Yay

Created by Julie and founded in 2014 in Paris, Yay is a French fashion jewellery and goldsmiths' pieces house that offers fine jewellery, handcrafted in their workshop in the 11th arrondissement, using noble materials that stand the test of time. YAY jewellery is characterised by great finesse and impeccable quality, thanks to a choice of quality materials: natural stones, laminated 14-carat gold, 925 silver and 18-carat gold. YAY jewellery is designed to be resistant and waterproof, so you can wear it every day without the risk of it changing colour, peeling or fading. You'll want to stack and collect these colourful gold jewels, so eye-catching are these small, lucky charm-like pieces. Each piece of jewellery is created by the power of the hand alone, without machines or soldering. Thanks to their unique know-how, the art of thread, an expert gesture that is passed on in their Paris workshop.

100%

MADE IN PARIS
15

CRAFTSMEN TRAINED IN 2 YEARS
100%

ARTISANAL
1

TRAINING CREATED IN FASHION JEWELLERY

"We have a very S CSR mission, i.e. social, we relocate traditional know-how"

Can you give us a brief introduction to YAY?

JULIE : At Yay, we create jewellery sets for women's bodies, made up of fine jewels that combine to create the most beautiful compositions.

What is your background and what led you to this project?

JULIE : I launched Yay ten years ago, when I was working at Canal + and self-taught in jewellery. I wanted to create high-quality, elegant jewellery that I could wear every day without ever taking it off, and that's how I created my first pieces. I wear over sixty pieces of jewellery that I never take off, it's a bit like lingerie, it's a purchase you make for yourself and then it becomes part of your identity.

What are the 3 words that define you?

JULIE : I'd say number 1, creative, I'm always full of ideas and desires, I like to create things that give people emotions, to strike that little chord that means when a customer tries on a piece of jewellery, she can't leave without it, it's that sparkle that I like to create. Then there's the ambition: I want to make things that count and that last, to prove that it's possible to create quality jewellery, to employ craftsmen. I'm also very sensitive, I'm a sensor, the decisions I make are dictated by my emotional sensors, I have a lot of information that comes to me from sensitivity, it's important to create and understand people.

What do you consider to be the attributes of beautiful jewellery?

JULIE : A beautiful piece of jewellery is first and foremost a piece of quality jewellery. For me, what's important is the detail, the finishing touches, we have our own expertise in the art of wire, all our jewellery is full of details linked to the gold wire that we weave, shape and twist. A beautiful piece of jewellery is a quality piece of jewellery, with detail and that is sensorial, a piece of jewellery takes on meaning and comes alive when it is worn, the touch is solicited, the sight with the changing colours, there is the noise of the rushes, it moves, it clashes, it makes noise, a sensorial piece of jewellery is a piece of jewellery that solicits all the senses and above all the touch.

What's your favourite Yay item?

JULIE : It's the mitten, I never take it off, I wash myself and do sport with it. Before, it was body jewellery, which I still wear and which you can tell when I'm wearing a low-cut neckline or a crop top in summer. But my new favourite piece is hand jewellery, which is a vintage trend from the year 2000, but for me the inspiration is more oriental, as my mum is Lebanese and my dad is Sicilian.

What is the creative process at Yay?

JULIE : The first trigger is emotion. For example, there was the moon reflecting on the sea from my mother's house. From this story we did iconographic research, and began to decipher the markers of this collection. Once we have the colours and markers for the models, we mix the techniques and work with our jewellers in the workshop to create a jewel of the highest quality.

Do you draw inspiration from vintage to create your collections?

JULIE : One source of inspiration for me is my mother's jewellery. I try things on, take photos, transpose, and often ideas are born that way.

Do you buy vintage for yourself too?

JULIE : Yes, especially in winter. I'm always very cold, and I find vintage fabrics very warm... You can't find real knitwear, mohair or jumpers with pearls these days! I also go into my family's wardrobe for vintage dresses. I love the charm, the culture of beauty, good quality and the little details that I find in vintage.

What do you think about the carbon impact of fashion today?

JULIE : It's great that it's a topical issue, we're absolutely right to bring it to the fore. Brands today have a societal role to play, and it's also good for a brand to have a value proposition that corresponds to the ecological issues and the customer's problems. Yay par design I created it in a rather ecological way because I started by creating my own jewellery that I sent to customers and when I grew up, I delegated but everything remained very close to me, we never relocated, even a logistics workshop, everything is here with us, we work in a very reduced circuit, everything is made in our workshop, without machines, without moulds and without subcontracting, the craftsman makes the jewel from A to Z then it goes down to logistics which sends it to the customer.

How did you raise awareness of CSR issues among your team?

JULIE : I'm lucky that the whole team is very committed to these issues from the outset, and I'm often asked to take action. It's a real drive for the girls who apply to work for us, because our mission is very S CSR, i.e. social, we relocate traditional know-how, and we offer careers and jobs in the heart of Paris, which attracts people who have the whole CSR eco-system in their heads.

What are the key measures?

JULIE : We don't have any stock of finished products, but we do have plenty of stock of raw materials. We have beautiful stones and chains that we don't use any more, so it was the perfect opportunity to work with Imparfaite to revalue these stocks of dormant materials.

Do you have a brand or an ecological initiative that has inspired you recently for Yay?

JULIE : Asphalte, they produce to order to offer affordable prices on musts have, they tick all the boxes for sustainable fashion, they engage the community a lot with surveys to find out what design to create, we'd like to do that too, integrate our committed customers into our design process.