Los Angeles Designer Spotlight: Tarina Tarantino
Close your mind and imagine a skylit factory overlooking a vibrant city scene...
The view is speckled with skyscrapers and vintage street signs from decades past, the sun is up and it is radiating a manageable warmth. The ambiance is equal parts Sedgwick, Warhol, Go Lightly, and a sprinkle of Wonka. The room glistens with light and is anchored by transfixing pink tentacles, pearls, splashes of technicolour at every turn, and a glistening array of installations and drawers that stow items which fill your heart with joy. The vibrations invite you to indulge and express the sparkle that resides within you. Not just sequins, glitter, rhinestones, or the like but the energy that sparks your individuality… Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? Something so fantastical that it couldn’t possibly be a place on earth. Perhaps only tangible to the stretch of one’s imagination, on the silver screen, or an engrossing work of fiction…
Well in fact, it’s time to open your mind as it is very real and quite possibly the most Instagrammable boutique in Los Angeles. Tarina Tarantino (world renowned fashion jewelry and accessories designer), recently opened her glorious Sparkle Factory to much fanfare. I was fortunate enough to finally meet the beloved icon prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. TT’s Sparkle Factory is currently still open by appointment only. Tarina and her team have implemented additional measures to ensure the health and safety of every client and member of staff. During this uncertain time, please do not visit The Sparkle Factory without a confirmed appointment. They are staggering engagements in order to practice social distancing. Please contact Team Tarina Tarantino via their website or social media to schedule your own custom visit, and read on for my brilliant interview with this living legend. We had so much fun, and touched base on a little of everything. So whether this is your introduction to her, or you’re catching up, I hope that something will resonate with you or that you may be able to share a word or two. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
She’s not just a doll, she’s a boss! What a spectacularly iconic moment<3
How did the idea for The Sparkle Factory come to fruition?
Tarina Tarantino: The Sparkle Factory was born because we were outgrowing our old location very rapidly. We were at a point in our business that we were able to do that, and I always think that’s a really good thing to do once you have the money to invest in something that is going to be there for the long term. In 2007, we found this incredible building in downtown LA — right on Broadway. We’ve slowly been restoring the building since, and we recently moved our entire company in. That was always the dream of mine, to have a factory of my own, where I could make all of my items right here. A sort of magical place like Willy Wonka, because that’s one of my favourite books from childhood. Because I am such a fan of LA, I thought it would be a good idea to be in the heart of the Fashion District.
What do you love most about downtown Los Angeles?
Tarina Tarantino: Everyday there’s something opening up. We have a lot of great retail stores, and there’s just such a great creative energy in downtown which I love. It’s such a community of creatives; everyone’s excited about what’s happening. I think in all of Los Angeles, downtown is the most exciting creative area. There’s artists, there’s happenings, there’s openings and events. All kinds of things, so I think if you’re looking for inspiration, if you’re a designer or a creative, come to downtown LA and check it out! We’re also a stones throw from FIDM, we get a lot of FIDM students who visit. Definitely come by the Sparkle Factory and see us, we would love to have you.
You’ve had an incredible, illustrious career -- how did you get your start?
Tarina Tarantino: I started my business when I was twenty two years old, out of my apartment with my now husband, Alfonzo. We didn’t know a whole lot at first, we learned along the way and so we went to business school, kind of the hard way. I think that one of the main reasons that the company exploded the way that it did was because it was the mid nineties, during that time it was the height of minimalism in fashion. It was all about Calvin Klein white and very minimalistic styling. There were no really colourful accessories on the landscape. I think it was kind of a breath of fresh air for consumers when we came along, we were the complete opposite of what had been the norm. We were colour, we were sparkles, we were large pieces and hair accessories; things that just weren’t available. It’s very important to have an idea, but make sure that it is uniquely yours. Something that is very different. It is a little more challenging today because of the internet and social media. You put your ideas out there, and worry that somebody might make them and knock them off, but as long as you’re coming up with something new all of the time (and you have to really come up with a lot of newness all the time), you’ll be fine. That is what is very important; the unique idea.
