Future Jewellery Designers to Watch

In light of the International Jewellery Show in London next week, Lolo & Galago wanted to share some of our favourite ‘Bright Young Designers’ who will be displaying their work at the show.

 

For those who like precious metals and gem stones, we recommend you pop by and see Jessica Nam, her work is inspired by the balance of repeat formations and the opulence of natural gemstones. Jessica handcrafts strong sculptural forms in gold and silver with gemstones to create unique pieces of jewellery.

 

One of the other designes we think is worth seeing is Carina de Jager. Born in South Africa, Carina de Jager has a love for the natural world. This fascination can be seen in her work especially in the organic textures and patterns which appear in her collections.Graduating this year from The Cass, London Metropolitan University, where she studied silversmithing and jewellery, she now works from her London studio. Carina creates handmade jewellery pieces in a range of precious and non-precious materials. Her current range, Cohesion, was inspired by the relationship between plants and cities, with the aim of celebrating the resilience of plants to survive in unnatural and hostile environments. She has some interesting pieces in terms of design in her collections

Finally last but not least and a personal favourite is Hannah Kimber, an independent jewellery designer-maker who has created some stunning and unique designs in her collection – they are truly beautiful.  Inspired by Islamic architecture, she has incorporated a patterned design with precious metalsmaterials to create impressive couture creations.

 

Enjoy!

Written by Rosie May Reddington

Spotted On Trend this Summer

This Summer has been great spotting the latest fashion trends. Some of our favourites at Lolo & Galago definitely included, Kate Moss who was ‘ pap -  snapped’ outside the famous beach club ‘ 55’ in the South of France. Being the fashion pioneer she is, she was sporting the latest tribal trend and looked on style in large multi-coloured hoop earring and a tribal crocheted kaftan. We’re getting excited about our upcoming designer jewellery collections for next summer!

 

Jodie Kidd also was seen on a luxury boat leaving Saint Tropez, looking as beach chic as ever- wearing stacking bracelets and the latest print bikini.

 

 

Meanwhile in the UK it is all about festivals and one of our favourites was the V festival where Cara Delevingne was partying with One Direction. The model was spotted tasting the tiki cocktails with Niall Horan in the Mahiki Coconut Lounge backstage where the The Saturdays rocked up as well as rugby player Ben Foden and JLS singer, Marvin Humes. Cara was wearing the latest long pendant look – one we love at Logo & Galago – and as always she mixed & matched rocking the festival. Shouldn’t we always be able to wear our jewellery everywhere? That’s something we definitely believe in- and is why we are making a point of creating silver and gold jewellery that is as versatile with style as it is timeless. 

 



 

Quick Interview with Asian jewellery designer Sasha Wu

Why did you choose to design jewellery?

When I was little, my mother took me for shopping one day and asked me to pick one thing in the store. I chose a small necklace, over all the cute tiny dresses and shoes. The cashier lady told my mother that necklace was the best seller. I was too young to remember any of this, but that was how I got my first jewellery piece. It was a tiny square shaped pendant setting with stones. I sill have it today and after all these years, it never loses its charm.

I guess there is a decision for everyone to make about what you want to do with your life. When I started creating drawings, every girl in my class wanted to be a ‘major’ in womenswear. I love fashion but I wasn’t sure that designing garments was really the right thing for me. About that time I did a jewellery course and I then it became clear it was my passion. I know I love designing jewellery with all my heart and I wanted to build my life around that love.

What is your process to make the jewellery?  

It depends on the piece and collection, but in general speaking it starts with making the sketch into a sample model.  It could be any material related to the current collection. It helps me to understand the possible problem and solution. When I have a detailed sketch and matching sample in front of me, then I know I can get what I want.

What is the name, inspiration and influence behind your collection?

I always find myself inspired by fantastic literature, and historical legends. For example, the siren collection is based on the story of Odysseus, and the spice trail collection was inspired by the empress Arjumand Banu Begum.

What message are you trying to portray to people with your work?

I think the great thing about jewellery is that it builds connections between the designers and wearers. It does the same thing as poetry. It is not only about how it looks. If you like my pieces, you might also enjoy the dream I build with my designs. Each time you look at it, you would review the story all over again. By that way we are sharing our dreams and hopes.

What do you enjoy the most about working with Lolo and Galago?

I am very happy to work with Lolo and Galago. It has been a great opportunity for me, and I met some truly wonderful people. I really appreciated in terms of the freedom I was given. I was encouraged to explore all the possibilities. When a problem appears, there is always someone with me whereas when you design by yourself, you need to sort out yourself.

Which is your favorite country to travel to and why?

From all the countries I have traveled to, I like Netherlands the most. The view is amazing, and there are many great galleries and market to visit. But London would always be my favorite city - yesterday, today and tomorrow. J

Which trend in 2014 are you most excited about?

The theme ‘Print’ I want to add one new dress to my closet，preferably something with a vintage colour plattes.

How do you like to wear your jewellery?

When I am working I wear jewellery in collections. The rest time I like to mix and match, and explore the possibilities. I like wear one earring pieces as brooches, sometimes pin both of them on as collar decorations.

What do you like most about British culture? What is your perfect day?

I love everything about British; there is nothing I don’t like about it. A Sunday brunch at Brick Lane, followed an afternoon in Tate Modern, and a drink with friends near the Thames would make my day. Of course, it would be even better if it doesn’t rain. J

What’s Hot this August- Ibiza is Partying On – Destination Guide

With Naomi Campbell, Jodie Kidd and the rest of the jet set at its doorstep, Ibiza is the place to see and be seen this summer! We couldn’t think of a better place to wear Lolo and Galago’s designer jewellery, and took a look at one of the new destinations on the island- Nikki Beach.

www.nikkibeach.com.

