wildthings collectables

Interview – Leanne Jacometti, founder of Wildthings Collectables

Wildthings Collectables is such a brand you immediately fall in love with, especially when you meet its founder, Leanne Jacometti. “I’m a sucker for great quality and good design, but most of all I want to contribute to the world by producing in a fair and sustainable way.”
Cover photo: Wildthings Collectables

Leanne Jacometti

When I started Wildthings Collectables in 2016, I wanted to make jewelry an element of personal style and a way of expressing yourself. A way to show your wild side. With Indonesian roots and my love for Bali, I wanted to work with the local craftsmen to create unique and edgy pieces,” founder Leanne Jacometti says at the start of the interview. Her enthusiasm works contagious and her eyes sparkle. She passionately talks about her jewelry label, Wildthing Collectables, which has been successful ever since its start. Jacometti got heavily inspired by the trips around the world she made in her youth. Connecting with local people and craftsmen has always fascinated her. It felt like second nature to the young entrepreneur. And due to her Indonesian roots and love for Bali, the choice of production country was easy.

“I always try to find a balance between elegant and edgy designs.”

Jacometti designs item that she would love to wear herself. Hence, she describes her clientele as “tough and sweet girls”. She explains: “By calling it tough and sweet, I always try to find a balance between elegant and edgy designs. For example, in every collection you’ll find fine jewelry juxtaposed with chunky items.

Sustainability

Let’s talk about sustainability, because this is an important pillar of Wildthings Collectables. Jacometti: “I think that with the information we have today, it is simply impossible to start a brand that is not focused on sustainability. When shopping, I want to know where the items I buy came from. Where are they made? Who made them? Those questions are important to me.

“I’m a sucker for great quality and good design, but most of all I want to contribute to the world by producing in a fair and sustainable way.”

Likewise, the starting point of her brand was the question: ‘how can we contribute to a better world?’ It started with fair wages, good working conditions and recycled materials. In the upcoming years, Jacometti wants to take more steps to create an even more sustainable brand. “I’m a sucker for great quality and good design, but most of all I want to contribute to the world by producing in a fair and sustainable way. I support small villages by investing in their local craftsmanship and by letting them do what they’re good at.

Future of Wildthings Collectables

Wildthings Collectables started as a jewelry brand, but – as the name implies – it can be a collection of all kinds of things. Therefore, I hope to be able to produce in other countries and make use of other crafts by local people. Perhaps we will sell bags, shoes and interior accessories. Before every expansion, I’ll discover what type of crafts we would need and which choices we have to make in order to produce sustainably.

On top of this, Jacometti has realized one of her biggest dreams last year: opening a Wildthings Collectables store at Bali. “I hope to open more stores in the upcoming years, preferably in Amsterdam and New York. Furthermore, I would love to support a local initiative at Bali, which invests in the training of young goldsmiths.

Well, those are some ambitious plans – but with Jacometti’s preservance, there’s no doubt these dreams will come true.

Also read: Interview – photographer Tatiana Kurnosova on her fascination with Japan

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