White/Space Jewelry
LOS ANGELES, CA
In their own words
“Jewelry can hold our precious sentiments and emotions. We wear jewelry close to our bodies. It's very intimate. It gives us joy as a wearer, makes us feel like our most beautiful selves. Also, we give jewelry as a commemoration. We tend to hold on to it for a long time. We're reminded of those wonderful feelings every time we look at that piece of jewelry.”
-Khadijah
Jason’s interview with Khadijah
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Jason
Today, I get to interview Khadijah Fulton from White/Space. What is it that you love about jewelry?
Khadijah
I love the fact that jewelry really can hold our precious sentiments and emotions. We wear jewelry really close to our body. It's very intimate. And it gives us joy as a wearer, makes us feel like our most beautiful selves. But also, we give jewelry as gifts in love, and as commemoration of things. We're reminded of those wonderful feelings every time we look at that piece of jewelry. I love that aspect of jewelry.
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Jason: How did you become a jewelry designer?
Khadijah: I was a fashion designer first, after graduating from Parsons School of Design in New York. I designed for large companies, both in New York and Los Angeles, designing women's wear and swimwear. I also did kid’s wear as well. When I became a mom, I took some time off from working. My life had completely changed. So, I had two things going on. I really wanted to get back to that creativity that I loved, but then I also was kind of looking for things that I couldn't really find, that fit my new lifestyle as a mom. While I had been a fashion designer, I did jewelry as a hobby. I played with stones, made gifts for friends, made pieces for myself. I kind of rediscovered my love for jewelry. I started to actually take nighttime workshops, weekend workshops in metalsmithing and stone setting, and really started to dive deep into the craft of making jewelry. It gradually kind of built from there, as I explored more how to actually make and design jewelry.
Jason: And throughout that journey, did you kind of find your specialty?
Khadijah: I have always been drawn to minimalism. I think that even increased as I became a mom. The more roles and tasks that I had on my plate, I think any parent can probably relate to this, particularly us moms, I craved clean lines, peace, calm, and minimalism. I was really drawn to that kind of thing. And I've always aesthetically been drawn to mid-century modernism. I try to bring out the beauty of the materials. I work with baroque pearls. I love their imperfections. Our imperfections really kind of make us who we are. And some of them we really should embrace.
Jason: How does it embody jewelry for all types of women?
Khadijah: In art and design, the term “White Space” is kind of like that area that is intentionally kind of left blank. It is an area that is left open that enhances the overall picture. And with my jewelry, in its minimalism, I'm really trying to enhance the beauty of the woman. The necklace isn't wearing you, you're wearing the necklace. That minimal aesthetic also lends itself to being able to be worn with everything. I like my pieces to be layerable.
Jason: You have new pieces that are toddler friendly?
Khadijah: My stud earrings are toddler friendly. But I do have some threaders that, when my little son was a toddler, he loved to play with. They’re Lagniappe threaders and they have a little gold bar that swings from the back of the ear.
Jason: Is there anything that’s inspiring you right now?
Khadijah: Well, I'm always inspired by strong modern women. My goal is to design pieces that women who have a distinctive sense of style, are very self-realized, very down to earth, things that they're drawn to that feel unique but versatile. So that's always my inspiration.
Jason: Can you tell us about your workspace?
Khadijah: I design in a few different places. Sometimes all I need is a sketchbook, and I can be sitting at my kitchen table or—I live not far from the beach. Sometimes I like to drive my car out to the beach and sketch ideas. But also at my bench, I'm surrounded by my tools and sometimes it just takes having some materials in front of me that inspire me. Like I'll see some pearls. Pearls I love. Those have actually kind of become a little bit of a signature of mine. But just having some pearls, maybe some new pearl shapes, new colors in front of me, maybe some particular-colored stones and some gold. I have lots of inspiration images up. I keep my library of inspiration books. And I look at everything from photography, fashion photography from the 70s. I have a really great book called “Women” by Francesco Scavullo, a wonderful photographer. I've also got architecture books, books on different kinds of creativity and art movements and paintings and all kinds of things that can kind of spark inspiration in my studio.
Jason: You brought up the pearls. What's it like working with pearls?
Khadijah: Well, pearls are great. They're really interesting because they're actually quite hardy and strong. But when you're working with them for jewelry, as I do, where I like to kind of embed stones in them and work with them a little bit differently, you do have to be careful and treat them with care as you kind of find the spaces where you can place the stones and the additional design elements. Their luminescence is so beautiful. They come in so many different shapes and sizes and colors. And so, I started with rounds, whites, and then I got into pink pearls and black Tahitian pearls. Lately I've been exploring baroque pearls, which organically come out in all different shapes. Each one is really one of a kind. And in my line, I embed birthstones in them. So not only does the piece have your birthstone in it, but the actual pearl is one of a kind. I have been working with the last American pearl farm in Tennessee. And the freshwater pearls I get from them, they call them Lagniappes, which is Cajun or Creole for a little something extra or like a gift. And they're kind of the unusually shaped pearls that are grown in the Tennessee River. I love exploring the variance in the pearls.
