When I interview women in business, I’ve found conversations span into the far reaches of personal life. Nothing is siloed. Women, especially women in the south, are raised to wear every hat—often all at once—with grace and without complaint. It’s a heavy birthright that makes us stalwart and weary, and, frankly, impressive. (Did I just reword the thesis of Steel Magnolias while trying to dunk on the patriarchy? Yes. Yes, I did. The heart wants what the heart wants.)
Jo Latham (pronounced LAY-thum) is just that: gracious, stalwart, and impressive. In February, I sat down with the Fort Worth-based jewelry connoisseur, connector, and curator to get to know her story and brand ethos. As a consumer, navigating fine jewelry can be intimidating and impossibly snooty, but Jo’s antithetical approachability is a hallmark of her business. Her new lounge is inside You Are Here, a high-end clothing boutique owned by fellow locals Anne Walker Miller and Joanna Bennett, and Jo wants people to stop by for a casual browse with zero pressure. Fine jewelry is deeply personal and often sentimental. It’s joyful, too, and your shopping experience should reflect that. In the end, Jo’s thrilled to be a part of your jewelry journey in any capacity.
She’s also open about her privilege, readily acknowledging and expressing gratitude for the safety net of a supportive family as she found her footing in the jewelry industry. That’s rare and refreshing, and, here at Fort Worth Key, we stan a self-aware queen. And when I say “we,” I mean me, Bailey, because I am a staff of one. [Insert another Steel Magnolias reference here.]
Truly, Jo is so lovely, has a keen eye, and is deeply respected by her industry peers. Lucky for us, her tightly curated wares are right here in Fort Worth. Perhaps unlucky for Jo, I asked her some borderline inappropriate questions, to which she answered with grace and poise, below.
Bailey Powell Aldrich: Let’s start at the beginning. Why jewelry, and when?
Jo Latham: From childhood, I loved going through my mom’s jewelry box. Even though it wasn’t anything fancy or of value, they all had stories. “This was your grandmother’s, and they got it on a trip to Santa Fe;” it was a turquoise bracelet.
To me, it was all treasures. It didn’t have to have a price tag, brand name, or anything. It was a way that I always felt connected to how people express themselves. As with any kind of fashion or adornment, it’s a way that people tell you something about themselves. Or, they’re not telling you anything about themselves and are wearing it for their own personal reasons.
[When I began] I was a young mother, my kids had just gotten to the age where they were going to be going to school full time, and I had a marketing, PR, and development background. I didn’t come from a jewelry world. I didn’t even really have a big jewelry collection of my own. What fascinated me was, when I started in the development world, I was working with a lot of jewelers to secure items, and I started paying attention. “That’s such an interesting job, how do you get that job?” I started researching online, found the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and realized they did some online courses. I started that as a personal pursuit. I just found it interesting, and then it got to the point where I’d done all my coursework online, and there was an opportunity to go out to Carlsbad, the headquarters, and do an intensive lab. Once I got out there, it just exploded for me, fascinated by the industry in general around gemstones. I wasn’t thinking of it as a career move. We were still living in Amarillo at the time. We were visiting New York, and I met a Turkish jewelry designer that had a location in SoHo, Alp Sagnak. He was a third generation jeweler and was living his dream in the U.S. He had two sides of his collections—one was a very traditional, Ottoman Empire-style jewelry, and one he called his “wild side”—snakes, spiders, and skulls. It was eye-opening to me. I was emboldened because I was going to the GIA, and I said, “Would you ever want to come and do a trunk show in Amarillo, Texas?” We had limited conversations about logistics or what the split was. He showed up, we put a bunch of jewelry on the dining room table, a lot of my friends and family showed up, and we sold quite a bit. He became a good mentor and friend to me, too. The jewelry industry is generational. It’s small, in a way. It’s not hard to break into, but if you don’t have a connection, it’s disorienting. I didn’t have a retail background either, so I was confused. I want to go to a buying show, but you can’t get into the buying show if you’ve never bought. It’s a chicken/egg situation. He was doing a show in New York, and I said, “Can I come and volunteer and help in your booth?” It was little things like that that gave me exposure to the industry. I was very out of my element. I had a huge learning curve, and it was all these little moments and things that happened organically. It was important to me to do the GIA because it gave me the skills, resources, and education. I wanted to feel comfortable and confident working with who I wanted to work with. I got very in tune with following designers that inspired me, especially people doing innovative things in the industry. After Alp came, we went to a lot of markets in Texas and did the same format: personal friends of mine, trunk shows in their homes, and we did that for a while.Aldrich: How does that work in terms of structure? Do you take a percentage because you have the invite list and the venue?
