MANILA, Philippines — KC Concepcion has added another title to her resumé: jewelry designer. Multi-hyphenates are always welcome in the entertainment industry, but the showbiz-pedigreed 32 year old wanted to do something “timeless” and so, she launched her own line of fine jewelry called Avec Moi.
Her foray into jewelry design is simply a natural progression in her creative work and passion. “I’ve always grown up with women who love jewelry and it was just natural for me to come up with my own jewelry pieces. Believe it or not, I used to hate earrings. I used to hate wearing jewelry kasi parang maraming abubot. But growing up, my grandmother would lecture me on pearls, diamonds, precious stones, gold and I think, just seeing women in my life have a love for jewelry, it became super natural for me to have a love for it later on,” KC said at the media preview held at the Manila House Private Club in Bonifacio Global City last Tuesday.
During the launch, KC accentuated her embroidered rose applique dress with heirloom rings she inherited from her late grandmother, Elaine Gamboa-Cuneta. “I always wear them so that I will always feel she’s with me,” she said.
That’s why KC named the limited-edition collection Avec Moi, which is French for “With Me,” and should the wearer decide to pass the jewelry on to someone special, she’ll feel the giver is with her, always.
“Making jewelry, it’s very close to you. It’s so personal. It’s something that touches your skin and stays there. It’s something you keep close to your body. So, it’s very sensual. It excites me. Parang nakakita ako ng favorite dessert ko,” she said. “I’ve always window-shopped, like the Panthére line of Cartier, I always look and see them come to life. Kinikilig ako when I see diamonds and real gold.”
It took KC 10 months to complete the collection, working from midnight to 5 a.m. She finds that she’s able to experiment and express herself more when everyone is asleep. “I’m usually all alone, maybe with a glass of wine and just drawing and drawing.” She has also made it a habit to “doodle-draw one image a day,” which was taught to her by a sculptor.
When one buys one piece of Avec Moi jewelry, no one else will have its design. “Each piece is labeled ‘one over one.’ It’s an artist’s proof, like paintings, that means it’s one of a kind. I don’t plan on reproducing any of the pieces. But I’ve already gotten eight special orders.”
Her chic collection features 14K and 18K yellow, rose and white gold pieces handmade with diamonds and precious stones. The “shapes and geometric patterns” were inspired by her time living and studying international corporate communications in Paris, France. “It was so delicious to see the buildings, the curves of the art nouveau, the art deco. I think that kind of came out in my pieces also.”
The centerpiece detail is KC’s favorite flower, the rose. She explained, “It’s like a symbol of womanhood. It feels to me that the rose can be both gentle and strong, both resilient and also so fragile. I get kilig seeing roses, it’s something that has always resonated with me. It’s very sensual, but every rose has its thorn.”
When asked about the “thorny” challenges of producing the jewelry pieces, she admitted, “A lot!”
“One (was) sourcing,” she began. Materials were mostly sourced in Asia. Second was looking for the right goldsmiths to work with. “They’re all Filipino. Working with the right goldsmiths was an important decision.”
There’s also the meticulous effort that goes into the making of artisan jewelry. “For example, for the black roses, I tried working with black onyx. A lot of people think that it helps for protection and all of these things. And I particularly like onyx because my lola’s favorite color was black. All the roses are hand-carved. It takes one month to make one piece, and it broke. It was too fragile for the rose. We had to find different other materials.”
The toughest challenge perhaps is that it’s a one-woman show. “I don’t plan on having a store or anything like that. I’m a private designer and seller at this point. The challenge was to really convince people that these were investment pieces. But as of yesterday, everything was reserved so I don’t have to worry about anything.”
KC also shared personal stories behind some of the pieces. Her “most memorable” would be her first-ever creation, which is made of mother of pearl, handcrafted rose and in rose gold, with a white diamond bud. “I think it’s reminiscent of Paris buildings. I realized that it has such an effect on me, to be able to really live there in Paris for five years... And mother of pearl was always something I saw at home because my lola loved it. She had it on her chair, on her furniture, on her jewelry.”
The last ones KC created were the black roses. “I tend to feel emotions extremely, so I think these came out at a time, where… the black roses were actually the last to come out. The black roses came out during a challenging time in my life. It had to do with relationship. So, I don’t know, I just felt like, black roses are not exactly fresh looking or pretty, but they’re beautiful as they are. It’s like life,” said KC, without going into specifics but seemingly referring to her reported recent breakup.
One thing is for sure, Avec Moi brought out and harnessed both KC’s artistic and entrepreneurial gifts. “From ideation, to design, to you know, finding the right craftsmen, to packaging, branding, working with the right people, to marketing, merchandising and pricing, sabi ko, one-woman show! Ngayon ko lang ’to ginawa, and it’s fulfilling to really see these roses bloom. It’s no longer drawing on paper or on a sketchpad. It’s like, I can share them, I can wear them. I never really made anything to share. I wear a lot of jewelry I’ve designed but I never say it.”
And it’s not only her love for jewelry that she can now share with others, but also lessons on making dreams happen. According to her, “I feel like I went to business school in a year. I learned so much. That’s also part of the journey. I think it’s so important for young women, or women in their early 30s, to really think what is that one thing you wanna build from now on. And to really just believe in your dreams.”
She continued, “You need the right people around you also. You cannot listen to opinions like when people say, ‘Bakit ganyan?’ Wala na, I just shut off. Dapat one-track mind ka lang muna. Pag drawing di ba, sasabihin nila, ‘Ano yan?’ Pero pag pinakita mo ang end result, ‘Wow, ganun pala yun. Ang ganda.’ Pag sinama mo sila — the wrong people — from the start, you’ll never finish anything.”
A second collection is already in the works and KC hinted that it will support an advocacy of hers. It also begs the question, when will KC have the time to return to showbiz?
The TV host/actress said, “I am having talks with ABS-CBN. I’m still exploring but I think, I really needed to take a step back, like the three years I’ve been taking the step back. It was important for me to really redefine myself because it felt to me already that I had no control of who I was. So coming back, it’s really a life-changing decision for me.
“I don’t take it lightly kasi pinanganak na ako dito, pinanganak na ako na may mga pressure na di ko ma-control. Pinanganak na ako na maraming expectations ang mga tao. I’m choosing to do things that I really feel strongly about and I have learned to say no.”