IndependentsFeb 17, 2021
Marla Aaron’s Latest Vending Machine Supports the Struggling Restaurant IndustryEditorsFeb 22, 2022
Out & About: The Designer With a Gumball Machine at Bergdorf
It’s Marla Aaron, who previously had a jewelry vending machine in the Brooklyn Museum.
A shot inside Marla Aaron’s “residency” at Bergdorf Goodman, which will continue through the end of March. (Photo credit: Richard Cadan)
When my parents first started dating more than five decades ago, my mom broke it off after a couple months.
She had just started college in Clarion, Pennsylvania, and wanted to be free to enjoy it, not be tied down in a relationship with a guy who lived 90 miles away in Pittsburgh.
So, she wrote him a Dear John letter telling him so—the ‘60s equivalent of a sliding out of the DMs.
Years later, as she was about to graduate, she ran into my dad again, at an establishment called the After Dark Lounge in Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania. He was drunk but had the wherewithal to reintroduce himself and give my mother a plastic skull ring out of a toy vending machine, along with a promise that he’d call.
When my mother left After Dark with her friend that night, she said something along the lines of, “That guy’s not going to call me. He was drunk; he’s not going to remember even seeing me.”
Fifty-two years later (and luckily for me), my mom was wrong.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that vending machine ring, the power of jewelry as totem, and the joy of the unexpected after visiting with a designer and her jewelry vending machine in a setting slightly more upscale than the After Dark Lounge.
A couple Fridays ago, I trudged uptown through yet another miserable bout of winter weather to meet with Marla Aaron and her company’s head of marketing, Sarah Daniel, at Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
Aaron currently has a temporary presence inside the iconic department store in the form of what I’ve heard referred to as both a “residency” and a “takeover.”
What it is, basically, is a shop-in-shop occupying a small space that serves as a passageway between the main jewelry show floor and the elevators. And it is, for now at least, all Marla Aaron and all masterminded by Daniel.
The space is decorated with the same detailed wallpaper, custom-made by Timorous Beasties, Aaron has in her New York City showroom.
The ceiling is made to look like fordite—a material Aaron utilizes quite a bit—and the case displays, like Aaron’s jewelry, are utilitarian and beautiful at the same time.
I love the peg boards mixed in among the traditional neck forms; they remind of me my dad’s workbench in the basement of my childhood home.
Also included among the jewelry are large-scale, decorative versions of the various pieces of hardware that make Aaron’s jewelry function. The large spirals, for example, mirror the threading in her signature locks.
She had just started college in Clarion, Pennsylvania, and wanted to be free to enjoy it, not be tied down in a relationship with a guy who lived 90 miles away in Pittsburgh.
So, she wrote him a Dear John letter telling him so—the ‘60s equivalent of a sliding out of the DMs.
Years later, as she was about to graduate, she ran into my dad again, at an establishment called the After Dark Lounge in Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania. He was drunk but had the wherewithal to reintroduce himself and give my mother a plastic skull ring out of a toy vending machine, along with a promise that he’d call.
When my mother left After Dark with her friend that night, she said something along the lines of, “That guy’s not going to call me. He was drunk; he’s not going to remember even seeing me.”
Fifty-two years later (and luckily for me), my mom was wrong.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that vending machine ring, the power of jewelry as totem, and the joy of the unexpected after visiting with a designer and her jewelry vending machine in a setting slightly more upscale than the After Dark Lounge.
A couple Fridays ago, I trudged uptown through yet another miserable bout of winter weather to meet with Marla Aaron and her company’s head of marketing, Sarah Daniel, at Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
Aaron currently has a temporary presence inside the iconic department store in the form of what I’ve heard referred to as both a “residency” and a “takeover.”
What it is, basically, is a shop-in-shop occupying a small space that serves as a passageway between the main jewelry show floor and the elevators. And it is, for now at least, all Marla Aaron and all masterminded by Daniel.
The space is decorated with the same detailed wallpaper, custom-made by Timorous Beasties, Aaron has in her New York City showroom.
The ceiling is made to look like fordite—a material Aaron utilizes quite a bit—and the case displays, like Aaron’s jewelry, are utilitarian and beautiful at the same time.
I love the peg boards mixed in among the traditional neck forms; they remind of me my dad’s workbench in the basement of my childhood home.
Also included among the jewelry are large-scale, decorative versions of the various pieces of hardware that make Aaron’s jewelry function. The large spirals, for example, mirror the threading in her signature locks.