 

Oh yes, Nikki Beach has come to play in Ibiza – we are not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, however you know it will be fun and full of the glitterati having a great time, showing off some of the latest designer wear. If you fancy a cocktail Nikki Beach is the place to be with its seafront dining, champers, creative cocktail list – and not to mention the ‘people watching’. It’s the sort of place we love to be at Lolo & Galago, so if you fancy heading over there, he

re are some of our favourite places to spend time, in our humble opinion of course:

KM5- A personal favourite and set in a magical garden, amongst luscious landscapes in the hills- here you will discover KM5. Lit by nightlights and lanterns, it is one of those places you will come to again and again - a special venue which offers not only delicious Mediterranean style dishes and a good wine list but it is also a charming and magical place! We find KM5 a great environment to draw inspiration for our jewellery.  km5-lounge.com
 

Ushuaia, known as the ‘king’ of the Swedish House Mafia, it the ultimate sunset beach party venue. Located on Playa D’en Bossa – it  definitely worth a visit – the music is some of the best on the island, and a great way to show off some of that fabulous silver and gold jewellery.

ushuaiaibiza.com

 

Pacha will always be an icon but for those who like a club with more of a view then Lios is the place to be. It is, we believe, owned by Pacha but it is a more chilled version of ‘clubbing in Ibiza’ with its open top view of the seafront – it is the perfect place to see the sunrise whilst enjoying the Ibiza dance session.

www.lioibiza.com

 

Atzuro – Relax & Spa- Practically a ‘national treasure’- it was one of the first spas on the island, and Atzuro continues to be one of the best spas in Ibiza. It remains utterly relaxing and a true spa destination. There are ‘chill out’ beds outside where you can choose to sunbath or relax under a tree and the Balinese style treatment rooms are some of the finest. We recommend the house Atzuro body massage and spending a day there to relax before going home after all that partying..
www.atzuro.com

 

Amongst all the fun in the sun, we can’t help but point out the wonderful ways jewellery can be worn- whilst relaxing on the beach, socialising over a glass of wine or throughout a dance session. That’s what makes some of Lolo and Galago’s designer jewellery so appealing- our artistic design process means they can be worn almost anywhere! And, after all, we do want our jewellery to live your lifestyle with you.

 

Written by: Rosie May Reddington

A Sneak Preview of the new L&G Collections

Whilst the rest of the UK is out enjoying the sun, we at L&G are cracking on with our collections for next year – and how exciting they are! This year was the year of neon but the trends for next year have definitely moved on. 2014 will be the year of Choker & and Chains, Spice Trail, Sugar Rush & Floral, Exotic Glam, Gothic, Art Deco & Architecture with a touch of 1950/60’s  – yes you heard it here first!

So we have put together with our designers some mood boards of our sketches which we would like to share with you. Some of the key themes we have focused on are:

Spice Trail

When you think of Spices - think of rich colours and warmth – what a great theme to work with – a personal favourite. Upcoming fashion in 2014 will focus on the culture and heritage found along the spice routes. Here we will be combining some of our finest gemstones into exotic designs with a modern twist to look exquisite and remind us of the spice trail treasures.

1950-1960’s

Inspired by the rock ‘ n roll age – we have worked with monochrome, flowing and angled shapes from the 50s and 60s and sketched out some unique designs which will form part of L&G’s summer rocking collection.

Sugar Rush and Floral

 Next year we see will a shift towards sugar rush – think vivid shades of powder pink counterbalanced with ultra-feminine tones of baby blue. There will be vivid sea foam green, peach and light purple undertones of honey suckle and sweetie pie. We will be creating sugar coated flowers with minimalist stones to create candy flower, feminine styles into our L&G collection. That’s all for now..but we will be sharing our ideas as we progress!


Written by: Rosie May Reddington

Lolo and Galago: Building a Designer Brand

A brand represents the perception an individual has of a company and the feelings it evokes in them. That’s quite a mouthful as a description but it’s even more complicated when you start delving into it. And for a luxury company producing high quality designer jewellery, it’s something we absolutely had to get right.

 

So how does a company create its brand? Where did we start?
For us, a brand is fundamentally about creating a sense of style, beauty and timeless luxury which compliments all the treasures which we have inside our own ‘ pandora’s box’ of jewellery. We also wanted to determine the feelings our customers would experience when wearing a piece of our limited edition jewellery – true artistic pieces.

Everything we produce has gone through a rigorous design process, from conceptual ideas based on live trends and themes right through to a finalised piece. This is why we consider every piece to be timeless art, and our designer jewellery therefore makes our customers feel chic and beautiful. At the same time, our jewellery is both fashionable and on-trend, and so we wanted our brand to represent this.

 So- now to produce some basic concepts that walk the tightrope of highlighting our luxury positioning whilst having an artistic twist to show our fashionable nature. Our fantastic designer drew up several concepts from which we could take our favourite parts.

We loved the idea of using a single, bold colour as a theme running through our brand as we felt it represented the artistic nature of our products, and combining this with bold, colourful photos and high contrast black & white shots provided the perfect base for Lolo & Galago’s brand theme.

So we’ve got a basic theme- the next step for any brand is to finalise on the typeface. It is amazing how something as simple as font can have such a huge impact on your brand’s appearance and perception. We eventually decided on something mid-way between bolder, modern and edgy font and traditional ‘luxury’ font, which also proved a good way to draw the bold colour and imagery together.

Finally, we needed to decide on our brand colour. We wanted something chic but unique, and a deep purple was the perfect way to express our luxury and artistic approach to design.

It’s hard work getting a brand right, but these are our first steps to create a beautiful and recognisable brand which reflects our luxury style and it can now be rolled out across our website and packaging.

All the images here are examples of our early designs and iterations, and you can see the finalised brand in every aspect of Lolo and Galago.