Collaboration Spotlight
Lover's Tempo
The first in our series of interviews with collaborative partners, here is our interview with the co-founders of Vancouver based jewellery brand Lover’s Tempo, Elaine Kim Smith and Leslie Hoolaeff.
Click here to shop the 'Celestial Dreams' print created in collobation with Lover's Tempo.
Wrappr: We’re so excited to feature Lover’s Tempo in our first of hopefully many interviews with partners who have collaborated with Wrappr to create custom furoshiki wraps for their own merchandise. Thank you for being our first! To start, tell us a bit about Lover’s Tempo, what you do and how your business was founded.
Elaine: I started Lover’s Tempo as a creative outlet. I was always interested in making things. I used to paint, sew, craft - anything to make things with my hands. As I learned about the business side of things, I really appreciated the creativity of building a business. It had the same feeling as creating and designing, just in a different way.
W: What is your mission as a company?
E: Our mission is to spark delight! We love putting smiles on people’s faces through our product and brand experience.
W: What is the design process for your own products?
E: I normally take an idea and either start with a sketch, photoshop or prototype with beads and chain. From there, I take it to my manufacturers to make a CAD design then to sampling.
W: Where do you find inspiration?
E: I get inspiration from everywhere. I look at art, architecture, fashion and interior design. I love great design from all disciplines - even nature has a way of inspiring me with beautiful colour palettes and shapes.
W: Have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?
E: I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur. I thought entrepreneurs wore suits and studied business. I thought that I was an artist or designer. Now I completely identify as an entrepreneur. I love the excitement and creativity of being an entrepreneur. It is very much inline with my passion for creating something out of nothing!
W: How did you learn about Wrappr?
E: We learned about Wrappr when we had a call out for our grant applications. We were calling out to women-owned businesses who wanted mentorship as well as a grant towards their businesses.
W: Tell us a bit about the artwork and design of this custom print?
E: We wanted to make a design that captured the magic of gift-giving. The design is based on the moment the night sky meets the daylight. It’s a blend of dreamy pink clouds with the magical celestial night sky.
W: What are your thoughts on the climate crisis, zero-waste products, things you’re doing to be environmentally friendly, etc.
E: We’ve always been very conscious about waste. One of our guiding principles is to reduce waste and it’s one of our goals this year to improve our processes with sustainability. We always operate under the principle that all the small things add up! Some of the things we do to reduce our impact on the environment are:
- we use paper tags to reduce our use of plastic
- we recycle and reuse all of our soft plastic
- we source packing materials from sustainability in mind
- we offer reusable pouches made with cotton
- our jewelry displays are made of wood and made locally
- our jewelry is made with ethically sourced materials
W: What are you most looking forward to this holiday season with Lover’s Tempo?
E: We’re looking forward to sparking delight this holiday season. We’re definitely living in a strange time right now and hope that we can bring some joy and smiles to people’s lives.
