Young La Jollans create jewelry, clothing companies

When La Jollan Alesse Bloom was in high school, she had a part-time job working at Bower’s Jewelers. At the same time, she and sister Melissa were exploring their artists interests, including jewelry-making. After a college career in the arts and a migration to Los Angeles, the sisters launched Lane and Lanae jewelry line in August 2015. Little did they know they would one day sell their items at Alesse’s former place of employment.

This winter, Bower’s will sell Lane and Lanae jewelry, the pieces therein were inspired by a beachside upbringing. Melissa is the chief designer and Alesse is the creative director. Further, Lane and Lanae are the sisters’ middle names.

“Our brand is about fine jewelry made by two sisters. The design names come from a place of growing up together and the fun we had,” Alesse said. Collections include “High Five”; “Rock, Paper, Scissors”; “Follow the Leader”; with the “Tag, You’re It” collection soon to launch. “It’s meant to be fun and we wanted easy-to-wear pieces. Growing up and spending a lot of time at WindanSea, we know someone might go to the beach and then head over to Eddie Vs and you want something nice that can carry over, so the pieces were inspired by that idea.”

The twosome said their appreciation for jewelry started when they were young, and came courtesy of their mother Lannette and grandmother Barbara. “They would give us fine jewelry pieces, so it gave us an appreciation for precious stones, especially diamonds. We only use 14-carat gold and high quality diamonds,” Alesse said.

Melissa added, “Our pieces are an investment because it’s hard to find something of this quality and we want these to be pieces someone could treasure and pass on to their children.”

Produced through a manufacturer in Los Angeles, the rings, bracelets and necklaces were previously sold only online (the Bower’s deal marks the first time the jewelry was sold in stores). The sisters attended University of Arizona and University of Southern California and currently reside in Los Angeles.

“After Melissa went to USC, I moved to LA and was doing makeup in the film industry,” Alesse said. “I needed another job, so I worked for a jewelry designer. Through that, I dabbled with a costume jewelry line but never thought anything of it. Melissa and I decided together that we would take a step back and create our own jewelry line.”

She suggested the collection – as proven by the Bloom sisters – is not just for the beach lifestyle, but also great for city girls. More at laneandlanae.com

A Clothing Company

Across the world, in Australia, another La Jollan is making her mark on the fashion world. Jillian Beed, designer and director of the Rue Stiic clothing line, was born and raised in La Jolla and founded the brand in 2013. Inspired by both a Southern California and Australian lifestyle, the pieces are grouped into three categories: collection, staples and swim.

The “collection” line, consists of pieces that can take the wearer from the beach to a party. The “Staples” collection has ready-to-wear pieces that could fit in any closet. Unsurprisingly, the “Swim” line consists of one- and two-piece swimwear. Handmade in Bali, the collection also consists of accessories.

More at ruestiic.com