Issue 04
TARINA TARANTINO
By Sally KleinbartPhotos By Jeremy & Claire Weiss
The “downtown” area tends to be at the heart of most cities; however, in Los Angeles-where The Industry reigns supreme-Hollywood is the oft-engorged heart, while downtown is more like the city’s fertile, swaggering groin.
Downtown L.A. Is home to sports facilities, arts institutions, music halls, and government, not to mention a strong local artisan community. More recently, high-priced lofts have lured urban artistes who can afford them, but they’re still adjacent to blocks of skid row’s more affordable dwellings of the cardboard and tent variety. A huge transient population exists: trashcan fires and crack deals are not uncommon sights at nighttime. During the day, the historic sidewalks are filled with purposefully-walking people doing the lunchtime stride amid swarthy men selling DJ gear and knockoff shoes from small store fronts in the Jewelry, Bank, Toy, and Fashion Districts.
It was in the latter that I first became aware of Tarina Tarantino’s fashion jewelry. Her showroom was a crystal in the rough during one of the regular sample sales at the New Mart. Floor after floor of shoving for markdowns gets me dizzy fast, but I’d decided to check out one last level when I stumbled upon shiny things. Shiny things do make girls happy, and Tarina’s showroom was rather sparkly. I began layering necklaces, hair clips, and bracelets; Swarovski crystals swirled and danced around me while friendly, accessorized associates issued words of encouragement as though I was the only person to have put together those pieces with such panache. Little did I know that SWINDLE would eventually be invited into the pink, fuzzy heart of the Tarina Tarantino production and business offices, located in the historic Cooper Building across the street from the New Mart.
Although jewelry-making may well be the Next Big Art Thing, it’s difficult to envision many designers inspired and prolific enough to produce six collections yearly, some with upwards of 150 pieces. Each of Tarina’s collections shares a similar aesthetic: common elements often include European Swarovski crystals (each one attached by hand) and molded resin, Lucite, or plastic. With such a vast amount of design and production work, it’s all the more impressive that the company chooses to produce everything domestically. “We’re really proud that our product is made in the USA, with so many things being made in China,” Tarina says. Her husband and business partner Alfonso Campos predicted a few years back that eventually China will “get to the point where they’re so powerful and they’re going to say, ‘We’re making all the accessories,’ the prices are going to go up, and everybody’s going to be in trouble.”
The ability to oversee production of her pieces is a trademark of the Tarina Tarantino brand. “Let’s talk about leather handbags by many designers,” Tarina begins. “They’ll be made in China, sent to Italy, they’ll put a handle on it, and stamp it ‘Made in Italy.’ We’ve outsourced in the past and it doesn’t ever come out right. To make sure it’s being made correctly, we have to also do the manufacturing. That’s a big challenge. While a lot of designers make clothing, they are only designing and then another person makes it. We are doing all of it ourselves. It adds another layer, but we feel better about the product going out the door.”
On a personal level, the ability to interact with the people they employ is one of the most rewarding benefits of creating and producing their designs domestically. “When I come to work and I see how many people we employ, when I see all the production girls that are learning this skill they didn’t have before, and are so happy and excited to be making sparkly jewelry every day, that is so cool and fulfilling,” says Tarina. “We’re in downtown Los Angeles and everything is made here. I love that we’ve built a business here, and I love being able to put that on my product.”
While discussing the artistic renaissance going on in Southern California, the dashing Alfonso whizzes through the pink room. “Can you guys make sure you talk about the movement that’s happening in L.A. And this whole stupid rivalry with New York?” he rhetorically asks on cue. In a city often attacked for its lack of culture and Hollywood’s sycophantic gluttony, Los Angeles artists are proud to have forged a strong local scene, much of it centered downtown. In the time Tarina Tarantino has existed as a company, the scene itself has come into its own. “About 10 years ago it started to percolate, and now it’s just amazing: fresh ideas, interesting trends, interesting artists, magazines, and designers; there’s just so much happening here now,” says Tarina. It’s a stark contrast to the young company’s difficulties trying to break into the fashion business a decade ago. “When we started this business and first got a rep in New York, she said, ‘If you guys want to be successful, pack your bags and move. You need to be based out of New York.’ I love L.A. Even if you’re broke, it’s a better life than in most other major cities. It’s more conducive to and supportive of new designers. Finally people are starting to realize there’s so much happening here. I can’t imagine moving to New York just so my business can be successful.” While location obviously hasn’t hurt the company, the infectious dynamism of Tarina and Alfonso seems like it would lend itself to any venture’s inevitable success.
