Something has always drawn me to India. The devotion to culture & faith, the colour, the kind hearts that fill each & every person of the country. Yet, it wasn't until I ventured there in January of 2016, to design YCL's very first ethically manufactured collection, that I realised that my heart knew all along (as she always does); India would become a place I would feel familiarly at home. 

I had been designing some new styles to be manufactured, rather than me hand making, for about a year before I bit the bullet & took the leap into offshore production. However the soul of the collection definitely flowed out while I was sitting on the Ganges & taking the whole of India in. I found myself inspired by the shapes of Rishikesh's historical monuments, & the bold colour that I would often see floating down the Ganges; in forms of flower offerings to the defiant Mother Ganga herself. I knew I would leave a piece of myself in India, & wildly seek her out upon my frequent returns.

From a sustainability & scalability perspective, personally hand-making the jewellery for every order is not viable forever. As our orders grow, there is only so much jewellery one woman can make! So I started seeking out manufacturers around 2 years ago, as I knew it was the path I wanted to take. So I spent a vast amount of my time seeking & searching for factories & companies I knew could imbue the same intention & quality into our designs as I do whilst hand making them. And I found that, in India!  

I travelled to our factory personally in January of this year to make the final decision. Upon seeing the craftsman at work, wielding various gemstones, tools & wearing their hearts on their sleeves, I knew I had found the perfect environment i wanted YCL treasures to be born from. Now, anyone who has products manufactured off shore for their brand would know it is no easy feat! It took 7 months from first designs, samples to the launch to see 10 designs come to life. 

This is just the beginning of our manufactured journey, & even though it's been challenging at times it's truly so surreal to see my designs come to life! I want to thank our #YCLWomen, YCL's amazing team, & my family, as without your tireless efforts, support & love none of this would be possible. We have 2 more collections that will be launching this year & I hope that you feel all the love & intention that was imbued into our new collection THE ANCIENTS whilst designing it. I had you in my mind! 

Explore our new ethically made collection THE ANCIENTS here, these pieces are all ready made, which mean they are in stock & will be shipped within 2-3 business days.