Gilda Grey, a budding Los Angeles-based jewelry line, has the feel of three friends just hanging out beading necklaces. There is a lot of laughter, joking and the occasional movie reference. But when it comes right down to it, Erica Walker, 25, and Cali Zipp Horton, 24, are all business. The FIDM grads, who run the company along with a third partner, credit hippie parents for their entrepreneurial zeal. Hating their day jobs didn’t hurt their ambition to strike out on their own either. Here, Erica and Cali talk about the inspiration for the line, creative collaborations and the risks and rewards of starting a small business. Oh, and Bruce Springsteen!
Why did you decide to start a jewelry line?
Erica Walker: The jewelry came natural to me because I’ve done jewelry since I was a child. And my partners and I found that jewelry would embody everything we wanted to accomplish at the time.
What are some of the influences behind the line?
EW: We have a really strong hint of folk in our work. That’s a huge influence.
Cali Zipp Horton: We both came from hippie parents. We understand that lifestyle where you can just be free to throw on a necklace; you don’t really have to think about it. We design for the Bruce Springsteen woman. Pretty much you can just throw on jeans and a t-shirt. Born to run.
EW: We want to enhance that [t-shirt and jeans] look.
How did you come up with the name Gilda Grey?
EW: Gilda Gray was a pivotal figure in the 1920s. Cali took me to a movie at the silent movie theater and I have to say, that, for me, was really the root of the journey behind Gilda Grey. That was the trigger for this idea of creating something that lasts and this whole idea of the heirloom jewelry and having something that transcends time. Just like those black and white films. We got the name shortly after that.
You do a lot of bead work, where did that idea come from?
CZH: I got this piece in Chatsworth where I live and grew up. There’s a really good antique shop by my house and I actually found something that really inspired this piece [the double-diamond Gilda Grey necklace] and that’s where this all came from. I brought it to them and was like, I think this is a cool concept, let’s build upon it. So, we just did what all designers do and reinterpreted it.
Talk about the collaboration, I know that’s very important to all of you.
EW: I’m very passionate about artists coming together and collaborating and creating a product. I think we should all strive to contribute in some way. To collaborate.
CZH: I love working with her because we balance each other out. I never wanted to do it by myself. I always wanted a team. Without one of us it wouldn’t be able to happen. It’s like a triangle of awesomeness.
EW: Of tranquility! (Huge laughter.)
CZH: That’s my favorite shape actually. So I’m glad it worked out like that. I’m glad it’s not a square.
What kind of work has gone into getting the line up and running?
EW: We just started creating anything that came to mind under this concept of creating quality heirloom costume jewelry.
CZH: You’ve got to sacrifice your social life. Every Saturday I can see these people run by with beer. They play beer pong across the street. And I’m just sitting here beading and I watch them play beer pong and I’m thinking, I just wanna get fu*#ed up. (Both girls crack up.) That’s my sacrifice. If you want this business and you want to be your own boss, you just need to suck it up.
EW: You take the most creative and great and exciting parts and you have to also take the fact that there are going to be things that you’re not always going to love, but are extremely important to do. You have to just accept both. There have been those nights when we would both be working non-stop, seven days a week, and we would come home and have to get samples out. It’d be like 3 o’clock in the morning and we would just be like, “Oh my god, we have to keep going!”
Do you have any advice for people thinking of starting up a small business?
CZH: You have to want it bad enough.
EW: It’s a commitment and it’s work. I have no savings. We’ve all spent thousands of dollars investing in our future. When you have a small business it will always be at the forefront of your life. We’re all young people that are barely making it, but we’re making the compromise of not taking that vacation and instead investing in the company.
What does the future hold for Gilda Grey?
EW: It’s not about creating one product, it’s creating multiple products. We want to be a full-functioning wholesaler. We want to have a business. The ultimate goal is to become self-employed.
CZH: I’m going to be happy when we start making money!
Nice interview piece. It’s really a treat to hear from people that are out there doing the real work of creating (and marketing)!
I like the interview format.
With all the economic challenges in our country, most dreams would be done at the doorway. This dual put themselves in harness to chase the dreams only successful entrepreneurs’could understand. An interesting article that brings to light what it means to dream and take it all the way to fulfillment.
We need to read more stories like this
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