If you’ve read anything about Tarina Tarantino, you may already be familiar with the romantic story behind the company. In Tarina’s words: “When I met Alfonso I was a makeup artist. When he saw my jewelry, he asked me where I got it. He said, ‘You make that and you’re a makeup artist? Well that’s cool, but you should be selling that. That’s a business!’ I was doing makeup and also working parttime at Mac Cosmetics at the Beverly Center; I would go to work with all my jewelry and come home with nothing because people were buying it from me. Finally he said, ‘Put a group together and I’ll take it to Jennifer Kaufman and Fred Segal and we’ll see what happens.’” And so the business was born. “He came home with a $5000 order from Fred Segal. And then he actually sold his car at the time to finance it! Alfonso always makes the joke that he’s Sonny and I’m Cher, but it’s not that way at all. This company wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for him.”
Also an artist, Alfonso designs the showroom and stores, and helps with inspiration and feedback for the collections. Tarina says Alfonso may handle a little more of the business affairs, but she remains necessarily involved. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to get involved in the business aspect of things because it does get me stressed out, but then I realize I have to be a part of it,” an important lesson she wants to pass on to her two daughters. “Too often you hear about these designers. One in particular I heard about recently was in a meeting, and when they started talking numbers he shouted, ‘NO I don’t want to hear anything!’ and ran out. It cracks me up when I hear these things, because you really have to be involved in business if you’re an artist. Because being an artist is a business. It’s not like it was in the ‘60s and the ‘70s, or in the Renaissance time when you were apprenticing. In the world today, everything’s changed. If you’re a creative person and you want to be successful then you also have to be a business person.”
Having taken her art from obscurity to a multi-million dollar business, Tarina hasn’t been free from scammers looking to bite a chunk off her success. Tarina loves eBay for vintage collectables, but it has posed some problems for the company by selling cheap knockoffs, and her website has an entire rant on the subject: “Just to set the record straight we do not authorize any of our wholesale customers to sell our products on eBay, and if we find out they are doing so we close their account with us… They are not selling authentic product and it is important to be aware. I really feel terrible when I hear about anyone having a bad experience and would strongly recommend that you beware when buying on eBay.”
To overcome inevitable bouts of jeweler’s block, Tarina looks everywhere for her inspiration: from art and architecture books to children’s books she reads to her daughters, to her daughters themselves. A juvenile bracelet on her arm with bright chunky beads and cute wooden animals was inspired by Tarina and Alfonso’s three-year-old daughter Chloe. “She came in one day and I said, ‘We’re working on the new collection. Why don’t you make me a bracelet?’ and it was literally like this! So we did a whole line around it.” Maybe it’s genetics or just the good fortune of growing up in a jewelry factory, but the toddler’s handiwork seriously trumps any of the elbow macaroni creations of summer-campers three times her age.
Looking to make some sense of how her jewelry can be timely without being overtly trendy, I inquire how fashion and art trends affect her design process. “When it’s really important we’ll address the trends, but for the most part I just like to do my own thing.
And luckily there are a lot of girls out there who like it.” Sometimes a commonly used seasonal theme seems coincidental. “I use so many materials; wood is always in my collection. This season we brought it in even stronger, which was right on target. I didn’t realize how big wood was going to be this season; I was just feeling it last summer. I think sometimes in fashion, in art, maybe there’s little clues coming out from the cosmos, and somehow everyone starts to feel it. It’s kind of bizarre sometimes how when fashion season comes around many designers will have similar feelings going on.”
Indeed, they say the universe never reveals an idea to just one person; rather, the knowledge is given to all those who are open to receive it at that time. To help people who desire to receive more of her product, Tarina’s first domestic store recently opened on Melrose in Los Angeles, where she has launched her home accessory collection, Home Jewelry. She also has a new semi-precious line called Handmade S.P., with dyed and manipulated semi-precious stones, hand-knotting techniques, and handmade papier-mache-style Japanese beads. In the future, Tarina sees herself creating a fine jewelry line. And, hopefully, taking a vacation.