Speaking of unique ideas, what is your design process like now? Has it changed? How would you describe your design evolution?
Tarina Tarantino: My process is the same that it’s always been, I get inspired by everything. I’m inspired by so much. I can be inspired by something I see in a movie, a lyric in a song, a piece of art, a sunset, it just comes from everywhere. I used to carry a notebook, but now I just keep notes on my phone. Which is what we all do, right? For me in my collections, I love to juxtapose things that wouldn’t normally be put together. Like wood and acrylic, or Swarovski and nylon, or a ribbon with a plastic chain. There’s so many ways to juxtapose things, I just like to take all these ideas and put them into a blender and my collections come out. I’ve done things like “Techno Tribal” or “Tokyo Hardcore” even “Victorian Punk.” I really just love to mix all of the things that I love together to create my collections. You just have to be ready because ideas are like butterflies, you have to have your net ready. Catch ‘em, write ‘em down, then you’ll always have something to refer back to.
If you could go back in time, when you were starting your career, what advice would you give your younger self?
Tarina Tarantino: I would definitely say, be prepared for a lot of hard work because as hard as you think it’s going to be, it’s a million times harder. Be willing to work harder than the other people next to you, because that’s who you’re going to be competing against in life. Really, just never give up. I know that sounds cliche but it’s really true. There are times when you’re building a brand that you can feel the world is against you, nothing is going your way, what you’re trying isn’t working, and you have to be able to just buckle down and keep going. Even in the really difficult times because actually, when you’re in those times is when you’re probably going to learn the most. Don’t be afraid of failure, that’s really important because again, those are the times that you learn the best lessons. Another thing that I would have told myself (when I was starting out), is never let anyone put you in a creative box. As a creative, designer, or artist, or as anything that you want to be. You can be that in many different facets of your life, and in many different categories. Just because you’re designing clothes doesn’t mean you can’t also design accessories or write a book. I wrote a book called The Sparkle Factory, and I’m working on another book right now, so that’s very important.
DON’T EVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT YOU CAN ONLY BE THIS ‘ONE THING!’
That happened to me in the beginning, when I launched my handbag line, people said “You’re in jewelry, why would you do handbags?” Well, why not?
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO APPLY YOUR CREATIVITY TO WHATEVER MEDIUM YOU WANT!
What are the best traits to have as an entrepreneur?
Tarina Tarantino: Firstly, I am so excited to see so many women, and they’re even younger -- younger than before, deciding what they want to do. I have two teenage daughters, and I am a very big advocate of paying attention to what you’re interested in. Get started on what you want to do with your life as early as possible, especially today. There’s so much competition in fashion, there’s so many brands launching all of the time. Get started early with what you want to do. We should all look at ourselves as bosses, we want to be our own boss and build our own brand, do our thing. My biggest piece of advice that I could have for anyone going into fashion is to understand business. You want to be a designer? That’s great, you know, you’re very creative and you have all of these ideas, but at the end of the day if you want to monetize that; it’s business. I also think that it’s very important as a lot of times some designers think “Oh I’ll just do the creative part and I’ll find someone to run the business,” I don’t agree with that. You have to know everything, you can’t always put all of that into someone else’s hands and trust it’s going to work out. Even if you have a partner, it’s a friend and you want to start a business together, you should always understand the business part of whatever you are doing. Understand how to work with attorneys, and have confidentiality contracts and agreements, all of that is extremely important. That’s number one, another important piece of advice is to be inspired, be original, and have an original idea. There’s a lot of samey stuff out there, a lot of people saying “Oh they’re doing that?” “I can do that too.”
What do you love most about the current state of fashion?
