Kelsey Armstrong Transcript
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Hi, everyone. You're listening to The Future Of Food Is You, a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. I'm your host, Abena Anim-Somuah. Each week, I talk to emerging talents in the food world, and they share what they're up to, as well as their dreams and predictions for what's ahead. I love this new generation of chefs, bakers, and creatives making their way in the world of food, drink, media, and tech.
My guest for today's episode is Kelsey Armstrong, the artist behind Haricot Vert, the Brooklyn-based jewelry and accessories line. There's a good chance the coolest person you know has an Haricot Vert earring, necklace, or bag in their collection. Kelsey's pieces, which she calls "wearable poetry" feature whimsical charms and unique combinations. Think tiny radishes, sticks of butter, raspberry tarts, shrimp, and more. You should really peak at her Instagram or website before listening to this episode. Kelsey involves customers in this process at the new Haricot Vert store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where you can create your own combinations of charms as a form of self-expression. I loved chatting with Kelsey about the story behind Haricot Vert, how her creativity was sparked during her time in Paris, and her approach to entrepreneurship. Stay tuned for our chat.
The next issues of Cherry Bombe's print magazine is almost here, and it's all about the city of the summer, Paris. Whether you're planning a trip to Paris or daydreaming about a future visit, you'll love this issue. Get recommendations from folks like Molly Baz, and friend of the pod, Zaynab Issa. Learn about the coolest Parisiennes on the food scene, and check out the fun French-y recipes to add to your repertoire. You can subscribe now at cherrybombe.com or pick up an issue at your favorite local bookstore, magazine shop, or gourmet store. Places like BEM Books & More and Book Larder in Seattle, or visit cherrybombe.com to order an issue today.
Looking for some fun things to do this summer? Check out Cherry Bombe's Summer Series. The Cherry Bombe team is hitting the road and stopping in at least eight cities, from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon, for special dinners, networking events, and even Women Who Grill celebrations. Learn more and get tickets at cherrybombe.com.
Now, let's check in with today's guest. Kelsey, thank you so much for joining us on The Future Of Food Is You podcast.
Kelsey Armstrong:
I really appreciate you having me.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Can you tell us where you grew up and how did food show up in your life?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I grew up all around the United States. I was born in Nevada, I ended up living all over California, spent some time in Hawaii. Went to high school in Florida. After that, I went to school in France. I had a lot of different experiences, even just different multicultural experiences living in the U.S. For example, when I lived in Hawaii, my mom's a really good cook, I think a lot of moms are, but she got really into the local cuisine there. I just have really great moments growing up with her cooking really delicious Hawaiian meals. Even in California, she got really into Mexican cuisine. When I started having an interest in French growing up, she started cooking really good French food. I've always had a connection to it with my mom.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Is she a Julia Child fan, just by nature of loving French food, or encouraging you to love French food?
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah, she definitely is. She's got a huge collection of cookbooks.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh, that's really sweet. You got to Paris for university, studying at the American University, living many people's Francophile dreams. How did it shape your experience with food and design?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I really just consider Paris to be such a beacon of inspiration. Walking down the streets, notably there was this street called Rue St. Dominique near my university.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What arrondissement is your university in?
Kelsey Armstrong:
It was in the Seventh.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Ah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Near the Eiffel Tower.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes, very cool.
Kelsey Armstrong:
But just walking through the open markets, and going to the fromagerie, and the butcher shops. I'm a very visual person, so I just started seeing little cutouts of things. I wanted to find ways, in my mind, to piece together little stories. As a designer, I will say that I put so much emphasis into storytelling and finding ways to do that with visuals. When I was living in Paris, I started seeing those little visuals come to life, kind of like in a daydreaming way. I started taking mixed media classes at my university. The marriage of going to school in France, but also getting inspired with collage, blending those together, really started sparking my creative juices.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. Did you study art when you were in school? Or was the mixed media just a minor or a class that you took specifically?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I majored in international business and marketing.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Very cool.
Kelsey Armstrong:
And I minored in fine arts. At this time, I didn't really think of myself as a creative, but getting into this program really helped me.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Well, I feel it's kismet we're talking to you because we're about to launch the Paris issue. The Olympics has put Paris on the center stage. I'll have to ask you, what are three favorite places in Paris that inspire you as an artist or a creative?
