April 21, 2023 • 44 mins
This week, Rachel Zoe speaks with Los Angeles-based and internationally renowned fine jewelry designer Anita Ko. Together, they talk about what Anita was like as a child, her experience growing up in LA, and making friends along her journey to success.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 1 (00:15):
Learn more at Genesis dot com Genesis Keep Beginning. Hi everyone,
I'm Rachel Zoe and you're listening to Climbing in Heels.
This show is all about celebrating extraordinary superwomen who will
(00:36):
be sharing their incredible journeys to the top, all while
staying glamorous. Today with me, we have one of my
very favorite girlfriends and jewelry designers, Anita Coe. You may
know her from her internationally renowned designs, and today she
speaks about her journey to becoming a beloved, award winning designer.
Starting from a very young age, Anita was designing jewelry
(00:59):
inspired by the place and the people around her in
Los Angeles, and in this episode, she takes a step
back to look how far she's come and inspires upcoming
designers as well. She talks about being mentored, and she
talks about really using the culture around her to sort
of really create her own sort of aesthetic in this
very saturated jewelry community, and clearly she's winning. So I'm
(01:23):
very excited for you guys all to listen and enjoy.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I'm so happy to have you.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
You know, you have so many superpowers, and I think
I wanted to have you on from when I very
started climbing in heels because I was like, Anita doesn't
love attention.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
She hates it.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
She hates it, but not enough people know the person
behind the brand. And that is something that I've always
found about you, because so many people that don't have
great brands just love being in the front, and I
actually find you're the opposite that has this incredible brand,
this incredible line of jewelry that has continued to really
(02:08):
blow my mind because being sort of one of your
very first fans, it's amazing for me to see the
Anita co world that has like literally just blown up.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Like everywhere I go.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And you know, I always am like a detective, right, so,
like wherever I am, whether it's like Asthmen or New
York or whatever, I'm in any of my favorite stores
and I walk in, I'm like they have a whole
Anita co section, and then I talk to the person
and they'll think that they like won't realize that I
know you, and they'll just come over and solicit to
be like, oh, are you familiar with Anita co She's
one of our best sellers. I'm like, let me tell
(02:49):
you something, and then Roger comes over and starts going, oh,
you don't even know, like da da das so for us,
and then without a dabt, it always follows, well, she's
our best selling brand, she's one of our top sellers.
So I want to go back just for a minute,
because for as long as I've known you, which I'm
going to call it almost twenty years, which means we're
(03:11):
thirty five, I want to really talk about you a
little bit from the beginning, only because as close as
I am too, there's still so much I don't know,
and so I just want to talk about I know
that you grew up here in La, but I want
to know what was that like, meaning who were you
as a kid, because I always take a look at
who you are now and like were you always this person?
(03:31):
Or like what's happened since then?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
But were you this like happy kid that was.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Like I'm going to do big things in life, or
were you like painfully shy and like because you grew
up in la which is not a shy place.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Let's be real, no, and I definitely wasn't shy.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
And that's why I think it's so important for young
kids and young children to be creative and really allow them.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
To kind of be free.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Because I have been designing jewelry since I was a kid,
and I was lucky enough to have parents.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
That they would like drop me in the jewelry district
and they had a friend that was in the business,
and so they would let me go to his office
and he didn't really watch me.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
He kind of just let me go and downstairs to
the stone dealers and I would pick like little blue
toepazes and pearls and things that weren't really expensive, and
I would just kind of start beating and making my
own pieces. And I think that I always had an
attraction to diamonds.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
And jewelry, you know, I see you.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
I think that like sometimes when I take a gold
necklace and a diamond necklace and I put it in
front of a baby, their eyes just sparkle and they're
just attracted to that prism of light, and I think
that I probably was to at a very early age,
and luckily I was able to pursue that.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
And of course, you know.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
My parents tried to get me to play piano, and
they tried to get me to do the flute and.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
All the things that Korean parents want their to.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
But I was more attracted to designing and fashion, and
so I'm very grateful.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
To them that they gave me my grandmother too, But
they gave me the room to.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Explore all the things that I was interested in, along
with making me do the things that I wasn't.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
But I think that but they were accepting of it.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
You were accepting of it.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And I think growing up here in Los Angeles, like
I was exposed to so much, you know, so many
different walks of life, so many different cultures that I think.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
It gave me. It made me happy. I wasn't.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I was very like, wow, that's cool, and always wanting
to see new things person.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Which I think a lot of people don't know that
about La. I think La really got to this rap
for being this very kind of like one trick pony,
one dimensional, very like that bid place. And I think,
what don't realize as I always say it's kind of
this melting pot of society, like of a million different
worlds that come together and live here. And I think,
just as a person growing up here, like you said,
(06:10):
similar in that way to New York, I feel like
there's so many different cultures in food, in art, in design,
and I think even more so over the last ten, fifteen,
twenty years.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
But I do think two points, yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
And I think that's what really was.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Like I got exposed to the like Dynasty bel Air
ladies with their big jewelry, and I also was exposed
to the punk rock eyes on Sunset Boulevard trying to
get into the whiskey and seeing how they looked. And
I was exposed to like, you know, all the ladies
in the gold chains and kind of that eighties look,
(06:46):
you know that was around that Georgio of Beverly Hills look.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
And I think that I.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Got to see also the beach vibes and the sun
and the pools, and that's what we grew up with here.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I think that I also had a lot of create
people can agree with me, and I'm sure you'll agree
with me, is that we grew up in a little
bit of a different time where I was allowed.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
To be bored, so that kind of gave me creativity.
And you know, now children they're on their iPhones, they're
on their iPads.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
You know, the epiphanies, the great ideas, they come when
you're kind of sitting by the pool or just driving
in a car.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
You know, so true.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It's so true because I think now everyone's brains are
overstimulated to a point where they.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Don't how to just sit.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And I think your one hundred percent right, and I
think any creative person would say that it's almost like
being alone in your head is when it all happens,
because you're forced to like look around you right when
you started and need a coach jewelry. I rarely feel
like I remember it like it was two days ago. Yeah,
but I remember, like you're very, very first. And the
(07:49):
reason I want to bring this up is because you
brought up this sort of punk, raw kind of glamour
that you were sort of had this like bipolar kind
of like you had this part and this part. And
I think as a stylist, I definitely experienced that same
thing here. But I think the perfect marriage, I think
was when you first probably came out with your diamond
safety pin, right like that, and the spikes.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
The spikes I had the safety pins the first piece
I did. I think to go way back, I mean
thank you first. I want to say for how much you.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Supported me, and I love you.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I can only say that it really did put me
on a path of success, and I just want to
thank you so much for that.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
But I think remember the first thing was the diamond circle,
and I think that when I first started my business,
and that's why I really encourage a lot of young
women to just have fun and kind of create, even
if it's one thing. Is that I started my business
one piece, and then it would grow to two or three,
and then sell those pieces and then I could do six.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
But it's the help of all these great.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Women like you who when I started in the begin
they would be like, oh Nya, that's cool, I want one,
you know, and they would buy one for me and
they would support me. And yes, I had this, you know,
from punk to glamour kind ofly the leads like I
was doing romantic too, And I think that all of
(09:16):
that was my environment here got into gold and diamonds,
and luckily all my girls and all my girlfriends growing
up in New York or growing up in LA they
understood what I was kind of doing, and they also
wanted it for their lifestyle and their look. And I
was really grateful about that because when I started, there
was either only the like place vendome brands like Cartier
(09:39):
than Cleeve, or there was only like the very low
end like Hill Street or forty seventh Street in New
York that the quality wasn't there, and so when I started,
I was luckily. I mean, the reason why I started
was because I didn't have the budget for the.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Super super high end, but yet my taste level.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Was a lot higher than the very low end, and
so I really wanted to design pieces that I wanted
to wear my friends, like, my people around me were
really my muses, so like.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Relatable luxury, accessible luxury, because I do want to talk
about that, you know. For me, it was probably at
the very prime of when I was sort of like
getting most of my clients and pulling jewelry all day
every day, and I just remember it was interesting because
I would pull your jewelry in and then I would
(10:30):
have the majors, right, but inevitably a major sorry for
our listeners like Cartier van Kleeve. If you know at Tiffany,
it's very hard as a up and coming jeweler, especially
in a fine jewelry space, the same way it is
with clothing. It's next to impossible to compete with the
big guns. It just is because they have unlimited budgets,
(10:52):
unlimited marketing budgets. But what I found is time after
time and the more I pulled it in and I
would have this jewelry role, like if any of you
know what it is, like a velvet role, and I
would roll it out and I would have strands of
Anita's jewelry and her spikes and her pins and her leaves.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
And I remember.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Every single piece of Anita I ever had in my studio,
and I just remember that what started happening at one
point was my clients that were like this, you know,
the cool girls. They wanted Anita. They wanted Anita because
they realized it was young, it was cool, it was unique,
it had an edge to it, and it was also
(11:31):
a bit smaller and less overwhelming, you know. And I
think to your point, in the Dynasty era and the
whole like sort of bell Air Beverly hills of it all,
and you know, you and I we love those moments, right,
and I would never take away from it. But I
think for every day glamour, I think people started to
really just catch on. I do want to say that
it is what you've done now, and I think it's
(11:53):
important to point this out. And I want to go
back to something you just said, which is I think
when you start a business of any size, it's verifying.
