Designer Spotlight: Amarilo

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: AMARILO

We fired off some quick questions to Amarilo co-founder, Ali Heiss this month as part of our Designer Spotlight series. As a female business owner, I've always loved the dynamic she has with her business partner, Stella Simona - women empowering women and achieving amazing, creative brands. Below she talks about the inspiration she draws from the women around her in creating the Amarilo aesthetic. You can read a gorgeous full-length interview with Ali over on her blog here, too.

Q: If you could design for someone in the public eye, it would be:
Ruth Ginsburg, the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in the US. Designing jewelry with anybody is a very intimate experience. You'd be surprised how much you can learn about someone by their taste in jewelry and I would love to sit down with Ruth.

Q: Who is your biggest inspiration?:

The women around me, from all generations. I recently spoke to my mom about the hardships she endured in the 50s and 60s. The pressure to have a "kept home", raise three children, work full time, and cater to her ex-husband - that's what was expected. Nearly 70 years later, women have linked arms and come a long way to push back this oppressive societal pressure. It's one of the reasons that my business partner Stella and I understand the importance of collaboration because women bring each other up. Since we started our partnership over 5 years ago, we have tackled so much more together. This is why I create and design jewelry for women, because they deserve every beautiful token to remind them how hard they have worked, just for being a woman.

Q: Who is on your current playlist?:

Sofi Tukker & Podcasts (Masters of Scale).

Q: Tell us about some Apps you can’t live without:

Pandora, Instagram, Slack and Dropbox.

Q: What is your most treasured piece of jewellery:

It would have to be an Amarilo Lock Pendant.

Shop the Amarilo collection here