Kelsey Armstrong:
The first place in Paris that comes to mind is Pigalle.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Which is the Red Light District. Just the neon signs, Moulin Rouge. Also, Montmatre, that is a neighboring area.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, where the Sacre-Couer is.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah, Basilica. That area always had a special place in my heart. And the movie that you've probably seen, “Le Fabuleaux Destin D'Amelie Poulain.”
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes.
Kelsey Armstrong:
I absolutely adore that movie. I just loved retracing her steps and seeing that in Paris.
I will also say there was a really beautiful street, also by my university, called Roux Claire. Paris' most famous street for open markets.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh, very cool.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Especially on the food side of things, I loved dining there, and getting groceries there, and really living that French existence of going store to store.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
When did you start designing jewelry and why did you decide on there being this element of food incorporated into your work?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I really started with collage. My collages were quite mini. I started seeing how they could drape down and almost become jewelry. I really do have an entrepreneurial side to myself. I founded the Entrepreneurship Society at my university.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Very cool.
Kelsey Armstrong:
I got really into startup competitions. This was a time in my life where I knew I wanted to do something in business. I most likely wanted to work for myself. But I needed to find a way to bring creativity into that because I'm passionate on the business side of things, but I still wanted it to have that blend. But as you know, in a lot of creative things, they're not always lucrative. I was trying to find a way to bring my collage into a business realm where I could make a product that people would enjoy. I started doing a lot of research about collage jewelry and I saw that nobody was really doing it. But the only issue was I had to figure out how to do it and make it durable, because essentially paper, it's not waterproof. That's where that whole idea started, and then the R&D went from there.
I decided that I wanted to find ways to story tell. At this time, I was back in New York and I was missing Paris. I really wanted to tell the story of when I lived there. For me, there was no better way to connect that with food-inspired jewelry. I went into my photo roll, and I started gathering photos that I took of picnics by the Eiffel Tower, or by the Seine. I started cutting out these little pastries, and croissants, and sardine tins. Then I started incorporating it in the jewelry that way.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's really cool. But you did this before the iPhone came out with that sticker feature, because now you can pick things out of your phone.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
But when that came out, that saved my life. I will say that.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
They thought of you when they built that. How did you come up with the name Haricot Vert? Which is green bean in French, for our listeners.
Kelsey Armstrong:
When I was in French class in high school, when we were learning all the vegetables, when I learned haricot vert, I don't know why, I just giggled and I thought it was so silly. It just stuck with me. It was a word that never left my mind. When I went to school in Paris later on, something spiritually told me that I need to find a way to use this in my life. I don't know what that means, but I need to bring haricot vert to whatever I end up doing in life. When I did decide make the jewelry a branded business, I thought, "No better name than Haricot Vert." I also think of our charms as these little beans, too.
Now I have such a lovely team of female creatives that work with me. We calls ourselves the Gals of the Bean. Yeah. It's a really cool creative environment.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Everyone needs their own French vegetable name going forward. You dub your art as wearable poetry. Why do you consider it that way?
Kelsey Armstrong:
When it came time to come up with a tagline for the brand, it came to my mind instantly because in our dangle sets that we do, and the charm necklaces, each charm to me tells a little bit of a story. We incorporate a lot of words in our charms, and handwritten elements. To me, Haricot Vert is more than just a jewelry brand. It's a story that we're all telling.
I'm also a romantic, so I like to romanticize life. I like to think of life as poetry.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I am so fascinated by artists. As someone who can't draw to save my life, I do respect artists. As an artist, where do you currently draw inspiration from? How do you organize that in a visually appealing way for yourself?
Kelsey Armstrong:
It's always evolving, I will say. Mainly, I will say, that I think very thematically. Once I have a theme that's currently inspiring me, I could be walking down a street and see a disco ball. Then I'll be like, "Okay, we have to do a disco collection now." For the next month, my mind is just all disco. I just can't stop thinking about disco, I see disco symbols everywhere.
I don't really come up with mood boards, but what I do is I gather a document and I just start putting things in there that could potentially be charms. I start photographing things on the street. I have a huge vintage magazine archive. I'll start cutting out ones that I just think are going to be perfect for a collection. That starts it. Then from there, I gather all of our vintage and done stock components, I go into our archives and see what we have that could work. Also, the components themselves that we use, the little gems and the little drops, and brass components, those also add a level of inspiration for me, taking it into this other world of bringing old treasures and bringing them into this new life.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
It sounds like you almost made the business to honor your time in Paris and memorialize it in a unique way. And then you start making designs and selling them on Instagram. Can you tell us what the first designs were like? How did it help you in growing your audience and getting people to know you?
