Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to AL&EM. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
AL&EM, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
Making engagement and wedding rings has become incredibly meaningful for us. It’s not something we really intended to do but friends started asking us to make their rings and it just felt right. It was special for us to be a part of their stories, but it was also special for them because they knew who’s hands had made their symbolic rings. Once we’d done a few rings for friends, other people started asking too and we were excited to keep sharing that personal experience more and more. We’ve had so much fun doing these custom projects that we’ve decided to launch an AL&EM engagement and wedding ring collection.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
AL&EM is a jewelry studio by lovers and partners AL and EM. We offer permanent jewelry, wedding and engagement rings, and our collection of fine and semi-fine jewelry. Our story began in 2015 when we decided to chase our dreams and start a business. We had no idea what we were doing, but we knew if we did it together maybe we’d have a chance.
We strive to make work that reflects both our style and values. We love modern minimal shapes but also feel it’s important for each piece to have the character inherent to something handmade. To us the story of the thing is just as important as the thing itself. We think bold statements are just as cool as everyday pieces you can live in. As we continue to grow and change as artists and people, so will the form and expression of our work. But one thing has and always will remain the same for us: We’re having fun.
Our relationship with our community is the most important thing to us. It’s what has kept us going through the years and what has brought us the most joy. We love hearing each person’s unique story and experience. Seeing our customers and friends wearing our pieces brings our work to life. These relationships are what make both our art and business better everyday. Our maker’s mark, the ampersand, represents our collaboration with each other and with you. It’s a simple reminder that we can achieve more together than alone.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Seeing people smile because of our work. Owning a small business is really hard and being an artist is really hard. If the work we do didn’t bring people joy it wouldn’t be worth it.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The pandemic effectively hit pause on our business. At the time it was really disheartening, but looking back it was a gift. It give us a chance to reevaluate everything that we were doing. We scrapped everything that wasn’t working or that we didn’t like doing and focused on what was working and what brought us joy. We changed our business name from Naked Eyes (a name we just thought sounded cool when we started) to AL&EM (a name that emphasized the most important parts of our business; people and relationships). We took chances that scared us, focus on bigger projects, and learned new skills. Those decisions have been vital to the survival and growth of our business and we plan to keep pushing the envelope everyday.
Contact Info:
- Website: xoalem.com
- Instagram: @xoalandem
Image Credits
Alex Klaes