Erin Wasson on jewelry design inspiration, staying sane and best vacation spots
At Thursday night’s party to celebrate the launch of LPA by Lara Pia Arrobio in downtown Los Angeles, Erin Wasson took a moment to speak with WWD about the creative process for her jewelry line, staying zen and her favorite vacation destination.
WWD: The one-year anniversary of your jewelry line is coming up; how does that milestone feel for you?
Erin Wasson: You know, it feels really beautiful. I’ve worked in so many capacities. I’ve spent years working for other people, I spent years doing licensing deals and to start something from the ground up that is mine, it’s something that I get to put my entire self into, it’s up to me how it’s going to come out, it’s up to me how the business is going to be run. And yeah, you’re writing your own poetry. You write words for other people and then you become a ghostwriter and then you pick up the pen and you write your own story and it becomes yours.
WWD: Do you feel any pressure?
E.W.: I try not to live in that space. I believe everything up until this point is an experience. You’re tapping into memories, you’re tapping into experience. I think all of the knowledge that you need to do what you love, if it’s a passion, it just comes through.
WWD: What memories did you tap into during the creative process?
E.W.: I mean, there’s millions. You know? It becomes surrealist at the end of the day. Sometimes in the design process you don’t even know what’s coming out of you because all of the information you’ve soaked up is through osmosis and then somehow it surfaces and you don’t really know where it’s coming from, but you’ve brought it with you somewhere along the way.
WWD: How do you tap into that energy?
E.W.: You sit down and you have a quiet moment with yourself and you pray to yourself and you say, “Conjure up some ..., b—h.”
WWD: What will we see from the line in the future?
E.W.: You know it’s interesting. Creating a line from the ground up, when you’re really creating and trying to find this identity of the brand, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It was very easy to make things in other capacities and sort of be, like, “Hey cool, I’m going to make that for now. This is a moment of now.” I’m looking for a moment of permanence now. I’m in our third collection and we’re going to be going to sales in New York in a month, then Paris. I’m figuring out my identity now. I came out the gate hot with these really big pieces with a lot of bravado, a lot of personality. The second collection, I freaked out, I got a little scared. It got a little commercial, dainty, not me. But that’s fine. You hit your stride. You find your voice and that’s the beauty of the journey. It’s all you at the end of the day and you get to [f-up] along the way, too.
WWD: Do you feel fine about making mistakes?
E.W.: I feel fine about it. Mistakes are inevitable and that’s where all your greatness come from.
WWD: How has your summer been so far?E.W.: I’m like the boring girl that’s all about a staycation. If I can get in the car with my dog, I’m happy. I spend my whole life traveling. So for me to have some sort of exotic getaway it doesn’t get my rocks off. I want to be with my friends. I want to sit at home. I want to be in my bed. I want to go kick it with my horse, ride my horse. My idea of freedom is not looking outward. Everyone’s, like, “Oh I’m on a boat in Greece or I’m going to Thailand.” I’m sitting at home. I’m in the car, I drive up the coast and hang out, come back.
WWD: Is that meditative for you?
E.W.: Yeah, it’s freedom. You book a plane ticket. You go somewhere, you’re only there for a certain amount of time, it’s temporary. The magic ends at a certain point. If you’re with yourself and you’re with all the things you love and adore there’s no end to that. You can keep it going as long as you want.
WWD: If you could give people advice on being present, what would you tell them?
E.W.: It’s just wherever you go, there you are. Make the most of wherever you are. Talk to everyone. Hear everyone’s stories and be inspired by everything.
