Las Vegas is overwhelmed by afternoon heat, but JCK Las Vegas is enjoying a slight lull before the evening shows, workshops and other events, so I am hurrying to the Venetian Hotel to meet the Aston Luxury Group, which arrived in Las Vegas bringing along a broad array of news.
First of all, on May 24th, Gitanjali USA, a leading diamond jewelry manufacturer and wholesaler and one of the world's largest conglomerates of diamonds, jewelry, and lifestyle brands, introduced the Aston Luxury Group as a new corporate brand identity and the umbrella company for all of their current and future brand distribution in the USA. Jamison Ernest was appointed as Aston's creative director. Ernest is the founder of the New York City-based Yellow Fever Creative, an artistic studio with an international focus on art, music, fashion, film and new media in high-end and casual luxury markets.
On June 3rd, actress Rosario Dawson, New York jewelry designer Genevieve Jones, and supermodel Linda Vojtova officially launched Aston Luxury Group’s newest brand 'Love Universe' at the Venetian Hotel Tao Night Club in Las Vegas. 'Love Universe' is not just a fashion lifestyle jewelry brand, but it is also a philanthropic movement with a moral commitment to serve charitable causes that will strive to make the world a better place to live.
Linda Vojtova, who was born in Prague but became a top model in New York, has launched Love Linda Vojtova, her own collection of fashion jewelry based on love for her dog Teddy. Just a few days ago Linda had a photo shoot with Vogue Russia for their jewelry issue in August. We hope to see Linda's jewelry line in Russian jewelry stores sometime soon in the future!
About all this - and also about the plans made by Aston Luxury Group for 2011, the results they managed to achieve in the first quarter, the situation in the U.S. market, the process of creating the Love Universe Brand and its prospects in the local market and overseas, the designer undertakings of the Czech supermodel, the search of creative inspiration in India and how the practice of yoga can help a jewelry designer in New York - the editor of the American Bureau of Rough&Polished spoke with the President of Aston Luxury Group, Jon Mitchell, the company’s Creative Director Jamison Ernest, model Linda Vojtova and jewelry designer Genevieve Jones.
Please tell me about your collection.
Linda Vojtova: This is my first collection released under the title of ‘Love Linda Vojtova’ and it is based on love for my dog. It is basically for people that love their animals and want to have their time with them even when they are away from them. The line is primarily centered on sterling silver jewelry with color stones and diamonds. I wanted to make timeless pieces that are able to be used as high fashion pieces. All of them make statement, and you can wear them together or separately, it's a fun line!
Jon Mitchell: Feel free to try them! Touch them, feel them!
Linda Vojtova: These are my favorites [showing cute bracelets]. Look, they have a little paw and whole fur on. So the idea is, when you look at it, you might actually think about being a dog. Then if you look closely you understand what it is.
How did your dog inspire you to create this collection?
Linda Vojtova: I spent most of my free time with him, and I just really love animals. That was my first thought about. I always wanted to buy something that would remind me of my dog and I never could because there was nothing that I really liked. So that's where the idea came from.
What do you think is the best way to wear your jewelry? Is it for evening or casual wear?
Linda Vojtova: I think for both, I wear it when I go out, like a cocktail party I wore it last night for our launch. Some pieces are more day time, but it really depends on how you dress with them. For example, something like this necklace is more casual, it looks like a dog leash. Some of them are really night pieces, like some of the rings in my line. It really depends on what you want to be, you know.
What kind of customers do you think would be most interested in your collection?
Linda Vojtova: I think mostly the crowd like downtown New York.
Maybe also people who share love for animals?
Linda Vojtova: Yes, absolutely!
Please, tell me about the price range of this collection.
Jon Mitchell: Prices are from $300 to $800 in retail.
Was this collection created exclusively for the US market or is it going to be an international brand?
Jon Mitchell: Yes, it's going to be an international brand. Initially we're going to start in North America including the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. But definitely we're going to look to branch it out worldwide starting next year.
Which markets are you going to target?
Jon Mitchell: Overall, our group has retail facilities around the world, so we'll probably look to go to India and the Middle East where our group is very strong in terms of our own retail. I think this would be great for Japan - we also have stores in Japan, as well. So I can definitely see them over there, for sure.
Have you ever considered the Chinese market since it's growing so fast?
Jon Mitchell: Yes! We also have around 75 stores in China, too. So I think it'd be a great testing market, as well. It really is affordable luxury, and I think it appeals to a wide variety of markets.