Inside Marla Aaron’s cases at Bergdorf Goodman, traditional neck forms mix with the designer’s signature whimsy and creativity. See: the peg boards, the spirals mimicking the threading inside her locks, the chunk of uncut fordite, and the pin art toy at the top, a nod to “The Pins Charm.” (Photo credit: Richard Cadan)
In addition to being creative, Aaron’s Bergdorf displays abide by another cardinal rule of visual merchandising: don’t make display cases too crowded. (Photo credit: Richard Cadan)
The centerpiece of this mini showroom is the jewelry-dispensing gumball machine.
“Automated retail,” Aaron said, “is something I feel very strongly about.”
It’s also something the designer has experimented with in the past, as Aaron is the one who had the jewelry vending machine I went to see in the Brooklyn Museum a few years ago.
This gumball machine is not a device that needs a great amount of introduction; it works like the basic gumball- or toy-dispensing machine you’d hit up on your way out of Kmart.
But instead of sticking a quarter in the slot and turning, customers must buy a $110 token (this is Bergdorf, after all) from one of the sales associates in order to make it work.
Then they simply insert the token, turn the knob and, voila, a tiny, clear plastic egg emerges with a sterling silver “Babylock,” the smallest version of Aaron’s signature style and the piece she considers the “gateway” to her entire collection.
Now, here is where the unexpected joy comes into play.
Mixed in among the small silver locks at first was a rose gold and diamond “Baby Heartlock,” which someone got, and now there’s a yellow gold and diamond Babylock. Insert that token, and you might be the lucky one who ends up with a little something extra.
While I was interviewing Aaron and Daniel at Bergdorf, I got the chance to see the machine in action.
A young woman wearing a few Marla Aaron pieces and proclaiming herself to have an “obsession” with the brand came in and bought a token.
An Alabama native who now lives in Washington, D.C., she was in New York City for the weekend with her boyfriend and said she just had to come in after seeing the gumball machine on Instagram.
The air was heavy with excitement while Aaron and I filmed her attempt for social media. Will she get the yellow gold and diamond lock?!? I was genuinely rooting for this person I’d never met before.
Ultimately, she did not, but it was fun anyway, just like Aaron and her jewelry.
Aaron shows her latest creative retail venture some love. (Photo credit: Richard Cadan)
This space in Bergdorf, Aaron told me, is her brand’s U.S. department store debut, with the designer admitting she was initially resistant to the idea of a department store because she doesn’t feel they fit the way her jewelry is sold.
She likes to take out a bunch of locks and let her customers play, see how the pieces they already own are going to work with new pieces. It brings out creativity in the wearer and is a big part of what has made Aaron such a collectible success story.
Yet in most department stores in America, “it’s this idea of the case,” Aaron said, of things being locked away and displayed on neck forms.
At Bergdorf, though, there is a private room that allows for a more Marla Aaron-like appointment.
And the brand was able inject a bit of its DNA into the display cases, mixing in the large-scale hardware elements, the peg boards, and pieces of “raw” fordite among the traditional jewelry display forms.
So, will she stay after her shop-in-shop’s time is up?
“There’s always an opportunity,” Aaron said.
Marla Aaron’s Bergdorf Goodman residency, including her gumball machine, continues through March 30.
And the brand was able inject a bit of its DNA into the display cases, mixing in the large-scale hardware elements, the peg boards, and pieces of “raw” fordite among the traditional jewelry display forms.
So, will she stay after her shop-in-shop’s time is up?
“There’s always an opportunity,” Aaron said.
Marla Aaron’s Bergdorf Goodman residency, including her gumball machine, continues through March 30.
More on Editors
The Latest
IndependentsSep 04, 2026
Orloff Jewelers Will Soon Unveil a Bigger, Better LocationThe California jeweler is renovating its store in Fresno, with plans to show off the new space in December.
CollectionsSep 04, 2026
Chelsea Gabrielle Transforms Pilates Reformer Springs Into Ring A lifelong practitioner of Pilates, Gabrielle looked to the springs’ tension and suspension when creating this ring, our Piece of the Week.
Events & AwardsSep 04, 2026
JCK Industry Fund Accepting 2027 ApplicationsThe deadline to apply is Nov. 13.
Brought to you by
Your Piece Could Be the One Editors Talk AboutSubmit your pieces for a chance to win in this year's competition.
AuctionsSep 04, 2026
Christie's Names New Global Head of WatchesThe auction house has promoted Remi Guillemin, formerly its head of watches for the Americas and EMEA, to the role.
Weekly QuizSep 03, 2026
This Week’s QuizTest your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
Events & AwardsSep 03, 2026
Here Are the First Recipients of Nina Pugliese Memorial Scholarship Jewelers of America also revealed the recipients of the Seymour & Evelyn Holtzman Bench Scholarship and its own scholarship programs.