Kelsey Armstrong:
It was an interesting time. It's really hard to put yourself out there. Most creatives I talked to, I know so many talented people, that are just afraid of just doing the first post, which is the Band-Aid part. In the beginning, I finally got the courage to start posting a few of my designs. Because the thing is, I didn't think of myself as a jewelry maker or an artist at this time, because that's not how my childhood shaped me to be, if you will.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You were working a full-time job too, while you were thinking about this, right?
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah. I didn't really have the confidence. But finally, I'm just like, "I don't care, I'm just going to fake it until I make it. I'm going to start putting out my little creations." My first design was from a vintage Barbie book from the '50s. They were actual cutouts from the Barbie book of two different Barbies. At this time, I was just laminating them because I had the idea of the collage, but I didn't do the R&D yet. Until this day, the quality isn't what I would like them to be.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Are they in your archive, are or they off to a customer somewhere in the world?
Kelsey Armstrong:
They're off to a customer somewhere.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Nice.
Kelsey Armstrong:
They're one of our first posts on Instagram. But that was me, putting myself out there. Yeah, I started a lot with the eyeballs and hands, and more the collage-y elements. But then, slowly started moving into the more storytelling with food and wine.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Different poetic words.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. It sounds like the push to start this business was putting it on Instagram. How did social media play a role in building your confidence, and also getting you to feel more inspired to create exciting things?
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah. I know people talk poorly about social media, and there's-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Mixed feelings.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah, mixed feelings. There's pros and cons. I will say, I thank my career to Instagram, which is crazy in this modern world. Up until two months ago, when we opened up our brick-and-mortar, before that our brick-and-mortar was Instagram. Continuously posting, you'll rise and you'll fall. In the beginning, some posts didn't get any likes or any traction. But little by little, I just was like, "I'm just going to keep building this and see what happens." Next thing you know, people are just super supportive, and telling me to keep making. I got some of the most beautiful messages from supporters in the beginning because I would do these little mini drops. It was only 10 pieces and they'd all sell out. People were like, "How do I get this piece? I need this piece. Keep making more." Then that started inspiring me to make more and giving me that confidence.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
They were all in New York, or were you getting people from around the country, around the world? How did that play out?
Kelsey Armstrong:
At this time, I was only shipping I think in the U.S., but it was all over. I would say, historically and at least now, I think our main audience is in New York.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Well, this is a perfect segue into my question of has there been an exciting or memorable customer experience that motivates you on the days where things are tough, or just makes you so happy about what you're building?
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah. Especially now, with a brick-and-mortar, we have a really unique space where it's our little headquarters. We all work upstairs, but we can oversee the store. Then our production facility is downstairs. It's really nice when you get the opportunity to speak with a customer, and them telling me about their experience with the brand.
I will say a really cool experience I had was when I was at my old studio. Before we got our brick-and-mortar, we had this girl, her name is Yasmina, she's a friend of mine today.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh, so beautiful.
Kelsey Armstrong:
She was a big supporter. She would always buy from the drops, the one-of-a-kind drops, so they were very limited. She always wanted to come pick up in-person. I think on the third or fourth time I was like, "We should hang out sometime, I really like you." Still to this day, we're friends and she's a big supporter. But it's been really cool also to make friendships with some of our customers.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Let's talk about the charms. It's the bread-and-butter, pun intended, of the business. Can you tell us the process of making the charms?
Kelsey Armstrong:
The process is proprietary.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Totally.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Basically, we start by sourcing all of our imagery. That can vary from magazine cutouts, photos from the street, PNG Royalty Free Archives. That's the first process.
Then all of images go into an extensive editing process. Because when they're so mini, they actually have to look nice when they're miniature.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
And not be pixelated or grainy.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
We have to edit the photos. Then they go into our production process, where they're eventually encased in a resin that makes them like a bead. I would compare the texture and the feeling to a bead. If you take care of it properly, they're extremely waterproof. They'll last you for life.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
When you think about the jewelry, and people experiencing them, opening the boxes, come into the store and making their own thing, what feelings do you hope that jewelry brings out in your customers?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I would say that the number one feeling we're trying to evoke is nostalgia. We want everybody that walks through that door to feel like they're in an elevated Build-A-Bear.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes.
Kelsey Armstrong:
You're coming in, you pick your base. Then you can add your flair to it. I would also say that it's like playing a game of I Spy. There is a little bit of that childhood wonderment that we're trying to evoke.