But I think what Anita was referring to is that
she started with one piece, and then she sold enough
of those that she could make two. She told enough
of those she could map four and six and eight,
and then now I've watched it grow over the last
(12:15):
oh my god, fifteen or so years, right.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
It'll be seventeen years in November.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Okay, I believe it. I can. It's insane.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
And so what I think is amazing is that you've
built this incredible niche.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
To the fact that I was saying.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
To Roger the other day, I said, what's been amazing
about Anita? And I use kind of Greg Elder Statesman
in a similar way, that you went on this path
to do your own thing that was your own niche
and your own unique thing, and somehow, all these years later,
you're bigger and better than ever, and yet there's no
more of that. When people compliment my jewelry and they say,
(12:52):
oh my god, what is that?
Speaker 2 (12:53):
What are you wearing?
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Is that blah blah blah, say no, it's a new
Oh my god, I love Anita Koejori.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Oh my god did it? And I remember for the
first few years it.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Was like, oh, and it is amazing, like I would
have to give this sort of narrative, right, like.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Oh, she legit, like she's you know.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
And what's amazing is now you've built this incredible name
and brand for yourself all over the world by really
keeping a very small team, which yes, I think is important.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Yes, I mean I think that when I started, I
was lucky enough to come in at a time when
like people like you were really creating a look and.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
It was free. It was free.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
It was free to create then, and I think that
you were able to like really create a look and
it was high end, but it was casual with an edge,
and that kind of really worked with my jewelry, and
we layer stuff and.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
We could have fun really some like cool fun things.
And then when I came up, like doing the earcuffs.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
We were able to like really do a lot of
fun ears and fun looks.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
And I think that I was lucky enough to of.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Course know you and be friends with so many other
wonderful women here in La that really were the epicenter
of that La lifestyle and the look that kind of
took over before fashion was Paris, New York, you know,
and then it really became about La lifestyle and everybody
(14:20):
started moving here and the art world, and so I
think that I always wanted to maintain a high end
quality level. That was really important to me to make
sure that my pieces were still eighteen care at really
high quality diamonds, but it was more modern exactly of
our time.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
And I'm extremely.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Grateful what this business has brought me. Has brought me
a lot of relationships. It's really showed me how much
people have supported me over the years. When I think back,
no question is you and I both know you have
to work hard.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
It takes years, it's bloods.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
When I was going to ask you, at what point
did you have if you have had and I'm pretty
sure you have had challenges. I mean, because being an
entrepreneur is brutal.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
The first five the years, I had many, many times
when I wanted to quit or do something else, but
I was again lucky to be friends with and have
as a mentor.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Anastasia of Beverly Hills.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Oh my god, she's the queen.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
I've known her since high school. And I would say
to her, I'm tired, i want to quit. I'm having
a really hard time about X, Y and Z. And
she said, you know, Anita, you're lucky to get to
do what you want in your dreams. Put your shoes
on tomorrow morning.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
And go to work. She was like, just go to work,
and she said, what do you have to complain about.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
You have over your head, you have food on the table,
you have so many blessings. Put your shoes on and
go to work tomorrow. And she was absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Look at her, Look at Anna Sasia, look at hers.
And Sasia is for anyone who doesn't now when I
say the American dream, I mean this woman has worked
so Ana Sausia. You may know her as the Queen
of eyebrows, because that's how she started. That's how I
met her, probably twenty five years ago, doing brows, and
every client on your show one hundred percent have to
(16:15):
have on Asasia. And she has literally gone on to
go so above and beyond eyebrows with her own salon
that is literally lines out the door from the day
it opened, but beyond that launched her beauty line and
brow line and has literally built a multi million dollar
brand and business and has worked blood, sweat tears every
(16:37):
second of every day since she started. She is incredible
and what an amazing mentor honestly and female.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Female and she always there to take my call and
can always there to really give me good practical advice,
which sometimes is just as simple as put your shoes on,
go to work yes day.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yeah, that isn't your mother, because you don't listen your
mom like that.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
And your mother allows you to cry and feel bad
for yourself. Yes, you know, she just doesn't allow you
to feel bad for yourself.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
She's really taught me that you can do anything.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
So it worked really hard, and I think that it
takes years.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
I mean that's the real thing.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I wish sometimes it happened faster, but it's supposed to
happen when it's supposed to happen, it is, and it is.
And when I was younger, I wish it was happening
much quicker than it was, but that's not life. If
I had it easier, I wouldn't appreciate what I have today.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
It's true, it's true, But honestly, Anita, that's why I
actually started climbing in heels. Because everyone who knows all
the women that I've had on this podcast, they think
it happened yesterday. They think it started like a year ago.
Oh my god, I heard about so and so.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Like a year ago. How did they get so lucky?
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I'm like, fuck that, I'm going to talk about how
these incredible women got here. That doesn't exist, and if
it does, it probably won't last. Not to be cynical,
because I hope everyone has an easy ride, but in reality,
I don't think any ride is easy, and I don't
think anything worth having.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Should be easy. Quite frankly.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I mean, we started our businesses also before social media existed,
so I think that we even had to work ten
times harder to have our lines reach viewership and know
who we are. And obviously I'm grateful for all the
tools today that we haven't because things just happen a
(18:35):
lot faster, but that means the work is also happening
a lot faster, and we need to work harder. And
I really hope that I can encourage the young designers
out there that you only have a few pieces of
jewelry and are wondering if they could really do this
and make this into a business, because it does seem
overwhelming when you think about it. But I really hope
that I can inspire a lot of young women or
(18:57):
young men out there to know so that if you
work hard, and you believe in yourself, and you don't
give up, and you make mistakes, it's your bounce back
that determines how successful you'll be.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
I've learned that.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I've learned that when things happen, because they're always going
to happen, the rate in which you choose to bounce
back that's the difference. And I just made a point
of choosing to bounce back no matter what challenges are
presented in front of me.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
And I've had a lot.
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Speaker 2 (21:06):
You've had a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
I've been there for definitely some of them, and I've
seen you and I'm like, I just remember being like no, no, no,
m mmm uh huh, you're Anita Kle Like. I just
remember being like, no, way, and listen. It's not just
like a business challenge necessarily. Sometimes it's a personal challenge.
Sometimes it's something that just impacts your whole way that
you go about life. And again, I think that's life.
(21:28):
I think that's what does give us our wisdom, right,
and it gives us our notches on our belts, right.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I mean, I'll give you a good example.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
When I started my line, we all have to write goals,
and one of my goals was that I wanted to
be a jewelry designer at Barney's like Barnie's was thet
boor to me and that's all I wanted. And when
I met with the buyer, she turned me down. She
didn't feel that I was the right fit. And I
remember crying my eyes out that night, feeling like one
(21:57):
of my ultimate goals and why I started my line
was never going to happen.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
And I just remember feeling so shattered.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
That unlike fails, right, he.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Wasn't going to work out.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
But in retrospect, now my path was supposed to be
the Burgdorf Goodman.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I was going to say, And then the next day
you got like Linda Fargo or Perdorf Goodman, which is
the holy grail of Reso's still standing.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
And that was supposed to be my path.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
And when they say man's rejection is God's protection, because
I didn't have to experience like other hardships if I
had gotten what I wanted.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
No, yes, it's true.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
And for those of you that don't know, Barney's shut
down after and a lot of people lost a lot
in that movement that happened in Barney's and Meida was
not one of them.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
So years later, the woman who turned me down ended
up having to be my buyer at Burgdorfs. You know,
that's how life works. And we ended up having a
great relationship. And I could have chosen to keep the
bitterness or have that feeling of rejection stay with me.
