Child of Wild: An Interview with Eileen Lofgre

I've previously mentioned Child of Wild, the Californian jewellery company, in posts as I'm totally obsessed with their culturally sourced designs. As someone who was torn between Anthropology and Fashion as a degree this brand is a dream come true! I recently got the opportunity to chat with the head of the brand, Eileen Lofgren via email as part of a university project and thought I would share Eileen's answers to some of my questions.

Q: What is your ethos as a brand?

A: Child of Wild is a brand that believes objects with past lives or cultural relevance have a depth that can be felt. In this day of accumulating 'a lot of cheap' Child of Wild comes from the philosophy that fewer quality possessions that speak to your soul are what makes your home and life fulfilled.

Q: What inspires your designs?

A: Jewellery: we love to find antique or vintage ritual pieces...either it be Indian wedding jewellery or Native American jewellery. We are inspire by different cultures and their colourful religious/spiritual beliefs and traditions.
Skulls: I often pull inspiration from history...either it be Marie Antoinette's love of lace and lavish clothing or the Art Deco buildings in Chicago. I like to research an era and pick out interesting pasts of it and try and physically exemplify the idea.


Q: What projects are you currently working on?

A: We are coming out with a bridal line that is full of traditional Indian headdresses and amazing statement pieces.

Q: Do you have any plans for the company in the future?

A: We would love to produce and design our own jewellery line. Pull inspiration from these cultures and give our own interpretation.

Q: How do you ensure that your materials and designs are ethically and culturally sourced?

A: That is what we're known for! We will only but direct from an artist or group in these cultures. It takes SO MUCH TIME and is definitely more of a risk but sooooo worth it. We are headed to Turkey in a few days to go source more traditional Middle Eastern jewellery.

Q: Who do you consider your style icon?

A: Oh man... I have always had an affinity for Eddie Sedgwick. I love early Cher (70s), Bridget Bardot, Nancy Sinatra. Currently I love Abbey Lee Kershaw, Sienna Miller and am honestly inspired by my blogger friends and clients!

I would thoroughly recommend (and have before!) checking out their website, they ship all over the world (and also have excellent customer service) and the pieces are so worth it! There are some amazing statement pieces as well as gorgeous rings, bracelets etc. The skulls are incredible and would be an amazing feature in any room.

Also big thanks to Eileen for this interview which is not only interesting but earned me a ton of extra credit on my uni course!