We have such a diverse audience. Children, elderly people.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
It's all different walks of life that come in there. I would say every single person that comes in there expresses that sense of wonderment.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
This is a perfect segue to talk about going from starting in your living room, to building a studio, to now having a full retail space in Williamsburg. When did you decide that you wanted to make Haricot Vert a full-time business?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I woke up one morning, I looked at the amount of orders, when I was on my own, and I realized that I was in too deep, and I would never be able to see the light of day basically, with my full-time job. It's scary to make this transition, but you just have to believe in yourself, and you have to go for it. Also, leaving behind the career that I thought was carved out for me. That was tough to leave behind. But then, I have some really supportive people in my life that pushed me. They're like, "It's time just to go for it. Just do it." Yeah. I guess I've never looked back since that moment.
It got to the point where it took me a while to hire people because I didn't know how to be a boss and how to run a production facility. I spent probably about six months with imposter syndrome a little bit. Then I finally realized again, I'm not going to be able to see the light of day unless I start bringing on some other creatives.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
We have a lot of aspiring business folks listening to this show. People in the middle of businesses, people sitting on their dreams and ambitions. One of the biggest obstacles in starting a new business is capital. How do you go from zero to 100? How do you fund that? How do you pay your employees whilst you're trying to build your business? What was the process like in obtaining capital to scale the business into a retail space?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I will say, with the transition of me having a full-time job, I was able to save a lot of my early earnings of Haricot Vert and reinvest that back into the business. Then I did hold off a little bit too, once we got ... I started in my living room. Then once we got the studio space, after six months, it became very clear that we needed to expand. But I held off for a while. It was a pretty small studio, but I knew that I was waiting for the right time where I felt financially secure because I've been a little bit of an anti-investor. I was against doing that.
But with the brick-and-mortar, at first I didn't think we'd have to take out any loans or anything. But it became very clear, with build outs, things go wrong, so we did have to take out a small business loan. That really helped. I will say that I wasn't really aware of a lot of those options to me. I've been telling a lot of creatives in my life that are interested in scaling their business, "These options are available."
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
It is also scary doing that. But I will say that it's paying off now and I'm thankful.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. How do you hope for people to experience the retail space? For our listeners who aren't familiar with you, can you describe what it's like walking through Dream Bean World?
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah. We call it our Little Dream World. We want you to feel like you are transcended into a different universe. That is the Haricot Vert universe of this I Spy, nostalgic wonderment. But even within that, there's just so many themes. We can go very Barbie, we can go very apero with the tomato girl, we could do space. We want you to feel like Haricot Vert is a place for everybody. Even if you're more on the punk rock side, we've got the skulls, we've got the mixed tapes. We have something literally for everybody.
I also want people to experience our Dream World as a creative community. In the back, nested in our Dream World, is our Craft Nook program. That's where we hold open studio times for other fellow creatives in the community to come in and work on their own projects, or learn how to jewelry make, learn how to collage. That's been really cool.
Pretty soon here, we're opening up our Dreaming Café in the front of the store. While you're creating and learning how to make jewelry, you can also enjoy a pot of tea or have a nice latte.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's really great, that community, not just for yourself but for just people who are looking to find ways to bond in the city is really important to your work. What was the inspiration in offering this as a service to your customers? What has the reception been so far with the events that you've hosted?
Kelsey Armstrong:
It's always been a dream of mine to foster a creative community. I think Haricot Vert to me is more than just a brand, it's an idea. I want people to feel like it's not this transactional thing where you just come in and make jewelry. You're supporting us, and we're a female team of creatives who are hand making everything downstairs in the store. But not only that, our cutouts from magazines that we scan in to make the charms, we repurpose those into our craft kits. You can purchase those and create with those. Or you can be part of our monthly Collage Club. We're even about to offer some really cool experimental workshops, where you can come in and make a collage, and we'll turn it into a pair of jewelry for you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's awesome. Oh my gosh, I'm already thinking of so many ideas and people that I would share that with. That's really cool. We're manifesters on the podcast. Is there a dream event in the works that you would love to have one day?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I have a lot of dreams. But I think something that I really want to do within our community at the store is provide resources, or provide events that can also help other creatives. We're still working this out, but I don't know if that means mentorship programs, or creating a network of other female business owners. But I really want to do something like that.
