HOW BIG IS YOUR TEAM?
Between the workshop and our office, we have tripled in size over this past year.
WHAT’S THE FIRST PIECE OF JEWELRY YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH?
While there have been four significant pieces of jewelry I have fallen in love with, the very first one would be one that belonged to my grandmother. She always wore a large Georg Jensen Astrid Fog silver heart. The other three are:
My dome locket. I made it way before my locks. It was my first piece of jewelry that I sat down with a jeweler to make and she said I needed to be in the jewelry industry. I had bought these African ‘buttons’ known as Ekipa in my mid 20s in Barcelona and I loved the shape so much, it inspired me to make the dome locket.
My Di Me bracelet that features an engraving of the entire Shakespeare sonnet.
George L’Enfant’s bracelets.
WHAT IS YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL?
I don’t know – I am an angry hippo.
WHO IS YOUR JEWELRY ICON?
Noma Copley. She did the first pencil bracelet made out of coral and gold.
IF A THEME SONG PLAYED EVERY TIME YOU WALKED INTO A ROOM, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
‘Lady Marmalade’ by Patti LaBelle.
DO YOU HAVE A PIECE(S) OF JEWELRY YOU WEAR EVERY DAY AND IF SO, WHY?
My Di Me bracelet and my wedding ring. Those two pieces are the constants and everything else I change daily.
ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE
Very personal.
LAST PIECE OF JEWELRY YOU BOUGHT AND LOVED
An 18th century carved lava cameo of Medusa from one of my favorite antique jewelry dealers, Symbolic and Chase in London.
THE BEST GIFT YOU’VE GIVEN RECENTLY
We are going to Peru and taking our boys on the Belmond train and visiting Machu Picchu.
THE BEST GIFT YOU’VE RECEIVED RECENTLY
For my birthday, my team bought me a gallon of my absolute favorite ice cream by Sugar Hill Creamery in Harlem – their limited-edition black licorice ice cream called ‘Black Licks Matter’. They do one-off flavors and they released this flavor over the summer. I loved it so much I would call and ask how much I had to buy just so that they could make it again!
Another very special, personal and priceless gift was when my husband surprised me by completely redoing my closet himself! I went away on a business trip and when I came home, he had spent the weekend with my son putting shelving up in my closet for me. The thought behind redoing my closet himself, blew me away.
THE THING YOU ARE COVETING NEXT
So many things! My husband and I are about to embark on a full-scale renovation of our house and I am particularly coveting a Lacanche stove in marigold.
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH…
Pocket books.
FAVORITE FOOD?
Other than licorice ice cream, eggs.
LEAST FAVORITE FOOD?
Mint jelly.
WINE OR CHEESE?
Both.
COFFEE OR TEA?
Coffee.
YOGA OR BOXING?
Yoga.
FAVORITE SEASON?
Fall.
FAVORITE CITY?
New York.
FAVORITE VACATION SPOT?
Wherever my family is.
THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO?
Bach’s Goldberg Variations. I listen to it every day.
THE LAST CONCERT YOU WENT TO?
I don’t like crowds so I don’t go to concerts. Instead, I prefer to go to jazz clubs.
FAVORITE MOVIE?
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. I love Pedro Almodóvar.
SUPERPOWER OF CHOICE?
Patience.
SECRET SKILL?
I know pretty much all the dog breeds and can identify them on the street - it creeps my husband out! My parents raised Siberian huskies and we would go to dog shows and that’s where I learned this secret skill!
FAVORITE PART OF THE DAY?
Waking up.
LEAST FAVORITE PART OF THE DAY?
3pm. It’s neither the beginning nor the end of the day and I am usually tired.
YOU WON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT…
A notebook.
WHEN DO YOU FEEL HAPPIEST?
At home when my whole family is there.
WHEN DO YOU FEEL STRONGEST?
After I have just made a major decision.
YOUR BIGGEST FEAR
That something bad happens to someone I love.
HOW DO YOU PICK YOURSELF UP FROM A LOW DAY?
I try to count my blessings and my dogs are definitely involved! We have two rescues – one is more Pit bull and the other one more Chihuahua.
WHAT PIECE(S) OF JEWELRY MAKES YOU FEEL HAPPIEST?
Our convertible earrings because I can’t get over their functionality.
WHAT PIECE(S) OF JEWELRY MAKES YOU FEEL STRONGEST?
Wearing the combination of the Di Me ring and my wedding ring.
WHAT DOES JOY MEAN TO YOU?
Accomplishment.
WHAT DOES CONFIDENCE MEAN TO YOU?
It’s hard-won.
WHAT DOES EMPOWERED MEAN TO YOU?
Nothing.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF?
Don’t regret not having more time. I just turned 53 and I while I often wish I had started when I was 23, in hindsight, I hadn’t weathered enough and maybe I wouldn’t have acquired the necessary life skills to start my company and succeed.
WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU?
On Instagram I give the impression that I am very easygoing and happy go lucky, but nothing is un- studied or off the cuff, I don’t ever truly just wing it.