We had a chance to talk to the the great up and coming designer of Big Daddy Ella & we would love to share this personal insight behind the scenes of unique jewelry making with you!

Why Big Daddy Ella?

I had been looking for accessories, specifically necklaces that would fit my life style. Meaning, I could wear it every day with jeans and a TShirt at rehearsals, as well as while performing on stage. I tend to wear simple colors as well as crazy patterns, so it was clear the necklace would have to match both.

How did Big Daddy Ella start?

Through my love to Turkey, I started collecting materials and special pieces every time I visited. At first the creation process was my downtime from music. Yet, the more necklaces I made the more I realized I could combine the two. I sit in my studio, listen to new beats and make the necklaces while making up melodies for potential songs. I try to focus on not focusing. That way I find myself in a pressure free environment. It was and still is my way of zone’ing out and switching off any “thinking” part of my brain.

How did you start selling Big Daddy Ella?

I started wearing my own handmade creations at concerts and brunches and everywhere else and slowly but surely my friends and friends of friends started expressing an interest in getting a necklace for them selves or their Mum, sister or boyfriend.
I began hosting trunk sales in friends’ living rooms as well as pop up sales at boutiques in Zurich, New York and Berlin.
Last year, Big Daddy Ella was taken on by Kowä, one of my favorite shops in Zurich. As of this year, Big Daddy Ella is available in the Big Daddy Ella online store as well as the new Concept Store, Anderswo, in Zurich.

How did the name Big Daddy Ella come about?
My Dad was given this super 80’s style jumper for my birth. It read “BIG DADDY” on the back of it. From the moment I knew what clothes I liked, I wanted that jumper. I kept sneaking into his closet to get it, and wear it in my bedroom. Surely enough he would notice and get it back somehow. After 20 years of the “jumper-stealing-game” he handed it to me nicely wrapped as my Xmas gift 5 years ago. I think that was the best Christmas gift I had ever received. That together with one of my favorite singers of all time, Ella Fitzgerald, made up the name, without much effort.

Do you also custom make necklaces?

Yes, I do custom make necklaces. It is actually what I enjoy doing most. I love thinking of the person I’m making it for and bringing their personality into it as much as possible. It’s like the artist who made the painting behind me, Hebru Brantley. It is a custom made piece. He painted me, how he perceived me in that moment. I try to do the same with the necklaces, although the result of my thoughts, are probably a little more abstract.

Most necklaces end up being “one of a kind”, but some of the necklace orders are based on some of the collections’ most popular ones, so they don’t really fit in that category anymore.

Is Big Daddy Ella for women only?

When I started making necklaces, I made them for myself. So naturally I thought that my main target audience would be ladies. Funnily enough, over the past year, I have made almost the same amount of necklaces for men as I have for ladies. I made a special edition collection for one of last year’s Falling Whistles (A campaign for peace in Congo) events in Berlin, where guys first started showing interest. As a result of it, the word spread and I made pieces for local Berlin celebrities such as Marcin Öz (Whitest Boy Alive), Monsieur Dope (Dope Soundsystem/The Sweatshop), Stimulus (The Sweatshop) etc.

www.bigdaddyella.com