Latham: He treated it basically like I was a retailer. That was where I was able to start making some capital and figure out how to go forward. I didn’t have a traditional retail space, and back then that was an anomalous way to work. Nobody understood. That was very much in the time of traditional brick-and-mortar jewelry stores. Even lifestyle boutiques, they were around but not how they are today, where fine jewelry sits in a boutique like that.
Aldrich: When was it?
Latham: This was like, 2008. Explaining who I was, what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it was confusing. E-comm was starting, people were just starting to buy jewelry online, so it was this scrappy kind of…
Aldrich: Wild west.
Latham: There were a lot of pieces that just hadn’t clicked together yet, but I was being supported and making my way through it. In 2012, we moved as a family to New York. At that point, I [had] started to build this client base in Texas. Serendipitously, I connected with a friend [who] had a lifestyle boutique. It wasn’t clothes, it was more high end gifts/home store. They had a little bit of fine jewelry, and I said, “Let me let me put a fine jewelry department here. You’ll manage the point of sale, I’ll handle everything else.” It was a boutique-in-a-boutique concept.
Aldrich: Were you married at the time?
Latham: Yes.
Aldrich: Did your spouse have a conventional job?
Latham: He was part of a family-owned crop insurance business that sold around 2008/2009. After the company sold, it freed us up to do something different. He stayed in crop insurance, which is a very niche thing, but a lot of insurance is based out of Bermuda. I think he was wanting a career move. We were also in a stage of our life [where] we wanted a little bit of an adventure. I had a seventh grader, fourth grader, and second grader. They were the perfect ages to move. They were willing to go. It’s probably hardest on my oldest, but we moved as a family.
It was a great chapter, business-wise. I had my location in Amarillo, and also was doing things in New York. I had a similar relationship with a store in Brooklyn where I was in private client sales. I had a pop in-and-out store in SoHo for a little bit. I got breast cancer in 2015, so that was a two-year treatment for me. From the time I started [the business] until I moved to Fort Worth, it was all these different iterations. I was coming back to Texas to do trunk shows, doing what I could. When I moved to New York in 2012, and even now, you can’t just have me. You need other designers. I started calling people I wanted to work with. I had a little bit of seed money and made inroads with those designers. In the New York time period, I was growing professionally and personally quite a bit. The business was kind of sustaining itself, a great outlet, but not what it is right now.
Fast forward to 2018, we moved back as a family to Fort Worth. I didn’t have the bandwidth to do something on my own. I didn’t want just a jewelry store, I liked the concept of collaborating and working with other people. Then, I got connected with Joanna and Anne Walker. I met with them right after Christmas, 2019. We were both doing what we were doing separately, around the same time. I’d been in [You Are Here] and was like, “This would be a perfect setting.” I love the vibe, brands, and style—everything. I just cold called them and [they] graciously took the meeting. I think they were at a crossroads, too. They were wanting to expand the fine jewelry department, but it’s an undertaking. I have jewelry, and you have the store. It’s been a great partnership. We went through COVID together, we went through all these different things.
At the old space, I just dropped jewelry in the cases up there. They were still handling all the point of sale. I was definitely managing all of the of the back end, and I was in store selling a little bit, but it got to the point where they were busting at the seams, I was kind of busting at the seams. We were just outgrowing that space, both of us.
Aldrich: How does merchandising work in this particular setup? Did they have to sign off on the things that you would merchandise?
Latham: In the other store, I was very much folded into their space. I was supplying the jewelry. I was there, but people didn’t understand that I was a separate brand. Once we made the decision to move over here, more than double our footprint… it was a dream to expand it into a local destination, a local boutique department store feel. Our relationship changed in the sense that I really did silo this out as a boutique-in-a-boutique. It is still very seamless for the customer, but we have two separate registers, different employees. We work together a lot on collaborative events, marketing in general. We’re partners in that sense in every way. This allowed me to build out my own store. This is my jewelry salon. My friend Reese (H. Reese Beddingfield Designs) designed the whole space; I ordered the custom cases, really got my designer roster how I wanted it.