Behooved me in my career at Burgdorfs, and we really
(23:03):
ended up having a great relationship. And like I said,
it's the bounce back because I really felt bad that evening.
I felt my world was destroyed when I chose to
put my shoes on the next day and go to
work and present my line again.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
It happened in Las Vegas at the jewelry shows.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
So I chose to go to work the next day,
and I chose to keep on my path. And I
think that that's why I want to inspire other people
to know that you don't always get what you want
when you want it, but there might be better things
in store for you, So to just keep pursuing your
dreams and don't let anybody tell you anything else.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Just know you're good and keep moving forward.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
I have such chills because I actually like it's weird.
I kind of like, remember that whole moment. I remember
you going to Burgdors. I remember walking in and seeing
the collection, and then I was there in this past
February and I went over and of course Roger had
been at the Anita co section for like twenty minutes,
like literally pulling out everything, making her take everything out
(24:07):
of the counter. And then he's like, he's like, honey, honey,
I just got intell. He's like, she's one of the
best selling brands at Burgdors. It was like we were
your like proud parents or something, and you know you
are right, And I do think that the bounce back
is everything. And for someone like me who really does
hold pain deeply and hold it, I hold a grudge.
(24:28):
I very admittedly. I'm a virgo, so you know how
we roll, you know. I think that's such a good
point and such a good point for people now and
entrepreneurs like kind of really going through it, that those
doors sometimes really do get closed in your face for
a reason. It's because you're not meant to go through
that one, and it's because another one really does open
it and it ends up in a bigger and better way.
(24:49):
I think you don't know that stuff until you've done
it for a minute, you know, for real. And what
do you say, Anita, what's your approach to copycats? Because
you have tons, you.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Know, I think that like it doesn't affect me like
it did when I when.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
I first saw it. When I first saw it.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
I was I remember like walking into a showroom and
just seeing.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Like everything Anita cow.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Yes, And I remember crying that day because I had
worked so hard to just get where I was.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
But I see them all the time. I see them avery.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
But now it doesn't affect me like it used to.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
And I think that I've developed a much thicker skin
about it and.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
In confidence, probably because.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
And it just I think, if anything just inspires me
to now like keep moving forward, keep designing more stuff.
I think that because I have so many close friends
that are fellow jewelry designers that I've made for years.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
I have them to turn to.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
To commiserate because they go through it themselves and we
can kind of talk ourselves out and get back into
the light. Sure, and those friendships has really helped me
put things in perspective that somebody may copy.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
You, but they're not you.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
And the copycats are coming in at a much cheaper quality,
and they're doing it to come in as a lesser price.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Point than you. And it's just business. It's every clothing
designer has it. I mean, I'm sure you.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
See I'm sure you see a career and it's painful.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Yeah, I'm sure everything you've ever done you've seen somebody.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
Horrible after and knock you off completely.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
It's a horrible feeling, but it also shows that you've
made it rich. You know that you've gotten to that
point in your career that people actually think you're so
good that they want to copy you, they want to
be you. And I really see it with my fellow
other you know, a man I admire so much in
Turkey that.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
The jewelry designer seve on everything everything. So what can
any of us do? But while moving.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Forward, but Anita, I want to I want to talk
about something that I think you've taken an approach to
that I think is also important for entrepreneurs, whether they're
designers or anything else, because I think the world has
really shifted in this direction. But I think it's something
that you've always done so well and really built a
big part of your business on, which is private clients.
And I think that there's a lot of your success.
(27:26):
And I mean, of course correct me if I'm wrong.
It is so under the radar because like it's funny
a year ago today, not today, but I mean basically
a year ago, we were at a wedding together and
everywhere I turned my head there were people drepping in
Anita Co Diamonds.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I was like, this is.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Everything, this is like And these weren't people Some you knew,
some you didn't. Some are to your friends, some were
clients but this was not loan or jewelry, and I
was like, Wow, this is incredible, And I think that
there are something to be said for that, and something
very entrepreneurial about that, because I think one of the
things to note about how you've approached your business is
(28:09):
you're so incredibly hands on and that if there's a client,
you go yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
You're not sending somebody. You go.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
You custom make things, you design things for couples. You
work with a ton of husbands and boyfriends that have
Anita co on speed dial.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
And I think that's great.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
I go because I want it to be perfect. Of
course what I do. A lot of the presents are
and the gifts are a special occasion.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
But my clients mean the world to me, and that's
why I'm very private about them because and also a
lot of them are people that are not necessarily well
known to the corublic world, sure, but are very incredibly
successful in their world.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
They are very, very.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
Very private, and they don't want other people to know
what they.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Have and don't want to say beautiful.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
They want their lives to be as enjoyable as possible,
but they don't want eyes on them necessarily, and so
I've been able to work with so many incredible collectors
around the world, so many wonderful men, families, and I
think in a private setting, I get to really hear
(29:26):
what the client wants, and I get to spend time
with them, and I get to create something that is
perfect for them. Like at the wedding we're talking about it,
I was asked to design a chain for a gentleman
the groom.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
O beautiful.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
Was that beautiful I wanted it for?
Speaker 3 (29:44):
You know, obviously the client had an idea of what
they wanted, but I did need to put that touch
on it because he was a young man and it
had to look have that cool factor to it and
still be super super high end because these people are
only see the best.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
And it just really worked. And I think that if I.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Didn't spend time myself on it, it wouldn't have my touch.
So with my clients that come to me privately, they
are people that I know, and I've known them a
lot of them for a long time, so I can
kind of get to that core of who they are
as a person.
Speaker 6 (30:18):
Yeah, I just I really enjoy being able to create
unique pieces for clients that are going to be lifetime
memories and will travel with their life their whole lives.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
That will be a part of their lives.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
And a part of their treasures forever. And I think
that's why any of us that do things that are
able to bring happiness or a smile or love to
someone from a present or creating memories, it's just one
(30:55):
of the best feelings I have when I see my
clients happy.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, I think that you being able to have all
these private clients and these customized moments, it's like being
caturre designer. It's the same thing because it's like, yes,
you get to sell to the world, you know, through
retail and online, but you also still get the personalization
and the customization. And I think that enables you to
stay creative and inspired and keep creating for different people.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
And I think that's the thing.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
I think confidence comes with experience and success, right, And
now you're.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
A loyalty, loyal and a lot of wood one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
I'm very loyal to my clients and they've been loyal
to me back.
Speaker 4 (31:36):
And I think that also creating a business.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
I've learned that when you create a business, your employees
and your team become your family because you see them
so much.
Speaker 4 (31:44):
So creating a.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Happy day to day life makes you and I and
people like us much more creative because we don't have
to deal with the minutia of something going wrong, because
we have a team that looks after us too.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
It's true.
Speaker 4 (32:00):
And I think all of that going all at once.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
I mean, I think that a truly successful business woman
or business man is able. I've learned that we're able
to keep the wheels turning at the same time, all
at once.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
Yeah, there's so many different parts.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
And like being a mom there all the time.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
Yeah, exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
So you come home and you're like, are all the
children asleep? Is everyone okay? Is the business okay? Are
the babies okay?
