A Valentine's Day Interview With Ton
You launched stôn in June of last year. How has it been so far?
Beyond anything I’d imagined. I continue to meet the most amazing people, find creative inspiration all around me and learn something new every day.
Your designs seemed to have evolved quickly in a short amount of time. Are you still in the experimental phase of your business, discovering what clients like?
I think experimenting is just part of the craft, and I expect to be doing that forever, but I know what I love. I create sculpted pieces with presence. I’m drawn to raw textures and natural gemstones that are combined in ways that retain the essence of nature while creating a different kind of luxury.
After meeting hundreds of people at my trunk shows, and spending meaningful time with several stôn clients, it has become clearer who I’m designing for – women and men who love collecting wearable art pieces that make them feel empowered, beautiful and unique. I can now spot an ideal stôn client when they walk into a room because they have a clear sense of personal style, enjoy layering pieces – sometimes mixing modern and vintage – and they will also play around with interesting ways to wear jewelry. My clients see jewelry as a bold way to express themselves.
So, it’s Valentine’s Day! How do you usually celebrate the occasion?
Early in our marriage, my husband would surprise me with little gifts for the occasion – flowers, poetry books, beautiful lace nighties that I could never figure out how to wear. One day I finally confessed that I wasn’t really into celebrating the holiday. I thought he’d be disappointed, but it turned out that I’d actually given him a gift. He’s a romantic soul generally; he didn’t need someone reminding him how to be what he already was. So, Valentine’s Day has, over time, been repurposed for me.
Explain more…
One of my dearest friends, who also happens to be part of the stôn family, says she often thinks of the word “meraki” when she thinks of stôn. Greeks use meraki to describe doing something with soul, creativity or love – putting yourself into whatever you may be doing. It’s exactly how I feel about the designs I create. Because people often buy jewelry to mark life events, I try to create inspiring pieces that will become part of the life stories of women and men everywhere. It’s why my fingerprint is literally part of each piece. It’s a different kind of love, something we’ll always celebrate at stôn.
I would guess picking a favorite piece from your line is like picking a favorite child, but I’m going to ask you try…
I love collaborating with clients on custom pieces. I recently designed a wedding necklace for a special client, and I’m so proud of what we did together. Her wedding took place in a beautiful ruin in Guatemala, and she wanted something romantic while maintaining what she loved about stôn – organic, modern, full of texture. I sent her several sketches to start the process, and we just riffed along the way. She’s a creative soul, and she had clear points of view about how the feelings she wanted to capture translated into the design.
