‘Selling Sunset’ Star Amanza Smith Releases Eden + Elie Jewelry Collection
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Amanza Smith of Bravo’s hit reality show “Selling Sunset” has released her first jewelry collection.
“I’ve designed houses, designed furniture,” said the real estate agent and interior designer. “I’ve even designed clothing, but I had never had the opportunity to design jewelry.”
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It’s made in collaboration with Singapore-based Eden + Elie, the handcrafted brand sold at Wolf & Badger.
“I was introduced to the owners of the company, Stephanie and Leon, by a mutual friend,” said Smith (who counts 1.1 million Instagram followers).
It was at a dinner at Catch L.A.
“They told me all about their jewelry company, and I just really loved everything that they stood for,” she continued. “They’re really cool people, good-hearted people, like-minded, and so when the opportunity came to me about designing for them, it was a no brainer.”
Stephanie Choo and Leon Toh (of Damson Capital) established the brand in 2015, creating pieces using bead-weaving techniques. According to the company, the seed beads are ethically produced, coming from the oldest manufacturer of the bead in Japan. The jewelry is lead-free, with 22-karat and 24-karat gold plating, 14-karat gold-fill, 18-karat rose gold plating, pure copper or sterling silver.
“Basically, they told me to choose places that really spoke to me, places in the world,” she said of the design concept. “So I came up with city, urban and beach.”
Titled “Spirit of Place,” the collection features earrings, bangles, bracelets, necklaces and charms in blue, silver, white, black and gold. Everything is handwoven using needle and polymer thread and incorporating gold. Priced between $69 (for a single woven bead) to $409 (for a gold bangle), the line is available online starting Monday and will be sold at a pop-up at Showfields in New York City from Tuesday through Jan. 22.
“It’s very strange because I, 100 percent, do not think of myself as a celebrity,” she said of recognition since appearing on “Selling Sunset.”
She joined the show, now in its fifth season, on season two.
“It’s interesting to be recognized, and also because it’s a reality show, people feel like they know you even more, because we’ve shared so much of our life,” she went on. “Like, they know my children’s names. They know how old they are. They’ll call them by name and ask how they are and you kind of have to, I mean, I embrace it. Nobody made me sign the contract to be on the show to share my life with the world. So I feel like I signed up for it. Even when it’s annoying at times — you’re eating or trying to, you know, enjoy your family. It does, it can feel intrusive. But for the most part, everyone — I’ve never encountered someone that recognized me in a negative light. Like, there’s never been a fan come up and say anything hateful or anything disrespectful. Everybody’s really kind. But it’s interesting, though, because I try so hard — I’m like, I’m just a regular person.”
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