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (32:28):
I can go to sleep now, right exactly now, I'm okay.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Now, I'm okay.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
And so what keeps you awake at night or puts
you to sleep and wakes you up in the morning.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
I think, you know, every day is different, No, I.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Know, it's true, it's true.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
And I think that there are days when I yeah,
there are days when.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
Things are on edge and I have to really take
the time to maintain.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
An attitude of gratitude.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
I think that the place when things get tough, I
have to just always like.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
Take a breather and say, like, you know what, You're.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
So lucky you're in this. These are your problem, you know,
It's true. You have to count your blessings. And then
like when I do sleep well, it's.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
Because I'm grateful that things are going well, you know
what I mean. Grateful.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
I'm grateful that, like you said, like we all have
stuff going on in business, we all have stuff going
on in personal lives, and all of that stuff is
going well. Just you know, because I've had many nights
where I've had to stay up because of personal things
going wrong. There are many I stayed up because business
is going wrong. But when everything is nice, there's like
(33:39):
a piece.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Having that piece.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I think that like friendships, family, loving yourself, all of
these things, Like I've had.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
To really.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
Like see how how lucky I.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Am to have all these things, you know, to have
great family, to have great friends. That's why I hope
to inspire new designers out there. When I started, I
did not know if I would be successful.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
I did not know how things would turn out. Now
that I'm in a little bit more of a safer zone.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Just to let us just decide us say for a zone.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
I just hope that people know that it will come.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
It really will if you work hard, and if you
build a great support system around you, and if you
are a young woman, be friends with your fellow people
in your business, because there are going to be times
when you need them and only they understand what you're
going through. Get a mentor that has made it where
(34:40):
you want to go, and listen to what they say.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
And I just I really.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Hope that all of you guys who are listening to
this that are young and new, I hope you get
all of your.
Speaker 4 (34:54):
Dreams to come true.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
And because I had Rachel who helped me when I
I first started, and I had women who really took
a chance on me, and I wish that for all
of you who are coming up. I just really hope
that you get to continue to just dominate the way
you are because you are also the dream. And thank
(35:18):
you for this and thank you for having me because
I love you. I get to spend my time with you.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
You're the best. I love you so much.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
I also fun fact, I have two fun facts and
closing about Anita co so one is no one realizes
how much.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
My husband loves Anitaco. They are very good friends.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Love God and to two things that two things that
two fun facts about that. So to Anita's point about
being part of special moments. So for my fortieth birthday
last year, my husband went to Anita behind my back,
which I love so much, and designed the most beautiful
piece of jewelry I've ever owned in my life for me,
(35:57):
completely on his own, with Anita down to two stones.
He worked with her on I mean, she's so extraordinary.
And then fun fact which you probably didn't even know.
And I'm going to find the picture and send it
to you. But I went into labor and delivered my
first child, Sky who's No.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
Twelve, wearing probably twelve.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Pieces of you to coat jewelry on my body. I
was stacked with bracelets, I had a spike necklace on
my neck, everything, And I recently saw the picture in
the hospital. I said, I have to send this to
Anita because she wouldn't even was just saying.
Speaker 4 (36:35):
To one of my teammates in my office. I was like,
you know, one of.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
My first major sales with Rachel would when I just started.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
You were doing a commercial with.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Brad in Prague.
Speaker 4 (36:47):
We're like, we got Brad loves everything I'm wearing, and
I sent you a whole package of everything I had.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
It was like all the things I had had to
pray and you were like they're taking everything, and I
was like, oh God.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
Believe it. And it was like, I guess that was
my first like.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
When you ask like your aha moment of like this
maybe workout.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
I was like, oh my god, I cannot believe it.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
And I will know by the way, Anita, I will
never forget that because.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
It was like, how am I going to get jewelry
to prog no?
Speaker 2 (37:20):
One hundred percent?
Speaker 1 (37:22):
I just remember calling you outside of a trailer and going, Anita,
how much.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Did you have right now? You're like, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Let me like.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Take everything you have, roll it up in one of
those things and world net it fed exit, insure it
whatever it is.
Speaker 5 (37:37):
Just getting here as good because you can out.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
I mean, that was I guess like my one of
my first like memories of like God, thank you so much,
thank you so much, thank you so much, And it was.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
All because of you.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
But I was so happy to do it because nothing
makes me happier. I have to tell you, you know,
you don't know. We see the best things happen to
the right people, but God, when it does, I'm so happy.
There's nothing that makes me happier than watching great people
who work so hard and are such good people like win.
(38:13):
That's the best. That's just the best. I mean, that's
the win, right, But I love you so much. I'm
so excited to watch you win. And you know, for
everyone listening, I'm sure you already know Anita Co.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
But if you don't run.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Don't walk, and get every piece you possibly can, or
save up for even just that one little Anitaco special
piece because they're the best.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Thanks everyone, I love you so much. They have a
great week. Angel.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Okay, everyone, it's that time in the show when I
answer two listener questions, so let's see what we have today.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Okay, this is funny.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Do you typically tailor all of your pants and jackets
or do you wear things straight off the hangar. I
definitely do tailor things, for sure, Believe it or not.
I'm incredibly lazy about it, and I typically wait until
the day before I have to wear something.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
If it's for something visible, I'll get it tailored.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
But I'm more so tailored gowns for major events rather
than my everyday clothes, and because I am rather small,
I just wear higher heels.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
So that I don't have to have my pants. Truth.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Yes, as a stylist for one hundred years, I don't
barely tailor my own clothes.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Fun fact.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Okay, what's your advice on listening to your instincts as
a young person just starting my professional career when it's
easier to be a people pleaser most of the time.
That's a really, really good question and a very hard
one to answer, because I think as somebody starting out,
you almost have to be a people pleaser.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
You really do. When you are first starting out and learning.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
Very often your opinions you have to keep to yourself
and vent them to your safe person at home. You
really have to respect and listen to the person that
you're working and learning from, and then know that if
your instincts were right and you did the opposite based
on what you were told to do, then just take
(40:18):
it as a learning lesson and use it as your
sort of inner arsenal of knowledge when you go out
on your own or to your next job. But I
do think that a big problem for the young generation
starting out now is that they come in really thinking
they know so much, and sometimes they very well do.
But I think the last thing someone who is like
a very seasoned veteran in a job wants to hear
(40:41):
is like a twenty two year old sort of like
shooting off their mouths.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
About what they think they should do.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Now, that said, in the work environment that we are
trying to nurture, now, I know, for me, all of
my team, I love their opinions. I love their opinions,
and I value their opinions and often I really take
what they say and I really use it and it
really impacts my overall decision because it's a fresh perspective.
(41:07):
It's a younger perspective, and quite frankly, I think we
really need that because it is a new world and
it's a new way of looking at things. And so
I think that if you have a good boss, your
boss will empower you and ask for your input. And
whether they choose to take it or not, that's up
to them. But trust me when I tell you they
(41:28):
will know if you added something valuable. They will know
and they will remember. So don't forget to submit your
questions for next week's episode. All you have to do
is dm us your questions to at Climbing in Heels
pod on Instagram and I might just answer your question.
Thank you so much to my friend Anita co for
(41:52):
coming on the podcast and talking about building and growing
her business and how long and arduous and painstaking it
can be. I think what Anita really captured and shared
so beautifully is that it's been seventeen years since she
launched her brand. And as I said, I think the
impetus for starting Climbing and Heels was really to share
(42:15):
these very long journeys to the top, because I think
there's this sort of misconception that a lot of successful
people just somehow got lucky and got there overnight. And
I think, you know, as Anita shared, she's faced it all.
I mean, she's really faced a lot of personal drama.
She has certainly fought her way to the top and
(42:37):
back and down and around and back.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
But ultimately, I think what.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
She really shared the most was her gratitude for her
loyal friends and community around her. But I think what
she really touched on which was so important to really
hear from her, that I think is such a great
takeaway for anyone starting out particularly in fashion or jewelry designing,
(43:03):
is that to make the other jewelry designers, don't make
them your competition and dislike them because they're your competition,
actually embrace them, be friends with them, and support each other.
Because she said there are really so many times that
she has really leaned on her friends that are jewelry
designers and really have used them to sort of come
(43:24):
together to get through a really challenging moment in the industry.
And it's nice to really have those friends that understand
what you're going through. I think that's really really important
to really hear, honestly, And it's the first time I
think on this podcast someone has said that, and I
think that's something important to note. But I have to
say I always love seeing when my favorite designers really
(43:44):
get to live out their dreams and their goals. I
always say that just good old fashioned work and dedication
really does bring results. It's like you can dream really big,
but if you don't go for it fully and you
don't put the work in and the time and as
Anita said, the blood, sweat and tears, it's likely not
going to happen. But I can tell you that when
(44:06):
you get there the results are really, really beautiful and
worth it. So if you want more Climbing in Heels content,
follow me on at Rachel Zo and at Climbing in
Heels Pod on Instagram For more updates on upcoming guests, episodes,
and all things curetur I'll see you all next week.
