Lady LUX

Nicola Yoon got into jewelry by accident.

While she has always adored jewelry (“couldn’t afford a lot of it, but loved it”), she never considered designing until she received a Christmas gift from a friend.

“I didn’t actually think it was something I could do. It was something that I loved so much but seemed out of reach,” she explained. Looking at her friend’s handmade jewelry, something just clicked. Maybe, just maybe, she could take her grandma’s crocheting skills and turn them into a career, or at least a hobby.

Like so many of today’s entrepreneurs seeking to educate themselves, she turned to the Internet to take classes.

Jewelry wasn’t that big a leap for Yoon. From painting and drawing as a child to studying creative writing in graduate school, Yoon has always gravitated toward creative pursuits.

“I had a lot of interests, but nothing really focused me quite as well as the jewelry-making did,” Yoon revealed.

She calls her husband her lucky break. As a web designer, he pushed her to start her own online site in 2008. It didn’t take long before the website attracted some interest.

Yoon sees the world as saturated with cheap, mass-produced products. Her jewelry, all crafted by hand, is intended to be organic and natural. Her process is simple: sit and look at the gemstones and wait for inspiration to strike.

“Mostly it’s me in my studio playing with all the gemstones I’ve picked up. … I tend not to draw first or write in a notebook first. I tend to just play with things and see what happens,” she said.

She considers her jewelry to be a little more understated, with a casual elegance that can be worn every day.

“I do think they are more intimate and personal than a lot of the bigger, showy statement pieces that are out there,” the designer said. “Those are fantastic, but they are not my aesthetic. I bring that to the marketplace: something romantic, intimate, with bright colors. They’re happy pieces.”

Her intimate philosophy also carries over to the semi-precious gemstones she works with. In choosing her materials, Yoon’s selection comes down to the “prettiness.”

“I like working with small, high-quality gems as opposed to the bigger, more costume pieces,” she disclosed. “I just love the purity of them. I think my pieces work better close-up. I really love working with smaller, beautiful things.”

She draws inspiration from the gemstones themselves, as well as nature, such as the colors and shapes of flowers. Her favorite piece, a cherry blossom necklace, came from pictures of cherry blossoms that she translated into five-petal pearl flowers.

Bold and colorful while still retaining a sense of delicacy, all of her pieces display her romantic aesthetic.

“I try to go for a simple joy when you see the jewelry, when you wear it,” she said. “Life is complicated and all this stuff, and when you put my jewelry on, I want it to be a simple joy, something that makes you feel beautiful and happy just the moment you’re putting it on or when you play with it during the day.”

The key to her success: a lot of luck, she revealed. Luck and hard work. Although she puts in full workdays as a database developer, she still has to squeeze in not just time to craft the jewelry, but time to handle the business side of the company. This has translated to many 4 a.m. mornings and late nights burning the midnight oil – especially after Lucky magazine featured her moonstone earrings and necklace.

Starting a new business during a recession hasn’t been easy, but it has been rewarding. When Yoon hears back from customers, such as a bride who wore one of her pieces to her wedding, all the work is worthwhile.

Her first collection, the Classic Collection, was released in 2008, followed by the Josephine Modern Vintage Collection, inspired by Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife; the Tress Collection of long, layered pieces; and her latest, the Nicola Everyday Collection.

“I’ve learned that inspiration comes to you when it comes. There’s times when I sit down and want to make something, and nothing is happening and so then I will just make inventory,” she said. “And sometimes when I am quite busy doing something else, something will pop into my mind and I’ll need to go and make that. So it’s not something that you can corral. It comes when it comes.”

Having been featured in magazines such as Lucky, Oprah, Glamour and Redbook, Yoon is hoping to get another big break from a recent show at Unique LA or from her new summer campaign, an attempt to launch in stores.

She describes herself as not a fashion girl, but a “basic girl.”

“My secret guilty pleasure has always been jewelry, but I’m not a shoes person or a handbag person,” Yoon declared. “I like things that make you more like you, not things (that) cover you up. So for me, that’s what jewelry does. It enhances.”

She advises women to “try to find something that makes you feel beautiful every day. That’s what I’m going for when I make things.”

Experience her collections at www.nicolayoon.com.

Tagged in: lux exclusives, jewelry, nicola yoon,

Fashion / Features