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Alex Woo’s Latest Collaboration Is Pretty Sweet
She recently launched Alex Woo x Sugarfina, a collection of four designs based on the candy brand’s confections.
In May, the New York-based designer announced that she has teamed up with Sugarfina co-founder Roise O’Neill for Alex Woo x Sugarfina, a line based on their favorite confections from the candy brand.
Crafted in sterling silver and 14-karat rose and yellow gold, the line has four designs: the Champagne Bear, the Pink Flamingo, the Ice Cream Cone and the But First, Rosé Rose.
Alex Woo x Sugarfina is sold exclusively on AlexWoo.com and is priced between $148 and $848. For a limited time, each design is being sold with a cube of Sugarfina candy.
Woo’s partnership with the candy company is the latest in a line of creative collaborations for the New York-bred and -based designer, who started making jewelry more than 20 years ago.
In the past, she’s teamed with Major League Baseball, designed for Disney and, last fall, joined up with Smith & Cult, a nail polish and cosmetics brand, to a create a line to mark the debut of her new “Autograph” collection of cursive letters.
When she is looking for a brand to partner with, Woo said she searches for a company that, first, she admires and secondly, is a fit for fine jewelry.
Sugarfina, for example, is a candy company created by adults for adults, with cocktail-inspired flavors and clean, upscale stores. A small cube of the brand’s candies is $7.50, while a 2.5-pound bag runs $40.
And Smith & Cult’s cosmetics are sold at store like Saks Fifth Avenue and Bluemercury, and its bottles of nail lacquer are $18.
Woo’s goal: to bring a new audience to fine jewelry via brands that have a solid base of sophisticated female clients who appreciate quality.
“As a designer, one of my missions is to continually make jewelry something that women will be proud to wear, and feel emotionally connected to,” she said. “I personally feel that jewelry should be at the top of every woman’s accessory wish list, not just a designer bag or a pair of shoes.
“Jewelry not only has intrinsic value but represents an emotional and sentimental connection that is unparalleled with any other accessory.”
Smith & Cult was the brainchild of Jeanne Chavez and Dineh Mohajer, one of the founders of popular ‘90s makeup brand Hard Candy, while O’Neill started Sugarfina with husband Josh Resnick.
What Woo finds in working with other women who started their own companies is that there are a lot of synergies.
“It’s been personally exciting and fulfilling to work with them. As fellow female entrepreneurs, it’s heartwarming to see how much we can, and want, to help each other,” she said.
While the Sugarfina and Smith & Cult-inspired lines are sold exclusively on AlexWoo.com, the Autograph collection, which now includes rings and earrings as well as Woo’s signature charms, is available to independent retailers in sterling silver and 14-karat yellow gold.
Woo is also now offering her “Little Icons” in 18-karat high-polished gold in addition to her usual brushed matte finish.
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