How did your launch event go last night, did you enjoy it?
Linda Vojtova: It was amazing, we had so many people showed up, we've got so much press. It seems people really enjoyed the jewelry. We had these models that were going around with trays and the glasses full of ice. All the jewelry was displayed on that. It was a very unique way of displaying the jewelry which I haven't seen myself anywhere else. So it was a really special event that we had. Rosario Dawson [the award-winning American actress, singer and writer] was the host and she made a great job. Overall, it was a great way how to interact with the jewelry.
Jon Mitchell: We had a great mix of industry people at the event. There were a lot of retailers, a lot of industry people. Everybody who saw the jewelry they loved it, they got it right away! We had 3 huge screens set up, like 10 feet by 10 feet screens. All of our imagery, all our amazing branding that we have with it and the products were shown up on those screens the entire night. We also had our catalogues on the tables. We've got so many compliments!
Can you walk me through the rest of your products?
Jon Mitchell: So that's Linda's collection, all designed and inspired by Linda, and here's our core line. In addition to the different collaborations that we have, we also have Love Universe that is our core line. It's all silver based with semiprecious stones, we also use Swarovski crystals, we even use enamel, yellow gold and rose gold plating, so that we can get a wide range of looks. I think with this collection with all the colors and all the uniqueness of it women will be able to accessorize in any occasion whether they're just hanging out, going to their friends or doing something a little bit more formal. There are definitely pieces in here that cater to all those occasions.
Another line is inspired by Genevieve Jones, she's an iconic jewelry designer who is collaborating with us, so all of these pieces were her design inspirations. Most of them are set in brass with gold plating, and the stones are white topaz.
Is this collection also dedicated to love for animals?
Jon Mitchell: No, not necessarily. She has a very creative mind and creative vision, and her pieces reflect a wide range of her life experiences.
I've heard she's traveled around the globe to find her inspiration and lived in India as well. How do you collaborate with her?
Jon Mitchell: She owns her company called Genevieve Jones. We've signed an agreement to do a collaboration, it is called Love Genevieve Jones. These are the initial pieces, there is going to be even more. It will be marketed and sold as Love Genevieve Jones. And for Linda it’s Love Linda Vojtova. The core line is Love Universe, so every additional collaboration we do will be always love and then whoever the person is.
Jon, why did you choose Las Vegas to launch your new brand?
Jon Mitchell: This time of a year for the jewelry industry is really the main opportunity in the United States where you have 30 thousand buyers come in one place. So it was really a logical move to launch it here, because we can be in front of pretty much everybody in this industry. I mean everybody is here this time, so the timing was great. And also it's a springboard for a new season. The jewelry business is definitely very seasonal, the Christmas season is by far the biggest. When we start now, we can start taking orders for our customers and deliver them in September and October so that they have this new line in their stores to capitalize on the Christmas season. So that was both things: good timing for the show and getting ready for the Christmas season.
Are you getting orders for this collection at the moment, is it possible to submit an order for your product at the show?
Jon Mitchell: We have commitments from a lot of retailers that have said ‘yes, we love the collection.’ I mean we just launched yesterday. Over the next three days we'll be writing orders with a lot of customers, there will be a lot of follow-up over the summer. We currently have commitments from at least 50 retailers in addition to our own stores that we have in the US as well.
Do you personally have a passion for jewellery?
Jon Mitchell: It has become an acquired passion. I wouldn't say that I was born to do jewellery, but it's something that once you start you get roped into it, and you don't want to get out of it. It's actually fun, I enjoy it!
How is it for you, Linda?
Linda Vojtova: I have a huge passion for jewelry! I think every girl does! When I was little I was always going through my grandmother's and mother's boxes of jewelry and trying everything on, so it definitely became a part of my life very early. I actually started taking classes on how to make jewelry! It's incredible, we learn how to do wax molds and then decide which material to use. Before I was doing this, I never knew how much work actually goes into all that. The more I learn about it the more excited I get. My passion grows with that. I even made one mold for my collection right here! It’s hard and very detailed as you carve it with your own hand so whatever you make that's what it is. I've only been doing it for only about two months, but I think if I take it for a few more years I will be able to do my own molds. It'd be actually great to become a jewelry designer at some point.
What's your favorite gemstone?
Linda Vojtova: I love moonstones. I'm a Cancer and they are my sign.