Jason: You really take care of your manufacturers and artisans. Can you tell me more about them?
Khadijah: Now, I'm based in L.A. I initially was in Seattle and I worked with individual artisans there as well. I worked with an individual engraver who had been engraving for sixty years. He recently retired. He'd been doing it since he was sixteen years old. I worked with individual stone setters. I continued that as I came to L.A. and I worked with a small factory in Los Angeles, where they're really able to keep a close eye on the quality and the production. I also work with individual bench jewelers in Los Angeles, small shops where they really focus on a particular type of skill, either fabrication or a particular type of stone setting. A lot of my pieces are formed by-hand from scratch. And also, the stone setting is something that is very, very particular, especially with pavé.
Jason: Let’s say there’s a world where you have the opportunity to dress any famous person, from the past to the present, who would it be and why?
Khadijah: From the past, I would have loved to have dressed the late Cicely Tyson. Her style was so beautiful and bold but elegant and graceful. I feel like she had so much wisdom, and throughout her life, she made such interesting choices with her craft, with the roles that she took on. And I always found it really interesting that she was married to Miles Davis, another creative firebrand. I feel like it says a lot about the both of them, that they were drawn together. I would have loved to have dressed her. And currently, there's so many. I just had my first cover—Marie Claire. Stacey Abrams was wearing a pair of White/Space earrings. So, I kind of hit that dream. I was so happy to have it be on Stacey Abrams, who's made such an impact, obviously in her community, but now on our country.
Jason: The jewelry industry as a whole, it's all about trust. Tell us, what does trust mean to you?
Khadijah: Well, just like you said, when I'm working with my suppliers, trust is paramount because I put a lot of love and energy and thoughtfulness and intention behind the designs. And so, I need to be able to trust my partners to be able to create them for my customers and really translate my ideas the way that I would want them done if I was making every piece myself, and every single one, which I still do make quite a lot of them, actually, for that reason, because I just like to keep it close. But it—trust really is at every aspect of our business. I want to be trustworthy for my customers. I'm also trying to be as transparent as possible when I talk about my ethical and sustainable practices, which are really important to me, using recycled gold, using a variety of diamond sources that are as traceable as they can be.
Jason: Other brands trust you because you design for them. And a big one is VRAI. Being there, what did you learn and how was that experience?
Khadijah: Designing for VRAI was such a wonderful experience. It was so much fun. The team was fantastic. And it was incredibly inspiring because it was founded by a woman, Vanessa Stofan Mocker, and she built that company into such a beautiful thing, starting on Instagram and starting very small. And our values and our mission were aligned from the beginning. It really started as a brand that was to provide everyday fine jewelry for women that they could wear day to night, super simple clean pieces. And I think that's why they were drawn to me to come in and help revamp the collection. I redesigned their full jewelry collection, as well as their bridal and engagement. And it was a wonderful way for me to explore more of my ideas around custom and bridal.
Jason: I want to hear more about your charity involvement.
Khadijah: As a mother myself, Mother's Day is very close to my heart. And I feel like every year that I'm a parent, I learn more about myself. And I feel like my levels of empathy and compassion for parents and mothers everywhere just broadens. You know, you really see what it's like, and all of the things that we go through as mothers. And I have so much respect for my mom and my grandparents and like every mother. So last year we partnered with an organization called The Tender Foundation. I was drawn to the Tender Foundation because it's an organization that specifically supports single mothers with emergency funds that are needed. So, I'm an only child and I was also the only child of a single mom, and so it really was close to my heart. This year, we're looking at partnering not only with them, but also broadening our mission to focus on mothers and families that are affected by homelessness. That's something that across our nation, particularly post-COVID, has really been on the rise and has turned into a crisis point, in particular here in Los Angeles. And as I've seen that happen, as I've seen it increase over the last year, in particular, just with my own eyes just driving around LA, I really started to think about the families and the children that are having to deal with homelessness and the mothers. So, this year, we're really looking to expand our mission and partner with some organizations that focus on that aspect for those parents and mothers that are struggling .
Jason: I have one final question for you. Tell us about a love story.
Khadijah: Oh, a love story. I did have a custom client, one of my first custom clients, actually, and it was a really interesting ring to make. I've never made a ring like this before, but the couple had known each other for a very long time and had both grown up near beaches and had grown up kind of foraging for beautiful beach pebbles. For their engagement ring, instead of using their traditional stone, or a sapphire, they wanted to use a beautiful beach stone that they had found together. I handcrafted a ring to fit around each weathered stone. It was such a beautiful, unique engagement ring and such a wonderful thing to make. It was one of the first engagement rings that I'd ever made. It was a really kind of non-traditional ring.
Jason: How beautiful. Well, I really appreciate getting a chance to talk to you. Congratulations on all your successes.
Khadijah: Yeah, thank you so much. This has been wonderful.
