Jewelry designers Danna Kobo and Yuvi Alpert met in Miami upon Yuvi's return from an east Asian backpacking excursion. Maybe they were both feeling a tad adventurous, because shortly thereafter, the concept for Ruby Kobo, their first shared jewelry collection, was born.
"From the start we both had very similar design ideas, and really both agreed on the aesthetic, a bohemian luxury jewelry line," explains Danna."I was working at Jacob and Company, and Yuvi was designing a local Miami jewelry line. We put our brains together and started talking and meeting more frequently and the birth of Ruby Kobo just happened."
The success of Ruby Kobo, a high-end collection of boho luxe gems, soon yielded a second, more affordable collection: Shashi. Some of their success can be attributed to their inclusion in CFDA's Fashion Incubator, which provides studio spaces to young design talent at sub-market rates. "Due to the fast growth of Ruby Kobo and Shashi we had to split the workload between us somehow, focusing on different responsibilities," explains Danna, who focuses her efforts on Shashi while Yuvi oversees daily production for Ruby Kobo.
Both labels, however, remain aestheticallyy complimentary, Kobo catering to a free-spirited (and financially solvent) fine jewelry connoisseur while Shashi accommodates her creative little sister, offering a range of colorful friendship bracelets, necklaces and dainty jewel studs.
"I find it difficult for me to keep up with trends," says Danna. "I really like to try and start my own. [Yuvi and I] basically 85 percent of the time agree on aesthetics. If we don't, we always come to some compromise or middle ground." If this is their version of "compromising," we can't wait to see how Danna and Yuvi continue to develop their distinct visions into a crafty jewelry empire.
