“Tell us about yourselves, who is behind Daphine?”
Damasia: "I am originally from Argentina, grew up in the United States, and have been living in London for the past 5 years. I have the sweetest 2 year old boy that was born the same year as Daphine (I call them my twins)! I am always on time and love routines."
Philippine: "I am French, I have been living in London for the past 7 years and have been working in the jewellery industry for the past 15 years. I am a Mum of two, I am always late and I hate routines."
“How and where did Daphine begin?”
Damasia: "We launched Daphine from my Notting Hill flat in September 2017. But whole journey really started much earlier. We met in New York in 2012 and bonded right away over elegant design, and a quest for simplicity in our everyday lives. We like to say that we chose each other as business partners before the idea for Daphine was even conceived."
Philippine: "Daphine was really born from a need. We couldn’t find the classic jewellery we wanted to wear at accessible prices! We were at a stage in our lives where we wanted our jewellery to reflect our personal styles, something that was confident and elegant and wouldn’t go out of style in a matter of months."
“You are inspired by….”
Damasia: "The strong women in my family, especially my mother and grandmother."
Philippine: "The women around us, looking for that little piece that they cherish every day, the pieces that become part of them. A lot of our designs are inspired by pieces that you will pass onto the next generation."
“What comes first in your outfit deciding – the clothing or jewellery?”
Damasia: "For me its always the clothing. I really am a white t-shirt and jeans type of girl and use jewellery to dress myself up or to put me in a specific mood. For me wearing jewellery is something that plays with your emotions."
Philippine: "For me there are two types of jewellery- your everyday pieces that you were as a second skin (even naked!) because they tell a story about you and - the jewellery pieces that you will wear to lift up your mood. I usually pick my outfit first around one strong piece of my closet and then add a piece that will bring instant illumination to my face."
“Tips on caring for your jewellery?”
Damasia: "We always say that like all things in life, it requires love to keep jewellery looking its very best. We recommend taking jewellery off while exercising, bathing, or applying lotions and perfumes. And very importantly also is to store each piece individually in a cool, dry place to extend their wear and use."
“You share similar ethics to us on crafted by hand and working with local artisans, can you please share a little more on this?”
Philippine: "Ethics is always on our minds. We cherish something crafted by hand. We’re very proud of the strong relationships we’ve built with our wonderful artisans in Jaipur. They are people we have met personally, the people who realise all our crazy ideas. Creative minds would not exist without artisans ! We share a huge respect for our artisans and encourage conscious consumption – so they can keep on working on their magic and pass it into the next generations."
“How do you plan to spend these holidays?”
Damasia: "In one of my favourite places, Ile de Ré in France, with my 2 year old son and husband’s family. There is something very nostalgic about a winter Christmas by the sea."
Philippine: "It will be a very restricted Christmas this year with my two kids and my husband. We will be isolating ourselves in the mountains in France for 2 weeks."
“What have been some key learnings from this year and what is your outlook for 2021?”
Damasia: "For us, and many others I’m sure, 2020 has been a year of reflection. This year really forced us to take the time to slow down not only from a personal point of view, but also as a small business. We had to re-evaluate what Daphine is, how we can do better as a company and as individuals, what the real vision for the company is. It was a bit like hitting the reset button for us."
Philippine: "For 2021 we are excited to start making some of our favourites pieces from our collections in pure gold, crafted by hands made in Paris as I am going to move back to France. I am very excited to start working with Parisian atelier that have a unique savoir-faire and such a laid back way of working!"
