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Kerryn and Aaron Langer had only just moved back to Sydney after launching a wildly successful knitwear brand in the US when they came up with their next big business project.
Arms of Eve arose from Kerryn’s creative flair with styling and accessorising and an ‘aha’ moment while holidaying in Bali and meeting manufacturers.
‘I started my career in fashion, designing for Bracewell and then after moving to Los Angeles, co-founded knitwear brand Kerryn Leigh,’ Kerryn, 42, told FEMAIL.
Arms of Eve arose from Kerryn’s creative flair with styling and accessorising and an ‘aha’ moment while holidaying in Bali and meeting manufacturers
A number of celebrities have been seen wearing Arms of Eve jewellery
‘Returning to Sydney, I decided that the next venture would be fashion accessories and so I launched Arms Of Eve. The brand started at Bondi and Paddington markets and eventually turned into the business it is today.’
Her husband, a Hollywood television producer who eventually segued into advertising and marketing, said rolls of leftover material from their work on Kerryn Leigh came in handy in the early days.
‘We decided to cut scarves which literally flew off the shelf and the ease of no-sizing and the synergy of Kerryn’s passion for styling and accessorising was the aha moment,’ Aaron, 47, said.
‘But building an eCom-first business was realised after experiencing the life-changing ease of ordering online while we were building our careers and families in Los Angeles.’
During a family holiday in Bali Kerryn couldn’t help but spend a large portion of her time meeting with manufacturers as she explored the idea of beach wraps, but the first product that put them on the map was a round wicker-basket bag.
‘We decided to cut scarves which literally flew off the shelf and the ease of no-sizing and the synergy of Kerryn’s passion for styling and accessorising was the aha moment,’ Aaron, 47, said
‘All of our products are handmade and ethically sourced. Spending time with our production partners and makers was a founding principle, ensuring not only quality but ethical production accreditation,’ Kerryn said (Hailey Bieber pictured)
Now, alongside polarised sunglasses and hair clips, the brand is best known for its crushed gold and gemstone jewellery – and celebrities are taking note.
‘All of our products are handmade and ethically sourced. Spending time with our production partners and makers was a founding principle, ensuring not only quality but ethical production accreditation,’ Kerryn said.
Aaron added: ‘We’ve been fortunate to have been worn by some of our favourites including Hailey Bieber, Dua Lipa, Emrata, Lucy Hale, Margot Robbie, Victoria Justice, Vanessa Hudgens, Bella Hadid, Amelia Grey, Lizzo and Alessandra Ambrosio.’
During Covid lockdown in 2020 the couple decided to open their first store front in North Bondi to give customers the full experience of touching and feeling the products.
‘We are now looking at new locations in other states for the new stores. The brick and mortar store is not dead and truly provides greater confidence in us with our global online customers,’ Aaron said.
Despite their successes Kerryn admits each year in business hasn’t come without its learnings (Bella Hadid pictured)
For those wanting to make their own jewellery the Arms of Eve website has an industry-first ‘charm builder’ that allows customers to see exactly what their product will look like once finished.
Despite their successes Kerryn admits each year in business hasn’t come without its learnings.
‘The biggest learning came from starting our knitwear business as a traditional wholesale brand in that product knowledge is king and educating our customers is a primary focus,’ she said.
‘We are committed to building our brand through our social channels and working to continuously improve our business and products. We believe in “Kaizen” which is a Japanese term meaning small incremental changes for innovation and improvements. We listen closely to our employees and our customers.’
The brand is currently stocked in Urban Outfitters, Revolve and Anthropologie in the US with more expected to be added this year.