I think denim jewellery is going to be the next big thing! K.B LuSH is a brand that I have fallen in love with! They make their denim jewellery with ribbon, zips, beads and so many other things that they can find. Each piece is unique and so cute! They also make necklaces, rings, bracelets, headbands and men’s jewellery. I have some of their items and I genuinely do love them, they are so beautiful and so much time has been spent on creating each individual piece! I caught up with them to get a little interview about their brand. You can check out some of the photos in the gallery below and you can visit their website by clicking here.
DB: What inspired you to start making denim jewellery?
For a long, long time we used to wrap the hems of denim around our wrists to compliment all of the other bangles and bracelets we used to wear (which is usually tons!). The denim hems which we now call…”Denhems” were a staple piece in our accessories arsenal. They matched with everything, were super comfortable and trendy. We’ve been wearing “Denhems” for probably 5 years and it wasn’t until earlier this year when a customer at Stephanie’s workplace (Barneys New York) complimented it and told her that it should be sold there, that we decided to run with it and create a business. When we began cutting our old denim to make Denhems, we just started to experiment and create denim bracelets and “embeLLushing” them with fun vintage pieces and fabrics!DB: Do you use old cut off bits of denim or do you specifically cut jeans up?
All of our products are cut from recycled denim. We never considered ourselves a “green” company but we are proud to create something new from recycled products. We use recycled denim to create amazing accessories and we end up with a great pair of denim shorts to “embeLLush” and sell at a low cost…and it all ends up to be one of a kind pieces! We do dive right into cutting up a pair of jeans to create the cuffs, and we’ll usually wind up with scraps that we’ll incorporate into our designs or other products like our “NeckLuSHes”.
DB: How do you come up with the designs?
Unlike most artists and designers who create designs through inspiration and something they already picture in their mind…we kind of just go with the flow and work on a blank slate. We are best friends so we get together, lock ourselves in our studio, throw our itunes on shuffle and spend hours crafting and designing our products and business. It’s incredibly fun for us. After we create a unique piece or something that we love we use that piece as inspiration to create an entire new line.
DB: Which is your favourite piece and why?
My (Stephanie) favorite piece is definitely the butterfly bracelet which Lorna was actually able to name for us! Our names definitely have an influence to which bracelets we favor, but in this case, the butterfly bracelet was just so out there, wild and daring. I love bright colors and sparkles and girly things that remind me of my childhood, so maybe that is why I have such an attachment to that playful piece.
My (Kim) favorite piece is probably the “Haute Air Balloon” Chic-y Bastard. Just because as Steph said – I’m so in love with the name! But I really really love all of the Basic Bitches because they are just so easy to wear and look great by themselves and really amazing worked in with some other bracelets.
DB: How did you come up with the name K.B LuSH?
KB.LuSH was actually derived from a hopeful business name that we created about 5 years ago called “oK.B.LuSHious” We try to incorporate hidden messages and little easter eggs into everything we do, so we definitely capitalize the KB and SH in our name to represent our initials, but we are also telling people to “K, Be Lush” Also, we absolutely love the definition of the word “lush” (Luxurious; opulent – Extremely pleasing to the senses). We think it’s a beautiful word and it can also mean growing abundantly – which is exactly what we want our business to do! It was just this trifecta of reasons and we knew it was destined to be our name!
DB: Tell us more about your background and your brand!
We’ve best friends since the 2nd grade. We’ve always been into fashion, accessories and trends and we love the same things. We both have over 5 years of fashion experience in buying, visual merchandising, sales and production so we feel that we are both very well rounded and experienced enough to handle our own brand. Our brand is very original, creative and new and we hope that people will love it. Our brand is FOR EVERYONE but everyone can have their own unique piece, and this is something we value and stand behind! We use so many different styles to cater to everyone, and because we have a hard time letting go of things, we find new ways to wear them. Hence…old jeans we know we’ll never wear again but we cant get rid of them! Or for the guys who can’t get rid of their micro machine cars from the 80’s, or regret getting rid of their toys, we know we have vintage micro machine necklaces for men and women. We want people to feel a connection with our pieces, and at the same time, be lush!
