Business Profile — Boasting a fine arts degree and a career path that has taken her from a New Jersey bead store to Hollywood film sets, Patti Pagliei Simpson makes heirloom-quality jewelry to be worn, treasured and collected. Handcrafted from mixed metals and a variety of antique-inspired fabrications, each piece tells a story of spiritual, sentimental or personal significance.
Simpson’s brand, Waxing Poetic, takes its name from both the lost-wax method used in casting fine jewelry and the sealing wax used to keep letters closed before the advent of envelopes. “The inspiration for our core collection came out of letter writing and wax seals,” Simpson explained.
“I used to do a lot of different kinds of fabrications—glue fabric with crystal and do some gilding on crystal—and I was inspired by antique seals. The idea clicked for me to design those seals myself and see if I could cast them. That was the first time I cast pieces in silver.” Simpson launched the brand with her sister, Lizanne, about nine years ago in Los Angeles.
Since then the company has thrived as a wholesaler, with jewelry sold in hundreds of stores across the U.S., Europe and Japan. Last March, Simpson announced the opening of the company’s first retail store, a charming, one-of-a-kind destination in Los Olivos. “We shared a windowless warehouse with my husband’s company, Trikke Tech,” Simpson laughed.
“We were doing really well, so we decided to give our brand a home. We’re excited to be able to show the entire collection in one place.” Described as contemporary antique jewelry, Waxing Poetic’s creations include birthstones, symbols, insignias, icons and adornments created mainly from sterling silver and antique brass.
One collection showcases a compass as its central design, while another, Remedy in a Bottle pendants, features exquisitely crafted flaskets stamped with hopeful notions, such as “peace potion,” “wish tonic” and “love elixir.” Other collections have tempting names like Tonic Charms and Realize True Riches Pendants.
More self-explanatory are the Greek Sorority Charms, Crest Insignia Rings, Amulet Necklaces and Dog Tag Pendants. “We do have a spiritual kind of bent,” Simpson admitted, “sort of iconic religious, like crosses. We do initials, birthstones and symbols, ways that people can tell their stories. “I’m Italian,” she continued, “so we have some European roots in terms of our design aesthetic. Our product is very democratic, not expensive. It’s a really nice gift and has lasting value.”
After Simpson and her team of designers have brainstormed a new collection, the designs are sent to Bali for fabrication. “Bali is where some of the most beautiful silver jewelry comes from,” Simpson said. “They have a lasting tradition of sterling silver there, they’ve been doing it forever.”
“The people who make our jewelry are just lovely,” she added. “Most are Hindu and thev’ve got an amazing artistic heritage.” As Simpson’s team adds new items to the collections, they often remove older pieces from production and put them for sale exclusively on the company’s website. “We’re retiring probably thirty percent of our line,” Simpson revealed, “and once they sell out, we won’t produce them again.
We’re hoping some of them will become collector’s items.” A work of art in its own right, Waxing Poetic’s flagship store mirrors the handcrafted nature of the jewelry sold within. Most of the décor is handmade, including the wooden counter and displays built from locally milled walnut by Santa Barbara-based woodworker Erich Riedl.
“Erich had a treasure trove of Italian artifacts,” Simpson said, “like sevent-century griffin paws, pieces of armoires, decorative cherub heads. I told him I wanted him to “Frankenstein” it all together for the store.
“They’re the kinds of treasures that really excite somebody like me,” she added, “and they really reflected our brand.” Stephanie Kheder Bodine, one of Waxing Poetic’s product designers, helped with the art direction of the store. To dress the walls, she copied Italian frescoes, cut them up and decoupaged them onto panels.
“We call them frescopauge,” Simpson said, “and they’re really amazing. We wanted something cool and different for the Valley.” Since opening the store, Simpson has found that customers stop by to browse and often don’t want to leave. “They like the feeling of the store and that makes us happy,” she said. “It’s a friendly place and we love having our neighbors stop by.
“It’s so great to have one-on-one interaction with our customers,” she continued. “To really talk to someone who comes in and says, ‘My son just got back from Iraq and I want a piece of jewelry to honor him.’ We hear all kinds of different stories and it definitely inspires us to create new things.”
photos by Kya Ayer
INFORMATION: Waxing Poetic is located at 2363 Alamo Pintado Rd. Los Olivos, and open Tues. through Sun., 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information call 686-4545, or visit waxing poetic.com.
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