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Speaker 2 (00:14):
Of an SUV.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Learn more at Genesis dot com Genesis Keep Beginning. Hi everyone,
I'm Rachel Zoe and you're listening to Climbing in Heels.
This show is all about celebrating extraordinary superwomen who will
(00:36):
be sharing their incredible journeys to the top, all while
staying glamorous. Today with me, we have one of my
very favorite girlfriends and jewelry designers, Anita Coe. You may
know her from her internationally renowned designs, and today she
speaks about her journey to becoming a beloved, award winning designer.
Starting from a very young age, Anita was designing jewelry
(00:59):
inspired by the place and the people around her in
Los Angeles, and in this episode, she takes a step
back to look how far she's come and inspires upcoming
designers as well. She talks about being mentored, and she
talks about really using the culture around her to sort
of really create her own sort of aesthetic in this
very saturated jewelry community, and clearly she's winning. So I'm
(01:23):
very excited for you guys all to listen and enjoy.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I'm so happy to have you.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
You know, you have so many superpowers, and I think
I wanted to have you on from when I very
started climbing in heels because I was like, Anita doesn't
love attention.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
She hates it.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
She hates it, but not enough people know the person
behind the brand. And that is something that I've always
found about you, because so many people that don't have
great brands just love being in the front, and I
actually find you're the opposite that has this incredible brand,
this incredible line of jewelry that has continued to really
(02:08):
blow my mind because being sort of one of your
very first fans, it's amazing for me to see the
Anita co world that has like literally just blown up.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Like everywhere I go.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And you know, I always am like a detective, right, so,
like wherever I am, whether it's like Asthmen or New
York or whatever, I'm in any of my favorite stores
and I walk in, I'm like they have a whole
Anita co section, and then I talk to the person
and they'll think that they like won't realize that I
know you, and they'll just come over and solicit to
be like, oh, are you familiar with Anita co She's
one of our best sellers. I'm like, let me tell
(02:49):
you something, and then Roger comes over and starts going, oh,
you don't even know, like da da das so for us,
and then without a dabt, it always follows, well, she's
our best selling brand, she's one of our top sellers.
So I want to go back just for a minute,
because for as long as I've known you, which I'm
going to call it almost twenty years, which means we're
(03:11):
thirty five, I want to really talk about you a
little bit from the beginning, only because as close as
I am too, there's still so much I don't know,
and so I just want to talk about I know
that you grew up here in La, but I want
to know what was that like, meaning who were you
as a kid, because I always take a look at
who you are now and like were you always this person?
(03:31):
Or like what's happened since then?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
But were you this like happy kid that was.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Like I'm going to do big things in life, or
were you like painfully shy and like because you grew
up in la which is not a shy place.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Let's be real, no, and I definitely wasn't shy.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
And that's why I think it's so important for young
kids and young children to be creative and really allow them.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
To kind of be free.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Because I have been designing jewelry since I was a kid,
and I was lucky enough to have parents.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
That they would like drop me in the jewelry district
and they had a friend that was in the business,
and so they would let me go to his office
and he didn't really watch me.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
He kind of just let me go and downstairs to
the stone dealers and I would pick like little blue
toepazes and pearls and things that weren't really expensive, and
I would just kind of start beating and making my
own pieces. And I think that I always had an
attraction to diamonds.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
And jewelry, you know, I see you.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
I think that like sometimes when I take a gold
necklace and a diamond necklace and I put it in
front of a baby, their eyes just sparkle and they're
just attracted to that prism of light, and I think
that I probably was to at a very early age,
and luckily I was able to pursue that.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
And of course, you know.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
My parents tried to get me to play piano, and
they tried to get me to do the flute and.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
All the things that Korean parents want their to.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
But I was more attracted to designing and fashion, and
so I'm very grateful.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
To them that they gave me my grandmother too, But
they gave me the room to.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Explore all the things that I was interested in, along
with making me do the things that I wasn't.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
But I think that but they were accepting of it.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
You were accepting of it.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
And I think growing up here in Los Angeles, like
I was exposed to so much, you know, so many
different walks of life, so many different cultures that I think.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
It gave me. It made me happy. I wasn't.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I was very like, wow, that's cool, and always wanting
to see new things person.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Which I think a lot of people don't know that
about La. I think La really got to this rap
for being this very kind of like one trick pony,
one dimensional, very like that bid place. And I think,
what don't realize as I always say it's kind of
this melting pot of society, like of a million different
worlds that come together and live here. And I think,
just as a person growing up here, like you said,
(06:10):
similar in that way to New York, I feel like
there's so many different cultures in food, in art, in design,
and I think even more so over the last ten, fifteen,
twenty years.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
But I do think two points, yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
And I think that's what really was.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Like I got exposed to the like Dynasty bel Air
ladies with their big jewelry, and I also was exposed
to the punk rock eyes on Sunset Boulevard trying to
get into the whiskey and seeing how they looked. And
I was exposed to like, you know, all the ladies
in the gold chains and kind of that eighties look,
(06:46):
you know that was around that Georgio of Beverly Hills look.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
And I think that I.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Got to see also the beach vibes and the sun
and the pools, and that's what we grew up with here.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I think that I also had a lot of create
people can agree with me, and I'm sure you'll agree
with me, is that we grew up in a little
bit of a different time where I was allowed.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
To be bored, so that kind of gave me creativity.
And you know, now children they're on their iPhones, they're
on their iPads.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
You know, the epiphanies, the great ideas, they come when
you're kind of sitting by the pool or just driving
in a car.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
You know, so true.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It's so true because I think now everyone's brains are
overstimulated to a point where they.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Don't how to just sit.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
And I think your one hundred percent right, and I
think any creative person would say that it's almost like
being alone in your head is when it all happens,
because you're forced to like look around you right when
you started and need a coach jewelry. I rarely feel
like I remember it like it was two days ago. Yeah,
but I remember, like you're very, very first. And the
(07:49):
reason I want to bring this up is because you
brought up this sort of punk, raw kind of glamour
that you were sort of had this like bipolar kind
of like you had this part and this part. And
I think as a stylist, I definitely experienced that same
thing here. But I think the perfect marriage, I think
was when you first probably came out with your diamond
safety pin, right like that, and the spikes.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
The spikes I had the safety pins the first piece
I did. I think to go way back, I mean
thank you first. I want to say for how much you.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Supported me, and I love you.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I can only say that it really did put me
on a path of success, and I just want to
thank you so much for that.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
But I think remember the first thing was the diamond circle,
and I think that when I first started my business,
and that's why I really encourage a lot of young
women to just have fun and kind of create, even
if it's one thing. Is that I started my business
one piece, and then it would grow to two or three,
and then sell those pieces and then I could do six.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
But it's the help of all these great.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Women like you who when I started in the begin
they would be like, oh Nya, that's cool, I want one,
you know, and they would buy one for me and
they would support me. And yes, I had this, you know,
from punk to glamour kind ofly the leads like I
was doing romantic too, And I think that all of
(09:16):
that was my environment here got into gold and diamonds,
and luckily all my girls and all my girlfriends growing
up in New York or growing up in LA they
understood what I was kind of doing, and they also
wanted it for their lifestyle and their look. And I
was really grateful about that because when I started, there
was either only the like place vendome brands like Cartier
(09:39):
than Cleeve, or there was only like the very low
end like Hill Street or forty seventh Street in New
York that the quality wasn't there, and so when I started,
I was luckily. I mean, the reason why I started
was because I didn't have the budget for the.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Super super high end, but yet my taste level.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
Was a lot higher than the very low end, and
so I really wanted to design pieces that I wanted
to wear my friends, like, my people around me were
really my muses, so like.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Relatable luxury, accessible luxury, because I do want to talk
about that, you know. For me, it was probably at
the very prime of when I was sort of like
getting most of my clients and pulling jewelry all day
every day, and I just remember it was interesting because
I would pull your jewelry in and then I would
(10:30):
have the majors, right, but inevitably a major sorry for
our listeners like Cartier van Kleeve. If you know at Tiffany,
it's very hard as a up and coming jeweler, especially
in a fine jewelry space, the same way it is
with clothing. It's next to impossible to compete with the
big guns. It just is because they have unlimited budgets,
(10:52):
unlimited marketing budgets. But what I found is time after
time and the more I pulled it in and I
would have this jewelry role, like if any of you
know what it is, like a velvet role, and I
would roll it out and I would have strands of
Anita's jewelry and her spikes and her pins and her leaves.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
And I remember.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Every single piece of Anita I ever had in my studio,
and I just remember that what started happening at one
point was my clients that were like this, you know,
the cool girls. They wanted Anita. They wanted Anita because
they realized it was young, it was cool, it was unique,
it had an edge to it, and it was also
(11:31):
a bit smaller and less overwhelming, you know. And I
think to your point, in the Dynasty era and the
whole like sort of bell Air Beverly hills of it all,
and you know, you and I we love those moments, right,
and I would never take away from it. But I
think for every day glamour, I think people started to
really just catch on. I do want to say that
it is what you've done now, and I think it's
(11:53):
important to point this out. And I want to go
back to something you just said, which is I think
when you start a business of any size, it's verifying.
