Lara Noel Hill Launches Secondary Line
Los Angeles-based custom-jewelry designer Lara Noel Hill will launch a secondary, mass-produced jewelry line during Los Angeles Market Week.
The new collection is inspired by some of Hill’s favorite one-of-a-kind pieces made from vintage jewelry, such as her one-of-a-kind bracelets made from vintage shoe clips that had been strong sellers.
“The last time I wore them, stores bought them off my wrists,” she said.
The new line, which is being manufactured in China, will feature Swarovski crystals and will be wholesale priced between $20 and $25. There are no minimum-order requirements.
This marks the first time retailers will be able to buy large quantities of the same item. Hill said the inability to buy in bulk hampered sales in the past. Before, if two retailers were interested in the same item from her custom collection, she had to scramble to find similar vintage items to re-create a second piece in the same style.
To differentiate her two lines, the designer will call her original couture collection Designs by Lara Noel Hill and her new line Lara Noel Hill. The 14-piece Lara Noel Hill collection for Fall will feature 11 necklaces and three bracelets. The designer plans to double the secondary line’s offerings for next season.
“[With the new mass-produced collection] we can expand to larger markets, get into larger department stores and larger chains,” Hill said.
Still, the designer described her custom collection as “her passion.” She plans to continue creating and selling one-of-a-kind pieces. Currently Designs by Lara Noel Hill is carried in 21 boutiques nationwide and one store in Mexico.
“For me, as an artist and designer, I am always passionate about creating one-of-a-kind pieces because I can do something special for one person,” Hill said.
Hill’s custom jewelry will be on the runway during the California Market Center’s fashion show on April 4 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
Hill designed each piece to work with the clothing in different sections of the show, which will include a military theme, a denim theme and an Asian theme. For example, for the military theme, she created a collection named “Camouflage.”
“I love challenges,” she said, noting that some of the custom pieces for the runway show departed from her signature style.
“[They] are still my style but they’re not as flashy, not as many rhinestones.” —Alison A. Nieder