Aldrich: You design yourself, right?
Latham: I don’t design, I consult on a lot of custom projects. I consider myself a bridge. I can speak the language, I have the contacts. I’m almost like a guide in that sense, whether it’s bridal or remaking or repurposing something, I can assess what you have, make recommendations, connect you with the right people, and oversee that process for you so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
Aldrich: You’re also interfacing with the people who are buying this stuff, so you can help nudge a designer in the right direction.
Latham: Yes. I guess it’s sort of branded that I’m a curator. My “line” is: I work with 50 plus designers from all over the world, and this is my curation of what’s in the jewelry world that I think is really special.
Aldrich: Do you have designers chase after you, or do you have crushes that you chase after?
Latham: Both. I think now that I’m more established, there’s definitely a constant pursuit. Part of my ethos… I had a lot of people that helped me, mentored me, were kind to me, showed me things. I have a desire to find, curate, and support emerging designers to the extent they’re ready to be in a space like this. A lot of them are female owned, and some Texans, too. I always look outside of what’s trending, or what everybody else is doing, whatever is hot. Who’s doing something interesting? Who’s emerging? Who’s got all these elements, and just needs some exposure?
Aldrich: Do you spend a lot of time on Instagram seeing which jewelry designers are out there putting out content?
Latham: Yes, and then people will seek me out, too. A lot of brands I work with have a very strong presence and customer base worldwide, but I try to curate a collection that touches a lot of different things. I’ve got very commercial studs that start at $350, to someone like Selim [Mouzannar] who is making things in his atelier, nominated for the Gem Awards. His level of artistry is mind-blowing. I try to capture a range of those things. It’s accessible, but there’s also a uniqueness. Maybe this is going back to the beginning—it’s the stories of why and how someone creates a collection, to the story of why someone’s buying it, and I can be a small piece of that. I can be the connector for that. That’s what I love about it. Again, it’s kind of the ethos of the brand, too. I’ve never considered myself a salesperson, and I don’t come from a retail background at all. What I’m doing now is really more of that connection. I love when I show somebody something that they fall in love with. It’s all very personal to me.
Aldrich: It’s that joy that was at the very beginning.
Latham: It is! I still have that joy. Retail is changing so much, with the advent of people being comfortable buying jewelry online, big box retailers, COVID—a lot of these things pushed us away from a personal customer service experience, and jewelry deserves that. My intention in this space is to create that moment for people.
Diamond Parachute Nesting Gem Bracelet by Octavia Elizabeth; Jo is contributing 15% of proceeds to benefit cancer research
Aldrich: What are your thoughts on ethical acquisition of different stones?
Latham: All of the designers I work with have practices in place that are in line with their source diamonds. I have some that even take it to a next level: they only use recycled gold. There is a commitment in the industry, and especially with the caliber of designers I work with, it kind goes without saying. It’s important to me, and it’s important to the designers I work with.
Aldrich: Do you have a lot of designers that recycle not just the gold, but stones? Or, they dissemble something that’s beautiful raw material but maybe not such a beautiful piece?
Latham: Absolutely. I’m starting a relationship with a designer now called Single Stone, and they use a lot of recycled materials and old mine cut diamonds. Tabayer is another one, they use all recycled gold. Buddha Mama is one. Like I mentioned, it is a smaller industry once you are in it. The jewelry industry I know, there is a consciousness. I feel like there’s a good group of people working towards making the community responsible for the things that matter in that way.
Aldrich: Why Fort Worth?
Latham: It was an intersection of a lot of things. My oldest was graduating from high school. He finished in New York. That was a milestone. We had aging parents back in Texas. The climate [in New York] was changing a little bit. We were just ready to come home. My husband at the time was still traveling a lot, so he wanted to be by DFW or a good airport. It was just never a question. We just always loved Fort Worth. I didn’t have a lot of experience with it, but we did have some friends from college that landed here, and we liked everything about the feel of it. It felt homey, even though we had never lived here before.
“We just always loved Fort Worth…liked everything about the feel of it. It felt homey, even though we had never lived here before.”
Aldrich: I feel like that’s the perfect way to describe Fort Worth.
Latham: We lived in Amarillo for 18 years, and a lot of people would describe Fort Worth as a big Amarillo, and that tracks. It’s the sense of community, friendliness, and entrepreneurial spirit of the people, and it’s easy to get around. It’s like a big city with this small town feel. I like the clients I work with here, too. They’re sophisticated, but they’re not.