But I think what Anita was referring to is that
she started with one piece, and then she sold enough
of those that she could make two. She told enough
of those she could map four and six and eight,
and then now I've watched it grow over the last
(12:15):
oh my god, fifteen or so years, right.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
It'll be seventeen years in November.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Okay, I believe it. I can. It's insane.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
And so what I think is amazing is that you've
built this incredible niche.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
To the fact that I was saying.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
To Roger the other day, I said, what's been amazing
about Anita? And I use kind of Greg Elder Statesman
in a similar way, that you went on this path
to do your own thing that was your own niche
and your own unique thing, and somehow, all these years later,
you're bigger and better than ever, and yet there's no
more of that. When people compliment my jewelry and they say,
(12:52):
oh my god, what is that?
Speaker 2 (12:53):
What are you wearing?
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Is that blah blah blah, say no, it's a new
Oh my god, I love Anita Koejori.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Oh my god did it? And I remember for the
first few years it.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Was like, oh, and it is amazing, like I would
have to give this sort of narrative, right, like.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Oh, she legit, like she's you know.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
And what's amazing is now you've built this incredible name
and brand for yourself all over the world by really
keeping a very small team, which yes, I think is important.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
Yes, I mean I think that when I started, I
was lucky enough to come in at a time when
like people like you were really creating a look and.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
It was free. It was free.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
It was free to create then, and I think that
you were able to like really create a look and
it was high end, but it was casual with an edge,
and that kind of really worked with my jewelry, and
we layer stuff and.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
We could have fun really some like cool fun things.
And then when I came up, like doing the earcuffs.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
We were able to like really do a lot of
fun ears and fun looks.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
And I think that I was lucky enough to of.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Course know you and be friends with so many other
wonderful women here in La that really were the epicenter
of that La lifestyle and the look that kind of
took over before fashion was Paris, New York, you know,
and then it really became about La lifestyle and everybody
(14:20):
started moving here and the art world, and so I
think that I always wanted to maintain a high end
quality level. That was really important to me to make
sure that my pieces were still eighteen care at really
high quality diamonds, but it was more modern exactly of
our time.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
And I'm extremely.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Grateful what this business has brought me. Has brought me
a lot of relationships. It's really showed me how much
people have supported me over the years. When I think back,
no question is you and I both know you have
to work hard.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
It takes years, it's bloods.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
When I was going to ask you, at what point
did you have if you have had and I'm pretty
sure you have had challenges. I mean, because being an
entrepreneur is brutal.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
The first five the years, I had many, many times
when I wanted to quit or do something else, but
I was again lucky to be friends with and have
as a mentor.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Anastasia of Beverly Hills.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Oh my god, she's the queen.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
I've known her since high school. And I would say
to her, I'm tired, i want to quit. I'm having
a really hard time about X, Y and Z. And
she said, you know, Anita, you're lucky to get to
do what you want in your dreams. Put your shoes
on tomorrow morning.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
And go to work. She was like, just go to work,
and she said, what do you have to complain about.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
You have over your head, you have food on the table,
you have so many blessings. Put your shoes on and
go to work tomorrow. And she was absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Look at her, Look at Anna Sasia, look at hers.
And Sasia is for anyone who doesn't now when I
say the American dream, I mean this woman has worked
so Ana Sausia. You may know her as the Queen
of eyebrows, because that's how she started. That's how I
met her, probably twenty five years ago, doing brows, and
every client on your show one hundred percent have to
(16:15):
have on Asasia. And she has literally gone on to
go so above and beyond eyebrows with her own salon
that is literally lines out the door from the day
it opened, but beyond that launched her beauty line and
brow line and has literally built a multi million dollar
brand and business and has worked blood, sweat tears every
(16:37):
second of every day since she started. She is incredible
and what an amazing mentor honestly and female.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Female and she always there to take my call and
can always there to really give me good practical advice,
which sometimes is just as simple as put your shoes on,
go to work yes day.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yeah, that isn't your mother, because you don't listen your
mom like that.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
And your mother allows you to cry and feel bad
for yourself. Yes, you know, she just doesn't allow you
to feel bad for yourself.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
She's really taught me that you can do anything.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
So it worked really hard, and I think that it
takes years.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
I mean that's the real thing.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I wish sometimes it happened faster, but it's supposed to
happen when it's supposed to happen, it is, and it is.
And when I was younger, I wish it was happening
much quicker than it was, but that's not life. If
I had it easier, I wouldn't appreciate what I have today.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
It's true, it's true, But honestly, Anita, that's why I
actually started climbing in heels. Because everyone who knows all
the women that I've had on this podcast, they think
it happened yesterday. They think it started like a year ago.
Oh my god, I heard about so and so.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Like a year ago. How did they get so lucky?
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I'm like, fuck that, I'm going to talk about how
these incredible women got here. That doesn't exist, and if
it does, it probably won't last. Not to be cynical,
because I hope everyone has an easy ride, but in reality,
I don't think any ride is easy, and I don't
think anything worth having.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Should be easy. Quite frankly.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I mean, we started our businesses also before social media existed,
so I think that we even had to work ten
times harder to have our lines reach viewership and know
who we are. And obviously I'm grateful for all the
tools today that we haven't because things just happen a
(18:35):
lot faster, but that means the work is also happening
a lot faster, and we need to work harder. And
I really hope that I can encourage the young designers
out there that you only have a few pieces of
jewelry and are wondering if they could really do this
and make this into a business, because it does seem
overwhelming when you think about it. But I really hope
that I can inspire a lot of young women or
(18:57):
young men out there to know so that if you
work hard, and you believe in yourself, and you don't
give up, and you make mistakes, it's your bounce back
that determines how successful you'll be.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
I've learned that.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I've learned that when things happen, because they're always going
to happen, the rate in which you choose to bounce
back that's the difference. And I just made a point
of choosing to bounce back no matter what challenges are
presented in front of me.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
And I've had a lot.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
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Speaker 2 (21:06):
You've had a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
I've been there for definitely some of them, and I've
seen you and I'm like, I just remember being like no, no, no,
m mmm uh huh, you're Anita Kle Like. I just
remember being like, no, way, and listen. It's not just
like a business challenge necessarily. Sometimes it's a personal challenge.
Sometimes it's something that just impacts your whole way that
you go about life. And again, I think that's life.
(21:28):
I think that's what does give us our wisdom, right,
and it gives us our notches on our belts, right.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I mean, I'll give you a good example.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
When I started my line, we all have to write goals,
and one of my goals was that I wanted to
be a jewelry designer at Barney's like Barnie's was thet
boor to me and that's all I wanted. And when
I met with the buyer, she turned me down. She
didn't feel that I was the right fit. And I
remember crying my eyes out that night, feeling like one
(21:57):
of my ultimate goals and why I started my line
was never going to happen.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
And I just remember feeling so shattered.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
That unlike fails, right, he.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Wasn't going to work out.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
But in retrospect, now my path was supposed to be
the Burgdorf Goodman.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I was going to say, And then the next day
you got like Linda Fargo or Perdorf Goodman, which is
the holy grail of Reso's still standing.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
And that was supposed to be my path.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
And when they say man's rejection is God's protection, because
I didn't have to experience like other hardships if I
had gotten what I wanted.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
No, yes, it's true.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
And for those of you that don't know, Barney's shut
down after and a lot of people lost a lot
in that movement that happened in Barney's and Meida was
not one of them.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
So years later, the woman who turned me down ended
up having to be my buyer at Burgdorfs. You know,
that's how life works. And we ended up having a
great relationship. And I could have chosen to keep the
bitterness or have that feeling of rejection stay with me.
