Amanda Thomas
What is your morning routine?
What are the five things you need constantly?
What's been the hardest part of starting your own line?
Jewelry Designer living in Los Angeles
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We're big fans of LuvAJ, any insider scoop of what's to come?
We’ve got some amazing collaborations coming up this fall with a major jewelry retailer and one of my favorite bloggers, so stay tuned for those collections to drop :) We’re also developing a fine jewelry collection that will be released next year- think dainty and punky, lots of diamonds, but still affordable.
What is your morning routine?
Iced tea is a must, Farmshop in Brentwood has my favorite. Then if I’m good, I try to get in a solid workout with my fiancé before we get to the office. Im getting married this Fall so Im trying to stay on this whole bridal-bootcamp regime. Then I dive into emails for the first few hours of my day while listening to rap music, it gets me energized for the day!
What are the five things you need constantly?
Instagram- sad but true! My fiance- we live and work together and just genuinely like hanging out with each other all the time. As aforementioned, iced tea all the time. Spotify- it’s the only way I listen to music and so easy to find amazing new artists based on what I already love. My car- contrary to most Los Angelians- I love driving! I drive a massive SUV and it’s fun to whip around and blast music while I’m stuck in traffic all day.
What was your biggest career moment?
I started Luv Aj when I was a sophomore in high school, kind of on a whim. I had been making pieces for myself and friends after school and it just started to pick up some traction and I ended up getting my collection into Fred Segal and a few other major LA retailers. But it wasn’t until after college, when I had finished my internship at Who What Wear and decided that I would be pursuing Luv Aj full-time that I had my major ah-ha moment. When I left Who What Wear, the founders Hillary and Katherine did a whole featured on their site about Luv Aj called ‘Line We Love’ and it absolutely catapulted Luv Aj to the forefront of every major buyer in the industry. The morning that email blast went out, I woke up to hundreds (yes, hundreds) of emails from buyers from Shop Bop, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, etc. That really helped jump start our wholesale sales and it was such a turning point in my career.
What's been the hardest part of starting your own line?
Cash flow. It’s a daily battle juggling production for new orders and tracking down payments from stores. Ask any designer and they will tell you the same thing. It’s one of the most frustrating parts of the business but completely unavoidable, so you just have to be very organized and smart with your finances to make it through.
Any dream collaborations?
Alexander Wang is just all-that-and-a-bag-of-potato-chips in my humble opinion. Everything he makes is pure genius, so I would love to do a range of jewelry for him. One day… when pigs fly maybe ha.
Favorite places to dine in LA?
Superba in Venice. Best Carbonara and kale salad, ever.
Finish these sentences:
I love it when: customers love their jewelry! This is why I do what I do.
I regret the time I: lied to my parents in high school, that was not cool, sorry mom!
I feel sexiest in: a one piece bathing suit. Bikinis are scary!
The most embarrassing thing: about me is that I love reality television. I have no shame in my game, it’s so entertaining!