Aldrich: They’re salt of the earth. How did you end up in Amarillo?
Latham: I went to college and met my then husband at UT in Austin. He’s from Amarillo. He was a year older than me, and we got married. I graduated, got married, and moved to Amarillo. We didn’t have kids for five years, but I was 22 when we got married. We went and did all this life, we lived in Amarillo, we lived in Brooklyn. When we came back here, we did get a divorce. That was another kind of push for me to do this in a bigger way.
Aldrich: With the dissolution of a marriage and a health crisis—breast cancer—all while children are going through their formative years, what do you have to say about navigating your career, but also just life with that ebb and flow?
Latham: You know, there [are] a couple of things I learned. One, it’s never too late to pursue a passion or something you’re interested in. You’re never too old to learn something new and pursue it.
In a lot of ways I’m very grateful, because I had the support of a marriage to build this very slowly, and that’s not a luxury everyone has. I’m appreciative that I had the time. I wasn’t trying to force anything. It was all very organic. It was all kind of scrappy. I think that that is a good lesson, too. Things open up the way they’re supposed to in the time that they’re supposed to. I do believe in that quite a bit. Could I have grown bigger earlier? Maybe. But, that wasn’t the path for this. Now I feel like I’m in the right place at the right time. I’ve done all the work. All the pieces are kind of coming together.
I think of myself as a stay-at-home mom. Even though I was juggling a career and building this, my priority was with [my children]. But my passion and my outlet was doing something like this for myself. I think it’s a delicate balance for any woman to have an entrepreneurial spirit. Sometimes you feel like you’re not doing any of it well. What happens is, you prioritize the things that matter the most, and the rest of it will come.
“I think it’s a delicate balance for any woman to have an entrepreneurial spirit. Sometimes you feel like you’re not doing any of it well. What happens is, you prioritize the things that matter the most, and the rest of it will come.”
Now, my kids are grown. I’m single. I’m in this new space. I’ve got these wonderful partners. And so this is my time. I mean, patience… you don’t have to do it all. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves. There’s something I know now that I didn’t know when it was happening, which is the importance of having something for yourself. It doesn’t have to be a career. You cannot lose yourself entirely to other things. I’m so happy I had this when my life kind of fell apart. I’m not saying, like, “Build it for the day your husband walks out the door!” but, at some point, the children grow up. Find the things that spark your joy and your interest, whether it’s a money-making thing or a career, it doesn’t have to be. A personal pursuit for yourself. I think that’s the most honest way to go about something. I think when things are really, really hard and they’re not working, it’s just not meant for you, and when things align and you’re going to the next step, that just means, you’re on the right path. Keep going. Everyone’s telling me to read this book, Mel Robbins, The Let Them Theory. I’m going to read it on my vacation.
Aldrich: How do you take what you’ve learned and help younger women?
Latham: I try to be a genuine sounding board and supporter through honest communication. I see my younger self in a lot of younger women. I can remember what things feel like. What it feels like to be a young mom, to be juggling a million things, to be sick, what it feels like to…I’m going to cry. I never really thought about it like that.
There was this thing I read recently, and it was like, “If you have a plan in mind for the end, it informs how you live your life.” How do I want to be remembered? My business is very important to me. My reputation is very important to me. Being a good mother is very important to me. Being a good friend… relationships matter so much to me. I hope it bleeds through everything that I do. This business, traditionally, is built on trust and your word. It’s not only an expensive thing you’re buying, it’s a sentimental thing. There’s care that goes with that.
If I’m working with someone [who’s] entering into the [jewelry] space, again, it’s all the things I said earlier. It’s patience. It’s realistic expectations, and allowing yourself grace to get through the things that seem like failures or not going your way.
Aldrich: This is good business acumen that can be applied across many industries.
Latham: I think especially with younger generations. I’m seeing this with my daughter entering into the workforce now. There’s all this pressure, and all these expectations, and it’s like the idea that you have to know what you’re doing. You’re comparing yourself to your friends and this and that. What I say to my daughter is, you don’t have to know. You do not have to know everything today.
Aldrich: Frankly, it might be better to not know. You have to have an open mind, say “yes” to a bunch of random stuff, and see what you like.