I also do have a dream to find ways to bring underprivileged children access to art supplies and artistic programs.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What's really interesting about your work, and even getting to talk to you before recording this, was how much sustainable is a part of what you're building. I think especially in this trend forward world, especially for you as an entrepreneur wanting to make sure that you're continuing to grow. How do you think about sustainability when it comes to your work and when it comes to how people experience Haricot Vert?
Kelsey Armstrong:
One word that we use a lot in Haricot Vert is circularity. Everything we do is centered around circularity. Literally, not one charm goes to waste. In our handmade production process, a good amount of misfit charms ... Any time you're making something handmade, there are things that are just not saleable.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Just human error.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah. We have these little jars downstairs where we put in all the misfits, as we call them. Those charms are recycled into craft kits that you can buy online and in-store. In our open studios, we all people to come in and learn how to jewelry make with the misfits. You would never really know the difference.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
But we're perfectionists, so if it doesn't look perfect, or if there's a bubble, or some sort of printing error, we'll put that in the misfit pile. That's something that's really important. Also, with all of the cutouts that we use from the magazines, as I mentioned before, we do repurpose those into little craft kits. Now we're even turning them into these laminated purses.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Very cool.
Kelsey Armstrong:
We're always finding ways to provide that circularity. Even in our Dreaming Café that's opening, we're thinking about partnering with Too Good To Go for our pastries. No matter what we're doing, we try to find other use for it.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Let's talk about collabs. The reason I met you is because Ashley Coiffard of L'Appartement 4F sung your praises. You guys ended up working on a collaboration together, with the baguette and bow earrings.
Kelsey Armstrong:
I love her.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I know. I love her, too. Shout-out, Ashley, if you're listening. Why was it important for you to incorporate collaborations into your work and working with other creatives in the industry?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I draw a lot of inspiration from other people and them living their creative life. I met Ashley, actually we ran into each other in our building. She was the first person I ever saw wearing my jewelry in real life, which was really cool.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's amazing!
Kelsey Armstrong:
Then she let me know that she was the founder of L'Appartement 4F. The conversation started from there. I started following them. I got really inspired by what they were doing, and a lot of the motifs that they use with lace and bread. I thought it would be really cool to bring that to life in a pair of earrings.
We've done a collab with Big Night.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Love big night. Katherine Lewin, another alum of the podcast. Very cool. Yes.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah. She really liked one of our first designs. It's our aperitivo hour set.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes, I remember seeing those.
Kelsey Armstrong:
We collaborated on making them a little bit more Big Night. She had some other ideas so it was really fun putting those together.
When other people come to me with ideas, it just opens the gates for me and I just start ... Kind of in that same way, my mind just starts going into, "Okay, aperitivo this."
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, then aperitivos just start popping up everywhere. Staying on the manifesting train, is there a dream collaborator you would love to work with? What would those products look like for you?
Kelsey Armstrong:
Oh, that's a tough one. I would say, going back to I Spy, one of my biggest inspirations is the main creators behind I Spy, his name is Walter Wick. I would love to collaborate with him on some project. I don't know what that looks like, if it would be jewelry or some sort of installation with the charms. That would definitely be my dream.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You've touched on this a little bit, but you've talked about how community and fellowship has been really important to you, and it invigorates you to do your work. How has it helped you in building your confidence as a creator and to have your work out in the world?
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah. I think it's just about having those intimate conversations with other creatives, and just realizing that you're not alone, and it doesn't matter what field of creativity you're in. I have a friend named Lotty that I met. She came to our first sample sale last summer. She's a lovely chef. She just did a Cosmic Brownie popup a couple weeks ago at the store, which was really cool.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Very cool.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah, just hearing her creative struggles. I also have a friend, her name is Phthalo Ruth. She's a Brooklyn-based illustrator and designer, talking with her. It's a totally different universe that she's part of, but it almost seems like it's a pattern of thinking. And also, just the struggles that you experience, they're all very similar. For me, that feeling of not being alone really helps be build my confidence. It makes me realize I've got one life to live and I want to live my true creative self.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Since you are a fashionphile and I have you in the room, I have to ask. Are there three designers in clothing and jewelry that you're really excited about right now?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I will say anybody that knows me will say that every single day, I wear something by Paloma Wool. She's one of my favorite fashion designers.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Iconic.
Kelsey Armstrong:
She's just everything. I really love how she started as a photographer and blends that into fashion. Which really, I find a synergy with that because a lot of our charms are from real life photos. I love bringing photography into fashion.