Behooved me in my career at Burgdorfs, and we really
(23:03):
ended up having a great relationship. And like I said,
it's the bounce back because I really felt bad that evening.
I felt my world was destroyed when I chose to
put my shoes on the next day and go to
work and present my line again.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
It happened in Las Vegas at the jewelry shows.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
So I chose to go to work the next day,
and I chose to keep on my path. And I
think that that's why I want to inspire other people
to know that you don't always get what you want
when you want it, but there might be better things
in store for you, So to just keep pursuing your
dreams and don't let anybody tell you anything else.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Just know you're good and keep moving forward.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
I have such chills because I actually like it's weird.
I kind of like, remember that whole moment. I remember
you going to Burgdors. I remember walking in and seeing
the collection, and then I was there in this past
February and I went over and of course Roger had
been at the Anita co section for like twenty minutes,
like literally pulling out everything, making her take everything out
(24:07):
of the counter. And then he's like, he's like, honey, honey,
I just got intell. He's like, she's one of the
best selling brands at Burgdors. It was like we were
your like proud parents or something, and you know you
are right, And I do think that the bounce back
is everything. And for someone like me who really does
hold pain deeply and hold it, I hold a grudge.
(24:28):
I very admittedly. I'm a virgo, so you know how
we roll, you know. I think that's such a good
point and such a good point for people now and
entrepreneurs like kind of really going through it, that those
doors sometimes really do get closed in your face for
a reason. It's because you're not meant to go through
that one, and it's because another one really does open
it and it ends up in a bigger and better way.
(24:49):
I think you don't know that stuff until you've done
it for a minute, you know, for real. And what
do you say, Anita, what's your approach to copycats? Because
you have tons, you.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
Know, I think that like it doesn't affect me like
it did when I when.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
I first saw it. When I first saw it.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
I was I remember like walking into a showroom and
just seeing.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Like everything Anita cow.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Yes, And I remember crying that day because I had
worked so hard to just get where I was.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
But I see them all the time. I see them avery.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
But now it doesn't affect me like it used to.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
And I think that I've developed a much thicker skin
about it and.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
In confidence, probably because.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
And it just I think, if anything just inspires me
to now like keep moving forward, keep designing more stuff.
I think that because I have so many close friends
that are fellow jewelry designers that I've made for years.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
I have them to turn to.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
To commiserate because they go through it themselves and we
can kind of talk ourselves out and get back into
the light. Sure, and those friendships has really helped me
put things in perspective that somebody may copy.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
You, but they're not you.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
And the copycats are coming in at a much cheaper quality,
and they're doing it to come in as a lesser price.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Point than you. And it's just business. It's every clothing
designer has it. I mean, I'm sure you.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
See I'm sure you see a career and it's painful.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Yeah, I'm sure everything you've ever done you've seen somebody.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
Horrible after and knock you off completely.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
It's a horrible feeling, but it also shows that you've
made it rich. You know that you've gotten to that
point in your career that people actually think you're so
good that they want to copy you, they want to
be you. And I really see it with my fellow
other you know, a man I admire so much in
Turkey that.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
The jewelry designer seve on everything everything. So what can
any of us do? But while moving.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
Forward, but Anita, I want to I want to talk
about something that I think you've taken an approach to
that I think is also important for entrepreneurs, whether they're
designers or anything else, because I think the world has
really shifted in this direction. But I think it's something
that you've always done so well and really built a
big part of your business on, which is private clients.
And I think that there's a lot of your success.
(27:26):
And I mean, of course correct me if I'm wrong.
It is so under the radar because like it's funny
a year ago today, not today, but I mean basically
a year ago, we were at a wedding together and
everywhere I turned my head there were people drepping in
Anita Co Diamonds.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I was like, this is.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Everything, this is like And these weren't people Some you knew,
some you didn't. Some are to your friends, some were
clients but this was not loan or jewelry, and I
was like, Wow, this is incredible, And I think that
there are something to be said for that, and something
very entrepreneurial about that, because I think one of the
things to note about how you've approached your business is
(28:09):
you're so incredibly hands on and that if there's a client,
you go yourself.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
You're not sending somebody. You go.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
You custom make things, you design things for couples. You
work with a ton of husbands and boyfriends that have
Anita co on speed dial.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
And I think that's great.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
I go because I want it to be perfect. Of
course what I do. A lot of the presents are
and the gifts are a special occasion.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
But my clients mean the world to me, and that's
why I'm very private about them because and also a
lot of them are people that are not necessarily well
known to the corublic world, sure, but are very incredibly
successful in their world.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
They are very, very.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
Very private, and they don't want other people to know
what they.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Have and don't want to say beautiful.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
They want their lives to be as enjoyable as possible,
but they don't want eyes on them necessarily, and so
I've been able to work with so many incredible collectors
around the world, so many wonderful men, families, and I
think in a private setting, I get to really hear
(29:26):
what the client wants, and I get to spend time
with them, and I get to create something that is
perfect for them. Like at the wedding we're talking about it,
I was asked to design a chain for a gentleman
the groom.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
O beautiful.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
Was that beautiful I wanted it for?
Speaker 3 (29:44):
You know, obviously the client had an idea of what
they wanted, but I did need to put that touch
on it because he was a young man and it
had to look have that cool factor to it and
still be super super high end because these people are
only see the best.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
And it just really worked. And I think that if I.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Didn't spend time myself on it, it wouldn't have my touch.
So with my clients that come to me privately, they
are people that I know, and I've known them a
lot of them for a long time, so I can
kind of get to that core of who they are
as a person.
Speaker 6 (30:18):
Yeah, I just I really enjoy being able to create
unique pieces for clients that are going to be lifetime
memories and will travel with their life their whole lives.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
That will be a part of their lives.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
And a part of their treasures forever. And I think
that's why any of us that do things that are
able to bring happiness or a smile or love to
someone from a present or creating memories, it's just one
(30:55):
of the best feelings I have when I see my
clients happy.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, I think that you being able to have all
these private clients and these customized moments, it's like being
caturre designer. It's the same thing because it's like, yes,
you get to sell to the world, you know, through
retail and online, but you also still get the personalization
and the customization. And I think that enables you to
stay creative and inspired and keep creating for different people.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
And I think that's the thing.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
I think confidence comes with experience and success, right, And
now you're.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
A loyalty, loyal and a lot of wood one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
I'm very loyal to my clients and they've been loyal
to me back.
Speaker 4 (31:36):
And I think that also creating a business.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
I've learned that when you create a business, your employees
and your team become your family because you see them
so much.
Speaker 4 (31:44):
So creating a.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Happy day to day life makes you and I and
people like us much more creative because we don't have
to deal with the minutia of something going wrong, because
we have a team that looks after us too.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
It's true.
Speaker 4 (32:00):
And I think all of that going all at once.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
I mean, I think that a truly successful business woman
or business man is able. I've learned that we're able
to keep the wheels turning at the same time, all
at once.
Speaker 4 (32:12):
Yeah, there's so many different parts.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
And like being a mom there all the time.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
Yeah, exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
So you come home and you're like, are all the
children asleep? Is everyone okay? Is the business okay? Are
the babies okay?
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (32:28):
I can go to sleep now, right exactly now, I'm okay.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Now, I'm okay.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
And so what keeps you awake at night or puts
you to sleep and wakes you up in the morning.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
I think, you know, every day is different, No, I.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Know, it's true, it's true.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
And I think that there are days when I yeah,
there are days when.