Latham: Definitely. Especially when you’re learning and growing up, it is the failures. It’s the things that you think didn’t work out for you that give you a push in another direction that you could never predict. That’s why I love hindsight. I’m always like, golly, I think about all the dots that get connected—you don’t have that until you look back on something. I would tell people in the moment, just give yourself grace. The things that you think aren’t working out for you might just be working out for you perfectly, you just don’t know it yet.
“I would tell people in the moment, just give yourself grace. The things that you think aren’t working out for you might just be working out for you perfectly, you just don’t know it yet.”
Aldrich: What was your major at UT?
Latham: I was a PR major. Communications. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t know what it was, and I remember hearing about public relations and, at the time, it was like, you can work with the media, you can work with a corporation, you can work for a non-profit, and that’s kind of what I did.
My first job was at an advertising agency, and I loved it because every day was different, and then you got to learn a little bit about a lot, like the automotive industry, the banking industry… If I had to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I love psychology and how it relates to behavior. I would have probably done more retailing classes. I love marketing. Why do people respond to something? It’s all intertwined.
Aldrich: Is there a jewelry trade show one time a year? Multiple?
Latham: The markets for jewelry, the biggest U.S. show is in Vegas in June, and there are actually three shows happening simultaneously. JCK is the one that is massive. It is miles and miles and miles of everything. Inside of JCK, there’s a luxury show, which is more traditional jewelers and designers. Then, there’s couture, and it is a very small, select show. That’s the one I go to. Most of my designers are at couture. It’s basically the best jewelry designers in the world. I meet with existing designers, I see their new collections, I scout new designers. They also have a designer atelier that is emerging designers. You can be in that section for three years before you have to move into the big ball room. It’s very juried. Not everybody can just go be a vendor at couture. You have to be accepted, and you have to be invited to go as a retailer, too.
Couture’s designers, like Selim, are more independent fashion designers. I mean, they’re all fine jewelry designers. Just like when Anne Walker and Joanna go to market week in New York, go to all the different showrooms, and see all the new dresses, they’re writing their orders. That’s what we’re doing at the jewelry show. Everyone is there presenting their new collections for the season. Everybody that’s in the jewelry world is at that show.
Aldrich: There’s really nothing like [Jo Latham] in Fort Worth.
Latham: I don’t think it exists.
Aldrich: There’s not a curation of high fashion and fine jewelry all under one roof like this. Is there somebody you think of as a competitor in Fort Worth with this setup?
Latham: Not what I’m doing. You’re going to find something here that you can’t find anywhere. For the client [who’s] very sophisticated, loves jewelry, and has all these other pieces, this is a place to add in something that is still timeless, but unique, fun, different. It’s something that not everybody else has.
Aldrich: Who is the Jo Latham woman?
Latham: I think she is confident in her style, in her fashion choices. It’s a self-purchasing client, but not always.
Aldrich: So, you have some romantic partners coming in here, or parents who want to buy something special for a child.
Latham: Yes, and our goal is to make this space as comfortable, inviting, and easy for anybody [who] wants to come in and shop. Whether it’s a spouse, boyfriend, TCU student, you are welcome here and I want you to enjoy what we’re showing you. There is no pressure to buy anything.
Aldrich: Do you have people come in two or three times and don’t buy anything, and that’s kind of the process, and then later on they’ll buy?
Latham: Yes, and that’s why I think buying jewelry in this setting makes so much sense, because you can come in, browse, visit, look… I think sometimes that experience of traditionally buying jewelry can be very intimidating. There are no price tags, and you’re like, is that $500 or is it $50,000? If it’s $50,000, I have to walk out and feel ashamed. I think that’s what makes this space so successful.
Aldrich: Approachability is a value of yours.
Latham: I want this to be so approachable. Even if something is a very high-ticket item.
Envoy Graduating Diamond Riviera Necklace by Jade Trau
Aldrich: What are your price points?
Latham: $350 to $80,000, $90,000. What I like to do is find things—like, okay, you want a tennis necklace? You don’t have to spend $80,000. I have takes on a tennis necklace. It’s not a traditional tennis necklace, but it replaces a tennis necklace. It’s in the same vein, and it’s still classic. It’s beautiful. It’s diamonds, it’s gold, but the setting is a little different. I love any kind of, like, mixed cut.
Aldrich: Whenever you were going through your mom’s jewelry, do you have something in mind that you always associate with that time, something you always, picked up because you thought it was special or you wanted to try on?
