Christina Ricci for OYSTER Magazine Issue #97 | as shot by Gregory Harris

FFB:  Tell us a little about how Kris Nations came to be? What is like working so closely with family?
KN: I have always made jewelry as a hobby – since my teen years. I had made so many pieces, I needed to start selling them, just to feed the hobby. In 2002, I started selling my jewelry to local San Francisco boutiques. They were always selling out and re-ordering. Kim, my sister built an ecommerce website and helped with other parts of the business. Eventually it grew into a business that allowed both of us to quit our day jobs. Now, we design the jewelry together and run the daily operations. A lot of people tell me they could never work with their siblings, but for Kim and I – it’s a great partnership.

FFB: What are your favorite materials to work with?
KN: We love working with metal, and mixing metal with raw stones and other unexpected materials like silk and leather.

FFB: What/ who are your main inspirations for the line?
KN: We are inspired a lot by where we grew up – in the Southwest – Texas and New Mexico. Native American motifs and art inspires a lot of our designs.

FFB: Is there a Kris Nations aesthetic?
KN: Modern Bohemian.

FFB: What are your jewelry staples?
KN: Hoop earrings and bangles, I love stacking some of our friendship style bracelets where we use silks, and leather with our classic stacking hammered bangles.

FFB: What do you wear on a regular basis?
KN: I’m in the jewelry studio every day, plus I live in a beach town, so it’s a pretty casual atmosphere. I wear jeans quite a bit, sweaters and t shirts, boots and moccassins. I like to dress it up with our jewelry.

FFB: Who, ideally, wears your pieces? Who is Kris Nations aiming for?
KN: We have a pretty broad range of jewelry for all types of styles. We have a lot of every day pieces that are popular like our state charm necklaces. People who like to keep things simple, can wear a number of our simple charm necklaces and bracelets. We also have more statement making pieces available for people who like to wear larger, more artful pieces. Our customers really range in age from 18 and up. Our mom is in her 60s and she wears our jewelry all the time.

FFB: What sets Kris Nations apart from the rest?
KN: We have always made our jewelry by hand in our studio in the San Francisco Bay Area. We recently moved to a new studio about 25 min. south of San Francisco- on the coast- in Half Moon Bay, Ca. I’ve noticed with many jewelry businesses – once they hit a certain point of success, they feel forced to start producing overseas, to keep up with demand and make a larger profit margin. We’ve chosen to continue to make everything by hand in our own studio. We love the idea of creating jobs locally, and we have complete control over how things are made and the quality. Everything we make is truly made to order.

FFB: What are your most popular pieces?  Do you have any signature pieces?
KN: Currently, our state necklaces are very popular and we sell a huge variety of bracelets.

FFB: What’s in store for the future?
KN: We have lots of exciting new projects coming up in the next year or 2. For the near future, we hope to create 3 full time jobs.

For more information and to purchase pieces from Kris Nations, visit their official website here.

The 90s was a great time for high fashion. The original crop of “supermodels” was still very much in demand for editorials and shows, even though new faces like Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen became game changers in the modeling world.  Versace, McQueen, Galliano, and Gaultier, among others, were fearless and at their prime, both in design and presentation. However, the iconic minimalism of Calvin Klein and Helmut Lang was not overshadowed by their peer’s grandiose shows.  Overall, the 90s seemed to embrace a great mix of ideas and trends in fashion. Most designers did not play it safe and produced great collections throughout the decade. I love seeing these various runway shots and gifs from 90s Runway on my dashboard. The 90s are back, and I’m certainly not complaining!

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[Click the image to purchase! What a fashion steal!]

Nyasha Matonhodze, Lily Donaldson, Jourdan Dunn and Cara Delevingne for W Magazine January 2012 Issue | as shot by Emma Summerton