absence makes the heart grow fonder
I grew up landlocked. No salt air, no sound of waves at night, no barefoot walks to the beach before school. But distance didn't dull my connection to the ocean. If anything, it deepened it. Every trip to the coast felt like coming home to a place I'd never actually lived.
VALLY started as a way to hold onto that feeling. To translate longing into something tangible. A shell charm you could wear on a flight home. A wave pendant that reminded you of mornings spent in the water. Jewelry that carried a sense of place, even when you were far from it.
More than a creative project, VALLY became a personal expression of one of my greatest passions, and proof that design can hold memory, meaning, and the pull of somewhere you love.
Wearing All the Hats
Product photography & styling
Jewelry design & material selection
Web design & launch updates
Customer engagement & fulfillment
the goal
Jewelry shouldn't sit in a box waiting for the right occasion. VALLY was designed to be worn constantly. On travel days, during beach walks, at coffee shops, on long summer evenings when the light lasts forever.
creative process
VALLY jewelry was all about summer energy. Soft color palettes, artsy charms, and nautical references. Product photography was shot using only natural light to keep things honest and relaxed. No overly polished staging, just jewelry in the kinds of moments it was meant for. I used compostable mailers because if VALLY was inspired by the ocean, it needed to respec
VALLY was created for people who are drawn to the ocean, whether they live near it or simply carry that mindset with them. The ones who light up when they catch the smell of saltwater. Who plan trips around coastlines. Who feel most like themselves with sand under their feet.
What VALLY Taught Me
Building VALLY taught me what it really means to bring an idea to life. Not just the creative parts, but the unglamorous ones too. Sourcing materials. managing inventory, figuring out shipping costs, and learning Shopify by trial and error.
I grew to develop a clear visual point of view while staying true to what the brand meant to me personally. I built hands-on skills in product design, photography, and customer engagement all while learning how to create a cohesive visual story that resonates with people beyond myself.
Passion can fuel real work. That you can build something meaningful on your own, even if it's small. Although VALLY Jewelry is no longer an active business, it remains one of the most meaningful projects I've ever created. It strengthened my eye for aesthetics, deepened my love for lifestyle design, and proved to myself that I could take an idea from my head and turn it into something people wanted to be part of.