Latham: I loved all the wedding rings that were my grandmother’s. I have inherited a few of those. They look very vintage.
Bridal is something that I’ve always done on the side. I’ve done it for a while for clients, but we’re going to launch more of a bridal division. We’re not going to have cases and cases of solitaires—it’s going to be like, cut and set, tell me what you’re you’re looking for, and then we’ll design it for you. Depending on what look you want, what style you want, it can be very straightforward, traditional, or it could be something that’s a little more modern or alternative. I really want people to have that experience of the process.
There was a flower ring that my mom had that was my grandmother’s, and it had a little garnet in the middle, and then diamonds around it. Everybody has different opinions about different gemstones.
Aldrich: What’s your all-time favorite piece of jewelry?
Latham: I have two. I have a custom Brent Neale mushroom. It’s a necklace. Her iconic thing is these mushrooms, and she’s not making them anymore. Hers are very colorful and playful. My other favorite piece of jewelry, Sorellina did a series of tarot cards, and they released it during the pandemic and I have two of them. They’re big tablets and they all have different meanings. I have strength and I have intuition. Those are the ones that have so much weight and meaning to me. My mushroom makes me happy. My tarot cards make me feel strong. It says, “The Strength card reminds us that true power comes from compassion and love, not brute force. A woman is seen gently stroking and taming a lion’s mouth with her affectionate, beneficent energy. She channels her inner strength and determination to subdue the beast, as opposed to using coercion or force. This card urges the wearer to ‘tame’ certain emotional instincts like anger, rage, or guilt by approaching situations with empathy and forgiveness to overcome life’s obstacles.”
La Luna Tarot Card by Sorellina
Aldrich: Did we talk about your inspiration? What’s compelling to you?
Latham: I’ve always trusted my instincts. Because I did have this support and foundation when I was building this, it was never a life or death situation. I was able to do a lot of that without fear. I realize now this is much more my livelihood, and every decision matters for not just me, but now I’m building a team. [I have] to trust my instincts and not let fear creep in because that’s what holds you back.
I’m very inspired by my designers. I’m very inspired by their stories, or what’s behind a new collection, or the process of making what they make, and I am inspired by my clients, too. I love to see people’s reactions to things, what they gravitate towards, and what surprises them. I always want to have something in here that’s an element of surprise. Maybe it’s not the most sellable piece of jewelry, but did it delight somebody? Was it something unusual? I like bringing that to the table, too.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t follow trends, or things like that.
Aldrich: But forecasting isn’t a given.
Latham: It’s not a given. Selim had a set of stacking rings. When I was growing up we all collected these things called tulip rings. They came in different sizes, but they were basically like diamond, ruby, emerald, and they all stacked together. That was in middle school, high school… They looked like little tulips. They were like rays, like a little flower. When I was looking at [Selim’s rings], I was like, this is a modern day tulip ring! And I got so inspired by it. The universe is listening.
There [are] all these things on social media about people digging in their mom’s jewelry boxes and finding their tulip rings. And it’s this whole resurgence. I am inspired by the cycle of things and how to modernize something, or take a traditional style, and give it a little bit of a twist to it. I love to see an application that’s different.
Aldrich: Do you have any words of hope for the women who wear silver? That’s who I am, and that’s what looks best on my skin. Unless I have an outrageous tan, then I can wear gold.
Latham: I have respect for all the metals. I have some designers that have kind of an Old World aesthetic and they do a lot of mixed metals. There’s definitely a resurgence of mixing metals together. You will be happy to know that white gold is having a huge moment, as is platinum. I stock things in yellow, but almost everything can be ordered in white gold.
Aldrich: Have you ever had any flops? Like things that you’ve bought, and you’re like, “This is gonna be such a W,” and then it doesn’t sell?
Latham: I’m such a sentimental buyer. I don’t know if I would ever admit anything. For some reason I liked it enough to buy it. I am probably untraditional in that sense. I get too attached.
Aldrich: The last thing that I like to ask women—I think about [my younger self] with a lot of compassion as a 10 year old, 12 year old. If you’re imagining baby Joanna, what do you wish you could have told her?
Latham: Keep your curiosity and your kindness. Don’t be afraid to take a risk. Be gentle with yourself. You’re okay.
Interview-inspired fine jewelry I had fun compiling:
