Meet Kate & Kole

Last month, sustainable jewellery brand, Kate & Kole founded by Sara Spence and Madalynne Clifton held their first Melbourne Residency. We caught up with them to discuss the brands journey, responsible jewellery and how important space and setting is to their brand.

How did Kate & Kole begin? Tell us about the Kate & Kole journey.

Madalynne: We started Kate & Kole nine years ago. Sara and I were close friends at the time, I was in the midst of finishing a communications degree and Sara was working in the design space looking into 3D printing and had a ring made. We both had such a desire to have a creative outlet of our own so we created an Instagram account, both invested a very small amount to get a collection made and shot and we launched the brand! From there, we slowly slowly reinvested each time we sold a piece and began a long organic journey of building the brand over five years whilst both working full time jobs. Four years ago, Sara had her first baby and transitioned to full time with Kate & Kole and I followed shortly after. The last three years have been a wonderful period of growth where we have transitioned from online just the two of us, to a team of 17 and a working studio space in Honeysuckle, Newcastle. I became a new mum, just over a year ago and Sara had her second baby, so to say it has been a busy few years would be an understatement but we are still pinching ourselves that we get to work in such a beautiful environment each day, alongside such a talented team.

Where does the name come from?

The name is a combination of our names Madalynne Kate & Sara Nicole.

Tell us about your studio space in Newcastle.

Sara: The space is such a lovely representation of the past few years of the brand. It was this time four years ago that we were renovating our first physical space (from moving everything out of a tiny sunroom in my house) a 35 square meter space in Islington. We stayed there for about 8 months and we then moved into the first side of our current space which is located in Honeysuckle, Newcastle. We opened the second side of our space in November last year after we completed the custom fit out to help suit the size of the current team and the onsite jewellers studio we are so proud of.

Madalynne: Our studio is a free flowing space, bathed in natural light. The studio's interior features clean lines and minimalist décor, allowing our intimate meeting spaces and pieces to be the feature of the space. We worked alongside local architect Nicholas Flatman to create an environment that is as visually captivating as it is functional. The studio exudes a sense of creativity and inspiration from the moment you enter.

What is important to you when you create a space for customers?

Madalynne: One of my biggest passions is constantly cultivating our space (or residency space) to feel like a perfect representation of the brand. I am such a sensory person, as soon as I am in the studio I am thinking about the music, the lighting, the flowers, the scent. I'm often seen wandering around spritzing the space. It’s important that anyone who enters the space feels a real sense of the brand. We ensure our couples feel welcome and relaxed in our space as they bring us into such an intimate experience for them when choosing a forever ring. This becomes a space to time stamp such a big moment in time for our couples. I love the idea of their memory of that moment being all those elements combined.

You recently held your latest residency in a beautiful space in Hawthorn – tell us about the choice of space and connecting with Melbournians.

Sara: We visited Melbourne around three weeks before the start of the residency to choose our final space to host our four day event in. Our event manager Bel had helped us narrow our shortlist down to six spaces to view and it was such a relief to leave Melbourne with a clear favourite in mind. The space lent itself so well to how we like to run our Residencies - which is a concept we came up with last year to allow us to bring our appointment offering in Newcastle to other locations around Australia. We need different spaces to host different type of appointments so the space needs to have intimate spaces but not feel too confined. Large statement pieces of furniture help bring a showroom feel to a residential home (a nod to our beginning of holding engagement ring appointments in my lounge!) and this home had so many beautiful Jardan pieces. Our customers loved the space, and getting a glimpse into a property like this in Melbourne.

One of your key values is sustainability and having pieces that are Australian made (much like Jardan) – how do you ensure sustainable practises and locality as a jewellery brand?

Sara: We’ve been so fortunate with the way in which our brand has grown that being made locally is something we have prioritised from day one, so it’s not something we’ve had to retro fit to a large operation which I think would be so challenging. When we started the brand, we were 3D printing our designs in New York and this was something we were able to quickly move to Australia as we learned more about the industry here and what was possible. We’ve expanded to a team of seven jewellers who work from our studio in Newcastle and we also have a smaller team of jewellers and setters who are based in Brisbane. We use a refiner who not only recycles gold but silver as well (which is rare as it is usually cheaper to mine new silver than recycle it) and our chain makers are based in Melbourne who supply us a mix of Melbourne made and Italian chain depending on styles. The other brand defining decision was the one we made to work with Lab grown diamonds when we started the business in 2015. This was a new concept then and it’s been amazing to watch the journey from education to excitement unfold with our customers.

Can you describe your Kate & Kole muse?

Madalynne: The Kate & Kole muse is someone who embodies timeless elegance and sophistication. Someone who is drawn to pieces of authenticity with a story that resonates with their personal story. Each of our pieces are designed to be more than an accessory, but rather a capture of a moment in time that can be an everlasting memory for the wearer.

What inspires you both?

Madalynne: I draw a lot of inspiration from spaces that really create a sense of feeling. We always say our pieces are 50% the product and 50% the experience so I always feel so inspired to elevate any experience or interaction anyone has with Kate & Kole. Our customers are a huge inspiration to me also, it's always so wonderful to hear their reflections and perception of Kate & Kole and so I feel a constant dedication to be representing us in a way that will leave a truly lasting impression on each person we have the opportunity to work with.

Sara: The wonderful thing about where we are as a brand is that I now draw a lot of inspiration from our existing pieces, processes, team skills and customers. Working alongside our jewellers to design pieces is so rewarding and results in a strong first product. I find a lot of ideas for designs come to me first thing in the morning and often on my drive to work. Sometimes it might be a conversation or a product that is outside the jewellery world, like a lamp or ceramic.

Tell us about your work with the SANDS organisation.

Madalynne: We developed a beautiful necklace with a local woman—Remy, who had experienced pregnancy loss and wanted to create a keepsake that could be worn in memory. We designed the piece which weighed the same amount as a 6 week old embryo (a common age for pregnancy loss to occur). We donate all proceeds from the sale of the piece to SANDS organisation and also work closely with Pink Elephant which is a local organisation who also does amazing work for people going through this experience. We often sell flowers at our in store shopping days where we promote the pendant to help raise awareness.

What are your plans for the future?

Madalynne: We hope to continue to take our residency concept around Australia and internationally. We have had such an amazing response so far and it is so wonderful to connect with couples and bring the Kate & Kole experience to life in such a beautifully unique way each time that still feels so authentic to us as a brand.

Sara: Alongside this we are excited to continue to innovate the way we bring our story and pieces to life virtually through our online store and presence. With our customers being at the centre of everything we do, we are really passionate about continuing to innovate the way we are able to connect with them virtually. Our jewellery builder for example gives our customers a real creative freedom to play and create pieces truly bespoke to them, whilst also empowering them with transparency around pricing and education so that they can feel at ease when making such sentimental purchases with us, something that is never lost on us.