Designer Spotlight with Jenn Low, Wanderlust + Co Founder

There is nothing more exciting than details of the latest Wanderlust + Co jewellery collection being released. With designs often inspired by Greek Mythology, the universe with it's celestial skies and inspirational mantras, the pieces are easy to fall in love with. One of the things we adore most about the collections is their ability to be stacked and layered together, allowing customers (or should I say fans) the opportunity to curate their own unique story.

We are quite simply Wanderlust + Co obsessed, and with the launch of their newest Autumn/Winter 2019 collection, L'etoile (meaning star in French), we caught up with Founder & Managing Director, Jenn Low, to find out a little more about the brand's beginnings and what inspires their work...

Wanderlust + Co L'etoile Jewellery Collection

1) How did you first get into jewellery design?

I have always loved fashion, and noticed a gap in the fashion industry for mid-priced, on-trend yet wearable fashion jewellery, I grew a passion to create a jewellery brand and business that can consistently deliver joy and luxe experiences at an affordable price point for today’s digital girl.

I parked the domain name for Wanderlust + Co in 2009 whilst I was still working full time with a Melbourne company, famous for stocking local Australian accessory designers. It was also there that I fell in love with the power of accessorizing to complete an outfit. Those years really built my understanding of how a retail business works within the fashion industry – seeing how a range comes together, sampling and production, payment cycles, delivery challenges, and marketing. I would never trade those experiences for the world. All the tasks, big and small, have truly informed me as a person, as well as in the creation of Wanderlust + Co.

2) Are there any other designers (or people in general) who inspire you?

Oprah Winfrey. I love that she is incredibly open about the challenges she has faced since childhood and through her career. And she draws so much goodness from it — she's a living example for all of us that sometimes we shouldn't be shamed by our mistakes. You can rise up stronger and better than before. 

I am also continually inspired by our customers – they are vocal and opinionated about what they love about our brand, as well as what they think could be better, and that feedback and openness is also admirable as it helps us grow! 

Wanderlust + Co L'etoile Jewellery Collection

4) Many of the Wanderlust + Co collections seem to be inspired by greek goddesses, the cosmos and celestial skies (which is part of the reason we adore the designs so much). Where did the inspiration for this latest L'etoile collection come from?

Our celestial pieces have always been fan-favorites. This holiday season, we were inspired by tarot cards, magic and my love of the universe. We’ve taken the key highlights from our past collections, specifically our goddess series, and used it as an inspiration for L’etoile. Featuring crystal studded wishing stars, hand-etched medallion pieces and tarot inspired pendants, each piece is designed as a reminder to allow our intuition to guide us in pursuit of our dreams. 

Wanderlust + Co L'etoile Jewellery Collection

5) How important is it to be ethically minded in today's fashion world?

I’m really passionate about sustainability for our brand and our teams. Our vision as an ever evolving brand, is to be an inspiring and conscious label that strives to create the right social impact while doing what we love. At Wanderlust + Co, people have always powered our journey, and our ethos has always been to create pieces that tell a story and extend beyond the transactional sale of a product. Beauty is not only in the end product, but also in the journey of making. We sent our team over to our partner factories who are SA 8000 and ISO 14001 certified, to compile a visual diary “Labor Of Love” which shows our Holiday 2019 pieces in the making, from hand sketching, to the hand-painted enamel elements, and many more steps in production and quality control, till it gets delivered to your doorstep. Our products are manufactured with a strict filtering system that excludes zinc, lead, cadmium and waste is reduced by the usage of recycled brass for our jewelry bases. This is made possible by a strong, long term working relationship with our trusted suppliers and artisans who share a common vision of sustainability, transparency, and global ethical trade standards - including practice of fair treatment to our artisans adhering to health and safety compliance, fair working hours and wages, and efficient use of resources to protect the environment. We are also looking into making certain types of packaging optional, where if you opt out, we will donate as a carbon offset to a charity that is making a positive impact to the planet. Plastic is also something top of our mind to discontinue. We have enough units left for most of 2020, but for sure it’s something that we are already planning ahead for Q4 2020, or Q1 of 2021. Sounds crazy that we are already thinking of 2021 but fashion is an industry with incredibly long lead times, and it’s always meaningful to have at least 2 years in the planning pipeline. 

 

 

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LORE noun [U]
Time-honoured knowledge, wisdom and stories passed down through the ages; transcending space and time to connect hearts, minds and generations.