#Weekly
SOAPOPERA MEETS LIL
// Just like a tattoo
AN INTERVIEW BY FEDERICA CIUCI PRIORI
Simple, wearable, elegant.
Let me introduce you the second-skin-jewelry line of 9k-18k gold pieces so affordable you will not be able to live without it anymore.
I discovered LIL some months ago and I was immediately attracted by the fine chokers and the lovely rings.
From the inspirational IG account to the sweet newsletters, this brand makes you want to buy a special gift for yourself and your bff every single time.
So we asked Veroniva Varetta – the founder and the designer of the brand – to meet for a glass of wine and some chit chat about business, female networking and gold obviously.
Young, blonde, smart and – most important – down to hearth, VV told us a lil bit about self-confidence, determination and dedication, bringing us in a small, comfortable and sparkling world full of delicacy and positivity.
This milanese babe is the living proof that dreams can come true if you are open mind, work hard and listen to yourself, your feelings and what’s around you.
Welcome to the LIL universe where you can be yourself, just brighter without breaking the bank 😉
Federica. Ciao VV! To begin with, tell us a bit about your background and your brand, LIL (love the name). How did you get where you are now?
VV. I think I’ve always been into “building things” – if you know what I mean. Long story short, I studied Economics and Arts at Università Cattolica, then I fell in love with a guy that lived in NYC so I graduated and decided to move there. I found a job in the Marketing and Events department at Prada, where I met the best mentors. Prada was definitely my hard core ‘”how to get shit done” school. I worked there for one year and then I was involved in other two very interesting projects: the no profit art exhibition opening of One Planet One Future by Anne de Carbuccia and Marina Abramovich’s 70th Birthday party at the Guggenheim with the Kreemart team.
Federica. Describes LIL in 3 words
VV. Effortless, Essential, Gold
Federica. We know you have a passion for the interior design. Where the LIL aesthetic exactly came from?
VV. After high school I wanted to get into design school but I never persued that road because I was worried not to be “creative enough” – biggest mistake ever.
I believe LIL’s aesthetic comes from the two worlds I lived in recently: New York’s midtown skyscrapers and Milan’s historical beauty.
Federica. The idea of the jewel as a tattoo. Something you can actually wear everyday, sleep with and most important… afford! Your creations are 100% 9k or 18k gold but all the young ladies out there can buy them without getting into debt with their bank account (yesss!). How did you find the right compromise between quality and price?
VV. To me, finding a compromise between beauty and affordability is one of the hardest things of the job. Sometimes I dream of making these beautiful diamond 18kt gold chokers and then I’m like “hold on one sec, I couldn’t afford these so neither my LILgirls”.
I want to create jewels that are wearable in the everyday life, like a precious second skin.
LIL has to be affordable luxury, that you can gift to yourself or to your BFF with no specific reasons, just for the joy of it.
Federica. From Milan to New York and then back… and now you live between Italy and the Usa. How much these two city influence your creative process? How much Milan and how much NY is there in your creations?
VV. I started appreciating Milan only when I moved to NYC, after college I kept on looking for ways to get out of Italy. Now I’m able to get the best of both cities, New York keeps me hungry and open minded and Milan keeps me balanced and energized. I think I couldn’t stay without one or the other – creativity comes from what I experience and what I feel, I always have to keep on moving in order not to get stuck. Does it make any sense?
Federica. They said: from Prada to Nada. It’s not clearly your case! After working for the maison, Condé Nast and even the Guggenheim you ended up focusing 100% on your own project. An independent business female owner, what advice would you share with every girl interested in starting their own brand?
VV. On my inspirational board I have a note that I wrote 8 years ago that says: quitters won’t go anywhere.
That’s my advice to you, if you feel like you have an entrepreneurial spirit go for it. Learn as much as you can from people with more experience, be curious, listen carefully, ask the right questions and be hungry because every small achievement will be yours truly.
Federica. What does it mean beauty for you? Where do you find inspiration and how do you organize it?
VV. I never studied design so it’s been challenging to find my own kind of beauty. I had to discover things on my own, but I believe it’s also a strength, I look at things with an open mind and without a pre learned structure in my head. I normally come up first with ideas and concepts and then visualize a shape, a design. It happens in the weirdest moments so I try to take notes and scratch everywhere I can.
Federica. Tell me about the girl of your dreams, who are the women who buy your jewels?
VV. I’m learning everyday something new about LILgirls, they’re fresh, intelligent, funny, self confident girls that think with their own head. They inspire me to improve myself everyday.
Federica. If LIL was a: place, an artist and a film.
VV. Place: New York City in the 1920s,
Artist: Harley Weir
Movie: Hidden Figures
Federica. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
VV. Involved in amazing new projects and giving back to young women entrepreneaurs with big dreams.
Federica. My special last question. Here at SoapOpera we like to call ourselves #busysexyeasy. If you had to choose a hashtag that represents you , which would it be?
VV. #LILgirls of course!
In these pictures: Veronica Varetta, Calypso and Cassiopea 9kt white and black, Sweet Spot, Moony 9kt gold / white and black and Boys Tears.
All the images courtesy of LIL.