I'd also like to ask you about the role of Aston Luxury Group in the business of Gitanjali USA.
Jon Mitchell: Aston Luxury Group is the corporate umbrella for all the brands which include the Revv, Passion Stone, Canadia Diamonds and the Love Universe. The sales, marketing and distribution office is in New York and Aston Luxury Group is a part of Gitanjali which is, you know, a huge worldwide company, one of the top 5 jewellery and diamond companies in the world. So we're basically Gitanjali's North American distribution and marketing division.
What are your main goals for this year?
Jon Mitchell: We obviously want to continue with our existing brands, continue to increase distribution for Revv, Canadia, Passion Stone. Our goal for Love is to sign on many retailers for this brand and utilize different distribution formats. Grow it to be as big as we can.
Can you say a few words about the financial results for the first quarter of this year?
Jon Mitchell: Our business is up about 35 percent compared with the last year. I'm talking specifically for North America.
Do you think that the US market is in recovery right now, and the demand is going to increase this year?
Jon Mitchell: I definitely see a big improvement from 2008, 2009, even from 2010. The unemployment has settled down a little bit. People were afraid to spend money for a long time. Unfortunately, the jewelry business was the first one to go, and we were the last ones to come back because the last thing people wanted to do was to spend disposable income on luxury products. It was a tough time. Some of our brands are centered on bridal occasions, because no matter what, good times or bad, people are always going to get married. Retail jewelry stores have not expanded their collections, they were afraid to try new things, because business was suffering. Now a lot of them have said “yes, we need to get something fresh, we need something new and unique.” And 'Love Universe' (which is a fashion type of jewelry) is great for that. It fills a great niche.
What's the brand message of Love Universe? What was the inspiration behind Love Universe as a brand?
Jon Mitchell: I'm going to pull in Jamison Ernest for this question. Jamison and our group are partners creating this brand.
Jamison Ernest: The idea came immediately to me that this brand should be called 'Love'. If you think of how many different definitions and meanings love has to everybody, it means something different to everybody. You could love your car, your boyfriend, your dog etc. It is just one word, but it means thousands of different things to different people. We decided that we should have an opportunity for people to collaborate, we should be 'love incubator'. It's about incubation of talent. Talents that don't have a strong enough platform to be able to make their own jewelry companies, but we could give them a platform based on our company.
Is it a part of the global philanthropic movement, The Love Pledge, that you announced a few days ago?
Jamison Ernest: The Love Pledge is equally a part of the entire Love Universe process, which is about always being able to have an incentive purpose and a way to give back to people. A few words about how the Love Pledge works. In general it's about encouraging people to donate 1% of their annual time and income to charitable causes. Because if you are a billionaire you can donate money, I mean anybody can donate money and anybody can donate time.
Does this have anything to do with the earthquake in Japan?
Jamison Ernest: No, but it's the concept that if you wanted to donate to the earthquake in Japan you would sign that pledge saying "I'm making a moral commitment that I want to help other people with my time and my efforts."
At the end of the day I was lucky to get a chance to talk with a New York jewelry designer Genevieve Jones and asked her a few questions about her jewelry and lifestyle.
Genevieve Jones: This is my first time at JCK Show in Las Vegas. I think it's very interesting.
How would you describe your collection?
Genevieve Jones: I wanted to do something really fun, when you are wearing something I want you to smile at it and be proud of it, and think "this is good luck." For example, this piece is made with a stone that was naturally formed as a cross (the Staurolites, better known as "fairy stones" or "cross rocks"). So I did a set of 50 rings, they were all handmade. Theodore Roosevelt used to carry these stones as they are much sought after as good luck pieces, charms and natural curiosities. What I did was basically cast in one stone and I perfected it and made good luck charms.
How long have you been living in India?
Genevieve Jones: I lived there less than a year, about 6 months at a time. It was an adventure! I was mostly living in ashrams. I practice yoga almost every day, in New York especially as yoga practice keeps me balanced.
Do you think that yoga practice helps you connect with your creative resources?
Genevieve Jones: Absolutely, because it's not just like running on a treadmill and listening to Lady Gaga. You really have to focus. It really centers you. For me, I'm able to be very productive at work and very creative at my studio. It calms me and makes me more aware of everything around me.
Olga Patseva, Editor in Chief of the Rough&Polished American Bureau
Special thanks to Irene Maslowski who helped arrange this interview.
