Design of the Times: Liven Co.
JCK Virtual exhibiting designer Liven Co. is a contemporary fine jewelry brand based in Los Angeles that focuses on empowering women to express the many layers of their personalities, whether it be feminine and modest or trendy and bold.
We caught up with Ann Ko, Creative Director and Designer, to learn more about her experience in the jewelry industry, how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected her business and how she’s handled it, what she’s looking forward to at JCK Virtual 2020 and much more.
Be sure to catch Liven Co. at JCK Virtual 2020, JCK’s first-ever virtual event, taking place August 11-14, 2020. Register today to view the collections from Liven Co. as well as well as an impressive lineup of exhibitors and designers.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your business?
In the beginning of the pandemic, I had a really hard time figuring out the validity and importance of what we do. We weren’t selling an essential commodity, but rather a luxury. I sat numb to everything. Then about three weeks into our California stay at home orders were put in place – I had a dear customer reach out, and ask for help in getting her daughter a birthday present. I was then reminded of the role we serve. We are conduits to moments of joy, sentiments of love and care, and above all else we share genuine relationships with our customers whom have become friends throughout the years.
They count on us to bring some semblance of normalcy in these uncertain times – birthdays and anniversaries don’t just stop, they continued to be shared and are definitely still worth celebrating. So, even though our overall sales may not be what they used to be, we continue to feel grateful for every opportunity to bring happiness through our craft. We are also ever inspired by the tenacity of our retail partners, and continue to play a supportive role as best we can.
Can you give us an idea of your design process?
My design process is fairly organic. For our One of a Kind pieces, I really let the stones dictate the mood of the piece in order to highlight and showcase the innate magic of the gemstone. For our contemporary diamond collections, I always do my initial sketches the old fashioned way – with a pen and paper, or in my case a seemingly absurd amount of notebooks that I have in every nook and cranny of my life – then we render it via cad/cam. It often takes about 5-10 modifications, but once we hammer out all the details, we move forward in producing the first sample.
I would say about 80% of the time the look, feel, and scale all come together. But 20% of the time, more adjustments and tweaks to the design are needed. If the desired effect isn’t reflected, we decide to table it, and move on.
Can you tell us a bit about the collection or pieces you’ll be exhibiting during JCK Virtual?
We are constantly producing new collections and expanding upon existing ones throughout the year with a focus on debuting them annually at JCK. So, in the same spirit, we will be showcasing our latest styles that feature a few whimsical collections, new twists to our classics that offer a fresh take on our tried and true styles, as well as some new One of a Kind showstoppers – like our 2020 Jewelers Choice Award Winning Earring (still can’t believe we won!)
Are you partial to any particular stones or hues?
The spectrum of stones that I love is pretty vast. I am always drawn to blue/green hues in tourmalines, vibrant colored sapphires, and earth tones in agates and natural colored diamonds. I still find myself bewildered with every incredible gem we are lucky enough to come across and get to work with.
We are so excited to have you join us for JCK Virtual 2020! What are you most looking forward to?
To continue to break boundaries of the unknown, and embrace the challenge of trying something new and different. As much as we would have loved to share our latest collections in person, we look forward to connecting with new buyers through this innovative platform.
Learn more about Liven Co. here.
Learn more about JCK Virtual 2020 here.
JCK Virtual 2020 is in less than one week! Registration is free of charge and only takes a few minutes—what are you waiting for?