WatchesSep 03, 2026
Robert Pattinson Joins Jaeger-LeCoultre as Brand AmbassadorThe British actor, known for his roles in “Twilight” and “The Odyssey,” will star in a campaign for the Master Control Chronometre.
Brought to you by
Why More Jewelry Retailers Are Hosting Turnkey Estate Buying EventsRetailers are seeking new ways to attract customers, increase traffic, and create revenue – Estate buying events are a popular solution.
CollectionsSep 03, 2026
Sydney Evan Celebrates 25 Years With 4 New CollectionsThe “Confetti Disco,” “Champagne Cheers,” “Tuxedo,” and “Classic Punk” jewelry collections each capture a distinct spirit of celebration.
CrimeSep 02, 2026
CA Jeweler Gets 5 Years in ‘Phantom Rolex’ Ponzi SchemeNelson Holdo of Newport Beach pleaded guilty to multiple counts of felony grand theft and writing bad checks and was sentenced Monday.
AuctionsSep 02, 2026
If You Love Cats, This Jewelry Auction Is for YouCat ladies of the jewelry world, unite. Sandy Lerner’s “significant” collection of cat jewelry and other objects is going up for auction.
MajorsSep 02, 2026
Messika Names Former Omega Exec as New President, CEO of AmericasArnaud Michon, the former Omega USA President, will now lead Messika’s Americas region during its international development.
Events & AwardsSep 02, 2026
Emerald’s New Owner Introduces ‘Glitter in the Grove’The branding references the back-to-back jewelry shows that new parent company Forge will host in Miami's Coconut Grove this November.
AuctionsSep 01, 2026
UK Woman Uncovers Rare Patek Philippe Watch in Mom’s Jewelry BoxThe stainless steel Patek Philippe “Calatrava” watch from the 1930s sold for nearly $80,000 at a recent Hansons Cornwall auction.
ColumnistsSep 01, 2026
Your Jewelry Marketing Has a Bridal ProblemEngagement rings are important but don’t ignore the customers who are buying jewelry “just because,” Emmanuel Raheb writes.
MajorsSep 01, 2026
Kering Names New Pomellato, DoDo CEOsFormer Pomellato CEO Sabina Belli has been named president of Kering Italia amid a shakeup of Kering's new Jewelry division.
MajorsSep 01, 2026
Anne Marie Shulman Joins GPA GlobalThe veteran luxury packaging executive was appointed to help the company grow its North American business.
CrimeAug 31, 2026
$4M Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Necklace Snatched From Vienna Museum Once the property of an Egyptian queen, the necklace was part of a larger exhibition of VCA jewelry at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).
GradingAug 31, 2026
GIA, Gübelin Gem Lab Confirm New Paraíba Tourmaline Deposit in EthiopiaThe labs’ separate investigations each determined that the East African country is producing copper-bearing tourmaline.
Events & AwardsAug 31, 2026
Wisconsin Museum to Host Jewelry Exhibition“Chicago Collects: Jewelry in Perspective” at the Oshkosh Public Museum will feature works by Fabergé, Lalique, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
CollectionsAug 31, 2026
Catbird Launches First Men’s Jewelry CollectionThe “Worn Well” collection is Catbird's take on classic men's jewelry.
CollectionsAug 28, 2026
Dolly Parton Would Have Loved This Butterfly Necklace This Buddha Mama butterfly is our Piece of the Week honoring the legend, who embraced the beautiful insect as her symbol.
SourcingAug 28, 2026
Gareth Penny to Give Opening Speech at CIBJO Centenary CongressThe former De Beers CEO, and perhaps its next owner, will be a featured speaker at the event, slated for Sept. 4-7 in Italy.
IndependentsAug 28, 2026
Day’s Jewelers Honored With 3 Workplace AwardsThe employee-owned jeweler was named a “Best Place to Work” in Maine, New Hampshire, and for women.
CollectionsAug 27, 2026
Pandora Expands ‘Talisman’ Collection as Lawsuit Continues The second iteration of the jewelry collection was inspired by the zodiac and the four elements: earth, water, air and fire.
SourcingAug 27, 2026
OFAC Renews License Allowing Import of ‘Grandfathered’ Russian Diamonds General License 104B supersedes General License 104A, which was set to expire on Sept. 1.
CrimeAug 27, 2026
Customs Seizes Nearly 900 Pieces of Counterfeit JewelryThe package, intercepted in Indianapolis, contained fake Cartier, Tiffany & Co., and Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry.
