Jennifer DeMoro’s designs are effortlessly chic, but there's more to her jewelry collections than what meets the eye. Her process, from inspiration to the final jewelry collection launch, is long and sometimes less-than-straightforward. A testament to the strong dedication and savvy strategy of this powerhouse businesswoman and designer.
Join us as we dive deep into her creative process. Exploring everything, from the concept behind her ideas to the rigorous quality checks each piece passes before it gets to you. It's going to surprise you!
Artistic Inspiration Behind Jennifer DeMoro’s Jewelry Collections
Every collection starts with a spark of inspiration. Can you share where you typically find inspiration for your new collections?
For the Solara Collection, I was inspired by the Southern California lifestyle of the 1970s. The Color Wave Collection began because I wanted to do a modern interpretation of the 1970s Mood Ring. Again, I drew upon the art work, fashion, and zeitgeist, the spirit of the time. The curvy art work of Verner Panton and the fashion from Thea Porter were huge inspirations for me.
How do you translate that inspiration into a tangible theme or concept?
I researched the imagery, the graphics, and the vibe of the time and used that as my jumping-off point. In this collection, you can see all the references. Represented by the clean lines and bright colors that remind me of California.
The Creative Process of a High-End Jewelry Collection
Once you have a theme or concept in mind for a new collection, what is your process? How do you turn those ideas into preliminary designs?
I start by sketching or drawing on my iPad. I like to use Procreate for the free flow and quick sketches. And once I have a design somewhat fleshed out, I take it to Sketchbook (another app). In Sketchbook, I do the more technical drawings.
I pass these along to my amazing CAD designers, and they come back to me with the computer-generated designs. There may be tweaks and slight iterations made to the designs. But once approved, the designs go into production with stone selections, finishes, and more. And then we go for the final piece. This part can take anywhere from four to six weeks.
How do you decide on the materials and techniques to use for a new collection? Does the concept drive these decisions, or do you find inspiration in the materials themselves?
A little bit of both. For the Solara Collection, I knew that I wanted the pieces to be colorful. The vision was to make it reminiscent of California sunsets, and that's what inspired many of the designs.
For example, the Solara Stardust Pendant is based on a specific 1970s logo that I reimagined into a pendant. I wanted the stones to appear as if they were almost floating in the gold bars and to make it seamless, so baguettes were the natural choice for stones. The blue and green baguettes represent the ocean and the elusive “green flash” that happens right at sunset.
Launching a Jewelry Collection Against All Odds
The journey from concept to final product must encompass tons of unexpected challenges. How do you problem-solve during the design and production phases of a new collection?
Luckily, most of this is fleshed out during the design and production phases. But, of course, unexpected things do occur. From stones not fitting to encountering a very limited supply, anything can happen. There might be architectural issues too—weight issues, movement issues, etc.
When those happen, my production team is the first to point them out. Then we pivot to edit the design or stones. I am pretty lucky that my team is thorough and checks in with me regularly, so issues like these are nipped in the bud.
Cohesiveness and quality are key to the success of a jewelry collection. How do you ensure each piece meets your high-quality standards and fits seamlessly within the collection?
When it comes to quality control, my pieces go through several check rounds. With both my production team and me. Whenever something doesn't meet our standards, we fix it, redo it, or take it out of the collection.
And the collection cohesiveness evaluation is ongoing. My collections always tend to be more earring-heavy, since I love designing them. However, when designing a collection, I make sure to “fill in” my customers' options. I always seek ways to extend my brand categories by adding more bracelets, rings, and necklaces. I also try to hit different price points to make my designs more inclusive.
When Is a Collection Finally Ready to Meet the World?
Deciding when a collection is ready can be as much an art as it is a science. How do you make this decision? Walk us through the final steps you take before a collection is ready to meet your audience.
When designing a collection, I strive to have all of my ideas and designs done before the official production launch. This way, it ensures that pieces are completed at the same time. This is especially important when launching designs and collections before a big show, like Couture, which I did a few years ago.
I started planning for this almost a year ahead of time, but still, there were hiccups. A few pieces were sent the day before the show started, and the energy was frantic.
But designing a collection is just one part of this entire process. After pieces are done, there are still the photo shoots, product shoots, website uploads, copy, marketing, and much more that needs to happen. Only after all of these processes are completed can I feel that the collection is ready to be introduced to the world.
Jennifer DeMoro’s 5 Jewelry Collections Are an Ode to Craftsmanship
Jennifer DeMoro Jewelry has launched five jewelry collections over the years, and each of them has presented Jennifer and her team with new challenges. But there are also opportunities to make her designs shine through with authenticity and absolute beauty.
Check out Jennifer DeMoro Jewelry's collections: