Italian Jewelry Company, Anna e Alex
This week, we had the opportunity to speak with Alex Sales, the co-founder of Italian jewelry company Anna e Alex, who gave us insight into the background of her business. This featured article dives into the history of the company as well as what makes it unique.
Introduce yourself: What is your name? Where are you from? And what is your background?
Alessandra Sales is my name. I am an EU and USA citizen. I was born in NY and raised between Italy and the USA. I have also lived many years in Switzerland, and presently I live in Sutri, in the Tuscia area between Rome and Viterbo. This beautiful village was founded by Etruscans, conquered by ancient Romans to then become an important hub for the Church in its prime glory. I finally have found a home after years of moving around.
After majoring in History and studying Law, I became a PR professional for a major communications agency and then a top manager in a luxury group where I met Anna Neri, my business partner at Anna e Alex.
What is the origin story of Anna e Alex? Where does the name come from? When and where did the brand start?
Anna e Alex was founded in 2006 and is based in Rome. Our names identify our brand. Growing up, we followed our passions. Without boring you with many details, what we both can state is that we have never been guided by the ambition to prove something to others. We simply challenged ourselves, and we really did many things. We have always been led by a relentless need to excel in all that comes our way making the best of all the many opportunities that we created for ourselves. We worked hard and we became dedicated professionals helping us gain the expertise that we are now using for Anna e Alex. Our ambition is to design original jewelry made with love by excellent Italian artisans that guarantee high quality and unique workmanship. We have a small, niche company with clients from all over the world. This makes us smile!
What are three things, above all else, you want people to know about your brand?
We have always described Anna e Alex as being a jewelry brand of color, lightness, unique combinations of materials and superb Italian craftsmanship. I have added this fourth characteristic. I hope you do not mind.
What are the details about Anna e Alex’s most recent project/collection? What was the inspiration for this project/collection?
Prior to speaking about our two new major projects, you must know that we have so far focused on different types of workmanships: the art of passementerie, enamel finishing, cameo making, silver chiseling and the art of cotton design. You might want to check our website to see our different worlds. We usually introduce two collections per year and let me also take this occasion to say that we have always followed our personal sense of aesthetics for our creativity. We of course live in a world of trends, but they have never directly influenced our creative process. This makes our jewelry evergreen. In fact, our jewelry has a contemporary feel which means that it can be worn and appreciated throughout the years.
This year, we have decided to focus on our cameos. We are about to introduce new earring collections called Seduzione Deco (animals seducing each other) and Flora and Fauna which celebrates nature. These earrings are colorful since we use colored quartz drops to highlight the beauty of the shell which is hand engraved by our expert artisans based in Torre del Greco near Naples. We are also working on something more minimal with a collection of charms that celebrates time. What we want to do with this collection is to highlight what we have learned to appreciate during COVID-19 lockdown, i.e. time. Time is a precious resource, and we had the chance to design our time by focusing on activities that nourish our souls, mind, and body. Time, used in the right way, can help create another precious resource which is positive energy. The collection will be called Design your Time.
There is another great project we are working on which happened to enter our creative process due to our age. Anna and I started needing reading glasses (we are young but not that young) and we always refused to wear the traditional eyewear necklaces with two hanging cords or chains; you know what I am talking about... So this led us to lose our glasses all the time until bingo! We came up with the idea of an eyewear chain with a magnetic mechanism that we ended up patenting. This helped us create eyewear chains that are pretty to wear and practical to use. We ended up being contacted by an Italian eyewear brand Eyepetizer asking us to design exclusively for them based on a partnership. The collections are now called Eyepetizer by Anna e Alex. Again, the necklaces are characterized by the originality of the patented mechanism and by the elegance, playfulness, and lightness which distinguish both Italian brands.
As for other co-branding projects, for the time being, we do not have anything else in the pipeline, but one never knows.
Who/what are some influences for Anna e Alex?
We are inspired by nature and art, especially the Liberty and Art Deco styles.
What are some things that make Anna e Alex special?
What we want to transmit through our jewelry is a joyful state of mind. Not only through our aesthetics but also due to what is behind the scenes. We only work with Italian-based artisans that have become masters of their expertise through a tradition of high-quality craftsmanship transferred to them throughout the years. Anna e Alex is about re-interpreting traditional Italian craftsmanship with a contemporary twist.
What are five adjectives you would use to describe Anna e Alex?
Colorful, light, joyful, artistic, ethically handmade Italian.
What can we expect from Anna e Alex in the future?
The pandemic highlighted the need for us to focus on our personal engagement with our clients. We are small, niche and we want to use this as an advantage to ensure top quality, personalized services, and custom-made creativity.
We really loved learning more about Anna e Alex, and we hope you enjoyed it too. We always appreciate brands that exercise ethical and sustainable practices. Be sure to check out their website and social media, which are linked below.
Website: https://annaealex.com
Anna e Alex Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annaealexofficial/
Anna e Alex Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annaealexofficial/