Meet Damasia Ball
As well as sharing our love of Jaipur, celebrating craft and supporting artisans, Damasia Ball, co-founder of Daphine Jewellery, is a lifelong fan of gingham and timeless design. We spent the morning gushing over her new jewellery range, filled with vintage-inspired treasures and pretty pearl details. We caught up on everything from her favourite Pink City Prints Spring pick, to how her business has adapted and grown over the years.
Firstly, we are huge fans of your jewellery brand, thank you so much for shooting with us! We’d love to know what inspired you to start the brand along with your business partner, Philippine de Follin?
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 necessarily go out of trend in a matter of months. Pieces similar to the ones we grew up seeing our mothers and grandmothers wear.
We love that your pieces are made by hand in Jaipur! Tell us a little more about your commitment to ethics and sustainability, and why that’s so important to you.
Ethics is always on our minds and we are very proud of the relationships we have developed with the artisans that produce our pieces. We are involved in every stage of the production cycle and regularly visit our loving team in Jaipur who make all our pieces by hand using recycled materials.
Less really is more for us, always. We’re passionate about encouraging conscious consumption as this is something we personally adapt in our daily lives. We only want our customers to buy pieces that truly bring them joy.
We have also recently launched our Vintage Edit, which is a monthly drop of vintage jewellery we have lovingly sourced throughout the years.
What challenges have you faced since starting your own business, and how have you overcome those?
Like all small businesses, the pandemic was really difficult for us at first. We had experienced rapid growth in the first three two years of business but 2020 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 was, 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.
What advice would you go back and give to yourself when you founded Daphine?
There is a wonderful community of women entrepreneurs out there who are going through similar journeys and hardships. So reach out! Share ideas, share contacts, share experiences. You can get very lost in your own head when you are starting a business. But it is key to network and creates your support circle with other like-minded entrepreneurs who are cheering you on.
What jewellery trends should we be looking out for in 2023?
Silver is definitely back! We have just released a collection of our Daphine favourites in sterling silver and have not taken them off. After years of being gold obsessed, there is a certain freshness that comes with wearing silver. It really modernises your outfit in a very subtle and elegant way.
When you’re not designing jewellery, how do you like to spend your time?
At our London home with my family. There is nothing like a lazy Sunday morning in pajamas with my husband and two boys.
Lastly, which Pink City Prints piece will you be wearing on repeat this Spring and why?
I am such a gingham fan and will not be taking off my Sky Gingham Palermo Dress! I love that it can be dressed up or down and it is such a lovely base to layer my Daphine jewellery. I can see myself wearing it for years to come.