Speaker 3 (32:49):
Things are on edge and I have to really take
the time to maintain.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
An attitude of gratitude.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
I think that the place when things get tough, I
have to just always like.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
Take a breather and say, like, you know what, You're.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
So lucky you're in this. These are your problem, you know,
It's true. You have to count your blessings. And then
like when I do sleep well, it's.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
Because I'm grateful that things are going well, you know
what I mean. Grateful.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
I'm grateful that, like you said, like we all have
stuff going on in business, we all have stuff going
on in personal lives, and all of that stuff is
going well. Just you know, because I've had many nights
where I've had to stay up because of personal things
going wrong. There are many I stayed up because business
is going wrong. But when everything is nice, there's like
(33:39):
a piece.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
Having that piece.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I think that like friendships, family, loving yourself, all of
these things, Like I've had.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
To really.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
Like see how how lucky I.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
Am to have all these things, you know, to have
great family, to have great friends. That's why I hope
to inspire new designers out there. When I started, I
did not know if I would be successful.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
I did not know how things would turn out. Now
that I'm in a little bit more of a safer zone.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Just to let us just decide us say for a zone.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
I just hope that people know that it will come.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
It really will if you work hard, and if you
build a great support system around you, and if you
are a young woman, be friends with your fellow people
in your business, because there are going to be times
when you need them and only they understand what you're
going through. Get a mentor that has made it where
(34:40):
you want to go, and listen to what they say.
Speaker 4 (34:45):
And I just I really.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Hope that all of you guys who are listening to
this that are young and new, I hope you get
all of your.
Speaker 4 (34:54):
Dreams to come true.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
And because I had Rachel who helped me when I
I first started, and I had women who really took
a chance on me, and I wish that for all
of you who are coming up. I just really hope
that you get to continue to just dominate the way
you are because you are also the dream. And thank
(35:18):
you for this and thank you for having me because
I love you. I get to spend my time with you.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
You're the best. I love you so much.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
I also fun fact, I have two fun facts and
closing about Anita co so one is no one realizes
how much.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
My husband loves Anitaco. They are very good friends.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Love God and to two things that two things that
two fun facts about that. So to Anita's point about
being part of special moments. So for my fortieth birthday
last year, my husband went to Anita behind my back,
which I love so much, and designed the most beautiful
piece of jewelry I've ever owned in my life for me,
(35:57):
completely on his own, with Anita down to two stones.
He worked with her on I mean, she's so extraordinary.
And then fun fact which you probably didn't even know.
And I'm going to find the picture and send it
to you. But I went into labor and delivered my
first child, Sky who's No.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
Twelve, wearing probably twelve.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Pieces of you to coat jewelry on my body. I
was stacked with bracelets, I had a spike necklace on
my neck, everything, And I recently saw the picture in
the hospital. I said, I have to send this to
Anita because she wouldn't even was just saying.
Speaker 4 (36:35):
To one of my teammates in my office. I was like,
you know, one of.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
My first major sales with Rachel would when I just started.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
You were doing a commercial with.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Brad in Prague.
Speaker 4 (36:47):
We're like, we got Brad loves everything I'm wearing, and
I sent you a whole package of everything I had.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
It was like all the things I had had to
pray and you were like they're taking everything, and I
was like, oh God.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
Believe it. And it was like, I guess that was
my first like.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
When you ask like your aha moment of like this
maybe workout.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
I was like, oh my god, I cannot believe it.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
And I will know by the way, Anita, I will
never forget that because.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
It was like, how am I going to get jewelry
to prog no?
Speaker 2 (37:20):
One hundred percent?
Speaker 1 (37:22):
I just remember calling you outside of a trailer and going, Anita,
how much.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Did you have right now? You're like, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
Let me like.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Take everything you have, roll it up in one of
those things and world net it fed exit, insure it
whatever it is.
Speaker 5 (37:37):
Just getting here as good because you can out.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
I mean, that was I guess like my one of
my first like memories of like God, thank you so much,
thank you so much, thank you so much, And it was.
Speaker 4 (37:52):
All because of you.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
But I was so happy to do it because nothing
makes me happier. I have to tell you, you know,
you don't know. We see the best things happen to
the right people, but God, when it does, I'm so happy.
There's nothing that makes me happier than watching great people
who work so hard and are such good people like win.
(38:13):
That's the best. That's just the best. I mean, that's
the win, right, But I love you so much. I'm
so excited to watch you win. And you know, for
everyone listening, I'm sure you already know Anita Co.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
But if you don't run.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Don't walk, and get every piece you possibly can, or
save up for even just that one little Anitaco special
piece because they're the best.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Thanks everyone, I love you so much. They have a
great week. Angel.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Okay, everyone, it's that time in the show when I
answer two listener questions, so let's see what we have today.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Okay, this is funny.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Do you typically tailor all of your pants and jackets
or do you wear things straight off the hangar. I
definitely do tailor things, for sure, Believe it or not.
I'm incredibly lazy about it, and I typically wait until
the day before I have to wear something.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
If it's for something visible, I'll get it tailored.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
But I'm more so tailored gowns for major events rather
than my everyday clothes, and because I am rather small,
I just wear higher heels.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
So that I don't have to have my pants. Truth.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Yes, as a stylist for one hundred years, I don't
barely tailor my own clothes.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Fun fact.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Okay, what's your advice on listening to your instincts as
a young person just starting my professional career when it's
easier to be a people pleaser most of the time.
That's a really, really good question and a very hard
one to answer, because I think as somebody starting out,
you almost have to be a people pleaser.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
You really do. When you are first starting out and learning.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
Very often your opinions you have to keep to yourself
and vent them to your safe person at home. You
really have to respect and listen to the person that
you're working and learning from, and then know that if
your instincts were right and you did the opposite based
on what you were told to do, then just take
(40:18):
it as a learning lesson and use it as your
sort of inner arsenal of knowledge when you go out
on your own or to your next job. But I
do think that a big problem for the young generation
starting out now is that they come in really thinking
they know so much, and sometimes they very well do.
But I think the last thing someone who is like
a very seasoned veteran in a job wants to hear
(40:41):
is like a twenty two year old sort of like
shooting off their mouths.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
About what they think they should do.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Now, that said, in the work environment that we are
trying to nurture, now, I know, for me, all of
my team, I love their opinions. I love their opinions,
and I value their opinions and often I really take
what they say and I really use it and it
really impacts my overall decision because it's a fresh perspective.
(41:07):
It's a younger perspective, and quite frankly, I think we
really need that because it is a new world and
it's a new way of looking at things. And so
I think that if you have a good boss, your
boss will empower you and ask for your input. And
whether they choose to take it or not, that's up
to them. But trust me when I tell you they
(41:28):
will know if you added something valuable. They will know
and they will remember. So don't forget to submit your
questions for next week's episode. All you have to do
is dm us your questions to at Climbing in Heels
pod on Instagram and I might just answer your question.
Thank you so much to my friend Anita co for
(41:52):
coming on the podcast and talking about building and growing
her business and how long and arduous and painstaking it
can be. I think what Anita really captured and shared
so beautifully is that it's been seventeen years since she
launched her brand. And as I said, I think the
impetus for starting Climbing and Heels was really to share
(42:15):
these very long journeys to the top, because I think
there's this sort of misconception that a lot of successful
people just somehow got lucky and got there overnight. And
I think, you know, as Anita shared, she's faced it all.
I mean, she's really faced a lot of personal drama.
She has certainly fought her way to the top and
(42:37):
back and down and around and back.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
But ultimately, I think what.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
She really shared the most was her gratitude for her
loyal friends and community around her. But I think what
she really touched on which was so important to really
hear from her, that I think is such a great
takeaway for anyone starting out particularly in fashion or jewelry designing,
(43:03):
is that to make the other jewelry designers, don't make
them your competition and dislike them because they're your competition,
actually embrace them, be friends with them, and support each other.
Because she said there are really so many times that
she has really leaned on her friends that are jewelry
designers and really have used them to sort of come
(43:24):
together to get through a really challenging moment in the industry.
And it's nice to really have those friends that understand
what you're going through. I think that's really really important
to really hear, honestly, And it's the first time I
think on this podcast someone has said that, and I
think that's something important to note. But I have to
say I always love seeing when my favorite designers really
(43:44):
get to live out their dreams and their goals. I
always say that just good old fashioned work and dedication
really does bring results. It's like you can dream really big,
but if you don't go for it fully and you
don't put the work in and the time and as
Anita said, the blood, sweat and tears, it's likely not
going to happen. But I can tell you that when
(44:06):
you get there the results are really, really beautiful and
worth it. So if you want more Climbing in Heels content,
follow me on at Rachel Zo and at Climbing in
Heels Pod on Instagram For more updates on upcoming guests, episodes,
and all things curetur I'll see you all next week.
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