Tarina Tarantino: Many years ago when I had showroom reps, before I opened my own showrooms and did it all myself, I had my brand inside of other showrooms. Sometimes reps would come up to me and say “Oh camouflage is in, can you do camouflage?” or “This is in, can you do this?” That was very hard for me because I have to create what I’m feeling, to really feel passionate about it and really make it, I have to design what I love. What I love about fashion now is that it’s completely anti-trend, I’ve always considered myself anti-trend. Anything goes; little things might come in... Really it’s funny, recently with this whole neon trend because I have done neon for fifteen years and they still sell. Neon always sells for us, but then this whole neon trend burst in, and recently fluorescent colours were everywhere. It’s kinda funny as I’ve seen it settle into a staple, where as before the trend would kinda move on. Now, some of them immediately settle into staples or just move away quickly, but really, anything goes.
That’s very true, especially with social media because you’ll see someone across the globe wearing something that’s completely different and then it kind of resurges and it’s always there.
Tarina Tarantino: I love that, as bizarre as this whole world of social media can be, if you use it properly it can be an amazing tool. I mean, even for us here. We are completely direct-to-consumer. What is really exciting is that our customer’s will look at our Instagram, and e-mail us saying “Oh what is this piece?” and we’ll respond with “Oh, that’s not on our website yet, but we can send you an invoice for it.” So we can actually sell things through Instagram by people just seeing what we have in the store. We’ll also do a 2-way chat so that they can actually see and shop from the store through Instagram. Social media is a very powerful tool if you use it in creative ways.
I love that you don’t have everything on your website because it’s just that mystery aspect. It’s like you’re just going to pop something in your store and see what it does. In turn, it’s as if someone’s finding items that are treasures to them. It’s just for them, they’re being attracted to it.
Tarina Tarantino: Exactly, I have all these drawers that are in these beautiful cabinets that host archival pieces, or pieces we never put in a collection. One of a kind items, things like that. So everytime that we post, whether it’s a photo, video, or story we have interest. It definitely is like treasure hunting, that’s why you’ve got to come visit because we have so many collections here, and you just go through the drawers and discover. I’m okay with not having everything on the website because I think that’s part of the experience. Plus, I want people to visit us. Some things you just have to see in person.
WHIMSICAL, DYNAMIC, UNIQUE, TREASURES THAT APPEAL TO EVERYONE!
What is the future of all this sparkle? What does the future look like for you?
Tarina Tarantino: The future is definitely designing new collections, collaborating with different brands, using this space as a creative place to launch collections, and host events. I’ve also started a production company with my husband who is a filmmaker. We’re working on creating content for The Sparkle Factory, short films, and even features. Our production company is called “Fuchsia Revolution,” people who have followed me for a while now know that I have had this production company. Now we are formally doing it, so there’s going to be a lot of interesting projects coming out of that as well. So just, using everything that we have created, and everything that we have learned to branch out in this new world.
“LIVE A SPARKLING LIFE AND FOLLOW YOUR SPARKLING DREAMS”
My utmost appreciation to Tarina and her staff for hosting me at The Sparkle Factory. I am still so astonished that I was actually able to meet her, and hear about her innovative life and career. She definitely blessed us all with not only her knowledge, but passion. She has always been ahead of the trends, in fact she creates them. I can’t wait to see what she does next, especially since she is a pillar to the design community that is flourishing in downtown LA. This experience has been an absolute highlight to my life in Los Angeles thus far, and it is moments like this where I am completely and utterly grateful for women who support women. Thank you so much Tarina!
To learn more about Tarina, or to try your hand at designing accessories the TT way, please be sure to pick up a copy of her book “The Sparkle Factory: The Design and Craft of Tarina’s Fashion Jewelry and Accessories by Tarina Tarantino.”
For now, I hope that you are staying safe and taking care.
Be well and most importantly, HAPPY! We’re all in this together!
What did you like most about Tarina’s interview?
Did you watch our YouTube video?
Would you like to see more content like this? Comment here or on Instagram!
**Get 10% OFF www.tarinatarantino.com WITH CODE “MADEINLA” **
Tag me if you make a purchase!
I want to see how you style her fabulous designs! USE #THATCHICHAPPENS ON IG!
Works Cted
Tarantino, Tarina. Personal Interview. January 27, 2020.