Leann Huang, I don't know if you're familiar with her work?
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes. She does the food skirts. They have this-
Kelsey Armstrong:
Lenticular.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Lenticular, that is the word.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah. I was always inspired by little vintage cracker jacks that were lenticular growing up. When I saw her work, it was just, "Oh my gosh."
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
It has that collage-y feel, but that vintage-y but still modern and edgy.
On the jewelry front, it's kind of funny, I don't really wear jewelry that often. As you can see now.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Too close to home.
Kelsey Armstrong:
I'm not a huge jewelry person myself. I love looking at jewelry, but not really wearing it. If I could say there's one designer that I found recently that I'm just utterly obsessed with, her name is Rene Martin. She does some really cool ... She's on the fine jewelry side, but really cool. I just find a lot of synergies with her and how she lays out her work.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
It's very beautiful.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Awesome. Is there one piece of advice that you would give to someone whose listening to this, sitting on that idea, and having the fear and anxiety of putting it out into the world?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I would let them know that it's all in your head. Nobody really cares about your anxieties or your stress, only you do. The only thing that people really care about is once you start creating. You just have to create and not really care what other people think. Believe in yourself, I can't stress that enough. Believing in yourself I think is the token for success because if you don't have confidence in what you're doing, then other people won't see that confidence.
Also, finding a way to keep things simple, I will say. I always tell my team that, "Keep it simple, stupid." Don't overthink things. Nothing has to be perfect before you release it. Sometimes I'll put out a half-baked idea and I'll just get a vibe check. Some of those posts that I've done that I was so insecure about are the ones that ended up trending, and people still ask for the piece today. Even if something is not finished, it's not perfect, it's okay.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Just let go, and keep it simple, stupid.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What do you believe the future holds for emerging designers like yourself?
Kelsey Armstrong:
I would say it's all bit scary and uncertain always, that feeling. I think people value authenticity, and especially in this day and age with AI. I will admit, I'm a sucker for it. But people are still going to crave that authenticity. They're still going to want to shop small and have handmade items. People are still going to have appreciation for vintage items. I do think that the future looks good for us.
Yeah. Also, just I think people care more and more about keeping things small, circularity, sustainability. And brands that really harness that, I think are going to hold the test of time.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Kelsey, thank you so much for joining us. I have learned so much about jewelry and your design process. If we want to continue to support you, where are the best places to find you?
Kelsey Armstrong:
The best place to find us if you're in New York is at our Dream World brick-and-mortar boutique in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Otherwise, you can shop us online at haricotvert.shop. That's H-A-R-I-C-O-T V-E-R-T.S-H-O-P.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Awesome. Thank you so much.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Before we go, our guest is going to leave a voicemail, just talking to themselves 10 years from now.
You have reached The Future Of Food Is You mailbox. Please leave your message after the beep.
Kelsey Armstrong:
Hey, Kelsey. I hope you've spent the last decade passionately pursuing your dreams and embracing your creative potential. Remember how no one saw you as a creative until you saw it for yourself? I hope you're not inspiring others to unlock their potential in the same way.
When I founded Haricot Vert, it was more than just about designing beautiful jewelry. I envisioned it as a concept that could inspire people beyond its products. The photographic elements in our collage-informed jewelry were meant to connect people to their creative abilities and highlight the beauty in everyday moment. I dreamt of our arts and crafts line expanding into stores nationwide, especially the ones I loved as a kid. The idea of our brand sparking imagination and creativity in those familiar aisles has always driven me.
I hope we've achieved that, making Haricot Vert a beacon of inspiration. I want people to feel wonder when they see our work. To keep dreaming, and to realize that they too can put those dreams into practice. I hope we've stayed true to this vision, touching lives and hearts along the way.
Future me, I hope you built a community around Haricot Vert that cherishes and nurtures the inner artist. I hope our brand has continued to evolve, staying relevant and impactful. Most importantly, I hope you've remained passionate and true to our core values. Here's to the journey, the growth, and endless creativity. Keep dreaming, keep inspiring, and never forget why you started. With love and hope, Kelsey.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's it for today's show. I would love for you to leave a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to our show. The Future Of Food Is You is a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. Thanks to the team at CityVox Studios, executive producers Kerry Diamond and Catherine Baker, association producers Jenna Sadhu and Elizabeth Vogt, and content operations manager Londyn Crenshaw. Catch you on the future flip.