Kate MiddletonandKendall Jennerhave been jewelry shopping from the same small independent business — and the designer couldn’t be more thrilled.
When Kate wore a pair of locally-designed gold hoop earrings during avisit to Waleslast year, Hayley Jones, founder ofSpells of Love, was inundated with orders from around the world. Eight months later, Jenner was photographed in the same pair of earrings and the label was catapulted into the spotlight.
“To have the Duchess of Cambridge andKendall Jennerboth wear my earrings, it’s so surreal, I don’t think it will ever fully sink in!” Jones tells PEOPLE. “Having both women wear my earrings has been so amazing and it has helped my business so much. I’m so grateful.”
Jones, who started her company from her kitchen table in the town of Caerphilly, South Wales, has since had to enlist the help of her sister, sister-in-law and dad to help run the business after sales continued to soar each time Kate wore her $105 gold angular hoops.
Kate and William at Barry Island, Wales in August 2020.Ben Birchall - WPA Pool/Getty
“Every single time, my phone goes crazy. Now I have lots of customers in the US, Hong Kong, Mexico, all over Europe, Japan and Australia,” she says.
The royal first wore the handcraftedAlia Hoopsduring an official engagement withPrince Williamon Barry island in August 2020. Jones had managed to contact Kate’s stylist via email and she purchased both the earrings and a double-stranded necklace. Since then Kate has worn the earrings five times, including during anothertrip to Cardiff in Wales last Christmas.
In a slightly more casual setting, Jenner wore the earrings to a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in April 2022.
“I sent them to her and didn’t hear anything for a year. I just happened to click onto one of her Instagram Stories and saw she was wearing my hoops and I couldn’t believe it! I love Kendall and I think her style is amazing,” Jones says.
After selling “hundreds” of the Alia gold vermeil earrings, the down-to-earth jeweler says her number one fans are much closer to home.
“My dad is a postman so he does all the local deliveries! My grandparents love the royal family so they’ve been so happy and my grandfather [who sadly passed recently] was so over the moon, he would purchase every single magazine featuring the Duchess wearing my earrings and my nana would wear them around the town, telling everyone she met!” she adds.
Alia earrings from Spells of Love.Spells of Love
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Ethically produced using recycled gold and plastic-free packaging, the jeweler wants to focus on making her business as sustainable as possible. While the pieces are currently made in Thailand at a factory where all the employees are provided with healthcare, two meals a day and accommodation for their families — Jones hopes to find a U.K. supplier soon. She also encourages her customers to get their jewelry replated rather than replaced.
“We want to be as sustainable as possible, rather than things being thrown away all the time,” she says.
source: people.com
