Bliss Lau — The Bare Magazine

Bliss Lau caught our attention with her striking style and beauty coupled with her superb artistic talents. She has been making innovative and luscious pieces of fine jewelry to adorn the body and feed the soul for quite some time. So we jumped at the opportunity to visit her newly remodeled NYC studio and follow her on her way to pick up her 4 year old daughter from Pre K. Sunlight flooded her lovely space as we photographed her wearing her favorite pieces of wardrobe, jewels and perfect cat eye. Scroll down as we discuss her mission, being a Fairmined Certified brand, beauty, self-care, style and who cuts her rad hair! Thanks for letting us follow you Bliss.

The Bare Magazine: It was so lovely shooting in your newly redecorated studio. Loved your original body chains from your very beginnings! What kinds of meet ups take place there?

Bliss Lau: The studio is a place for sharing and showing our work. It is also my creative space for thinking and designing. We focus a lot on learning about people before we create jewelry for them, so we made the studio really cozy so that when you come in, you feel comfortable. The energy is really light and joyful.

Bare: How would describe your aesthetic and mission with your work/creations?

BL: My aesthetic is fluid and connected to the body, referencing primary, foundational shapes. I explore open-negative spaces and movement and my work and create a certain kind of symbolism around how the pieces interact with you when you own and wear them.

My mission is simple. It's based on conscious, intentional design through kindness. It's a fairly radical idea in the jewelry industry to approach the making process with heart. So much of the industry is unkind but we won’t go into the dark side today. It’s very dark.

We are Fairmined Certified and work with projects like the Moyo Gem initiative that support women miners' livelihoods. We also support some quirky and sweet local miners from Montana and work with women jewelers and other lovely makers, so our pieces are infused with our ethos throughout the entire making process.

Bare: For your wardrobe, do you like vintage pieces? Who are your favorite designers and inspirational icons?

I live in the LES, a haven for good vintage finds. My favorite shop, Country Of on Essex, is a dangerous place for me. I rarely leave without indulging in a beautiful 90’s piece of Comme or Margiela.

I am very drawn to new designers with an active creative perspective. My favorite designers right now are Robert Wun and Melitta Baumeister. She makes a long sleeve velvet top with gloves connected that you can unzip at the wrists. I couldn’t resist when I saw it. I love them both for how committed they are to their inventive craft.

Norma Kamali is my go-to for all things comfortable and chic, and I also find her to be such an inspiration. I feel her energy and healthy lifestyle through her pieces.

Bare: You repurpose materials and are very earth conscious in your selections - can you describe how that informs your work?

BL: I used to have a box sleeping in my closet, and it bothered me. Gems are meant to be worn. After my grandmother passed away, I created the Empath Ring using two tiny diamonds she gave me as a child and one from her own bracelet I received. The Empath Ring symbolizes the life I shared with her, the stones represent her support and love, and the open space symbolizes the life I continue to build, the future that awaits.

I call this process ReNew. Clients arrive in the studio with their unworn jewelry, and we learn the story of their jewelry, sometimes I get to hear wild family tales, and then I start to sketch. The idea that we are working with materials that already exist on the earth is essential to me, reusing, and recycling them. Also, I create a piece that connects with the person my client is today and celebrate where they are while paying homage to their past and sometimes their ancestry.

Its powerful work. We never know what will be birthed from it. The process is fun and exciting. If you are interested, I have a ReNew quiz on my site you can take!

LINK TO : quiz on my site

Bare: You have such a distinctive hair cut and way of wearing your makeup…you make the perfect cat eye! Describe how your beauty vibe evolved, go-to products/hair stylist and how being in your look makes you feel?

BL: Wearing a sharp geometric haircut has many perks; if your hair is done, you're already dressed no matter what you wear. I have been playing with the nuances of what it means to wear a bob lately. I added in the steps with my stylist Devin Toth to freshen it up, and I think they make it less severe. In high school in Hawaii, I (of course) wore all black, and girls used to gossip that they were scared of me and accused me of dying my hair black. I always thought that was funny, but it also made me realize at sixteen the unapologetic power of self-expression.

With eyeliner, I think it has replaced nail design for me, I used to do crazy nails all the time and have recently tamed them. Eyeliner is akin to my version of a tattoo, my tiny daily personal public dialogue to the day. I have recently been playing with color, sculpting half of the eye in white or blue and pulling out the sweep in black, straight, not curved. It's fun and is part of what I love about makeup. The color I choose defines my day, mood, and sometimes even strength.

Bare: How do you balance your home life with designing and meetings and the NYC pace? Do you have a way to retreat/recharge or self-care rituals that help?

BL: Balancing is kind of a farse for me, I think if I sought balance I would live in perpetual disappointment of myself. I believe that self-care has a lot of avenues. For me it is seeing performance art regularly, experiencing outstanding cuisine, and laughing with my daughter. That is why I love NYC, so many incredible people and ways to experience their creativity.

On a weekly/daily basis, I don’t drink coffee, but I love tea. I wake up before my family every day to have some moments of solace, and a few days a week do an obé workout or meditate, then tea. I make a drink with Ashwagandha, Marine Collagen, and Puerh tea, or Matcha. I have a giant collection of bath salts. My go-to is Herbivore Coconut Milk it smells incredible and is super relaxing.

I also believe in doing something totally new at least once a year. This year I am taking a solo trip to Colombia on a provenance mission to meet some of my Fairmined Gold miners with ARM, the NGO that supports the initiative. It will inspire and brighten my life and perspective on humans and immerse me in a kind of nature I have never seen.

I am inspired by you Tina! Working with you on this shoot has been so fun. You have created a beautifully curated magazine at the intersection of your loves, makeup, photography, and supporting creative people.

Bare: Please list your top 5 Bare beauty essentials....(makeup, skincare, fragrance, haircare, treatments.)

Milk Mattifying Primer I mix this with my foundation and the buff it with a buff brush and it evens out my skin and gives me hydration nearly all day.

Sakara Foundation what goes inside affects the outside, feeling good is essential for me.

Glycolic Polymer I use this once a week and swear it transformed my skin from flakey to healthy.

Radio Bombay DS&DURGA Sandalwood, cedar, both with a warm welcome. I have one for home, one for my travel kit always.

Virtue Labs Shampoo and Conditioner with Keratin have kept my hair shiny and I don’t use any other hair shining products, just a flat iron.