Kia’s credentials are second to none. After graduating in jewellery design at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, she secured an apprenticeship at Tiffany & Co. in New York before winning a place at Richemont’s Creative Academy in Milan. This then led to an internship in Paris with Van Cleef & Arpels followed by a job there as junior designer. After three years, she was transferred to New York, where she led the brand’s customisation team, before moving in 2016 to Harry Winston as design director, overseeing the development of new high jewellery collections. “I learned a lot and was in charge of the design team for three-and-a-half years, but I was missing hands-on designing because I had no time; it was more directing,” she reflects. It was the covid pandemic that propelled her to set up on her own. “I’d had my first son in 2019 and then the pandemic hit, and it felt like time for a change. I missed designing,” says Kia, who has two sons Arlo, five, and Cosmo, nearly three, with her Swiss businessman husband Michael. “I started making bead necklaces as a child and had talked about doing my own jewellery brand for ever - for about 20 years. It was always at the back of my mind, but [covid] gave me the final push to give it a try.” In-between creating bespoke pieces for private clients, Kia, who does all her own drawings, started work on her debut collection, determined that customisation remained at the heart of it. “My whole career, I loved that aspect of jewellery, that you can create something that is unique to the person. I also love the fact that these pieces are not just something you buy off the shelf. They take a little more time and thought.” Her influences are as varied as they are surprising. Born in New Orleans where her orthodontist father was a university lecturer, she recalls being captivated by colourful jazz posters in the family home. Although the family relocated to their native Lucerne in Switzerland when she was three, they returned each summer to the vibrant American city, an experience which left an indelible mark on this fledgling creative spirit.
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