A Curated Online Jewelry Boutique

Our Interview with Shana Ready from The ROPES made in maine

Featured Designer of the Month of November

This month we are really excited to feature one of our newest designers here at Love & Pieces. We started carrying The Ropes just over a month ago and have been selling at an incredible rate. Today we sit with Shana Ready from The ROPES and learn more about her and the brand.

We love The Ropes bracelets, can you give a little background about how you got started in the jewelry business?

For me, jewelry has always been a vehicle to keep memories alive – some of my favorite pieces I inherited from my grandmother and I've always respected the power jewelry has as a tether to a certain person or time.

As a child, I was very interested in weaving and beading. So, basically as far back as I can remember I've been making jewelry for myself and for friends. But it was just a hobby that I never thought much of, especially when I was focused on my career in apparel design. Funnily enough though, The ROPES was actually born from this childhood habit.  One snowy winter day I was fooling around with some of my husband's lobster gear and made two bracelets, which would later become the Kennebunkport and Portland styles. I started wearing them around; my friends loved them and encouraged me to approach local stores.

What inspires you in your jewelry design as well as your personal style?

My home is absolutely the inspiration for my work; coastal living, the beach, the natural beauty of Maine and the working waterfront. All the rope I use is authentic dock line, quite literally the stuff you would use to tie up boats. You could walk down to any marina and you would see it. The clasps are also marine hardware. I think there is enormous beauty in utility.

My surroundings are also my personal style inspiration.  I am basically a tomboy who loves fashion so I tend to juxtapose pieces. The Ropes is a reflection of that because the bracelets can be rustic and casual, but throw them on with a rhinestone bracelet and they take on a whole new look! One thing I firmly believe is that you should make whatever you wear somehow your own - in the way you style it or, say, change a button. To me that's style. Fashion can be quite generic but it is how you wear something that gives it personality.

Describe The Ropes Customer in 3 words?

Fashionable, effortless, authentic.

What has been the most rewarding experiences in your career so far?

My most rewarding career experience has been carving out a fashion career in a place where everyone said it would be impossible.  Living in New York and Boston was great but it wasn’t where my heart was.  For a long time I thought that my love for Maine, for my home and fashion were irreconcilable. However, it wasn’t until I listened to myself and took the risk in coming back to Maine that I was able to build the career that I always wanted.

When you are not working, what can we find you doing?

Wrangling children mostly, making sure everyone is fed and bathed and homework is done—not very glamorous!  But when all that is done, we love to spend time as a family on husband’s lobster boat exploring the coast and the endless coves and islands near our home. 

What is the best part of living in Maine for you?

I loved living in Boston and New York City, the nearly effortless access to art and culture is unparalleled. After a while though, it was just that, the sheer saturation that I loved as a consumer, I found challenging as a creator. In Maine, inspiration is less obvious, it needs to be sought out, unearthed, earned a bit more, and that's where my creative process lives.

Tell your top three Instagramers you are following?

For fashion, Blair Eadie from Atlantic Pacific @blaireadiebee

For design, Aaron Machalovic @michalovicwoodart

For whimsy, Sujean Rim @sujeanpics

Lastly, what is your favorite piece of jewelry you own and why?

I have a very unique pair of rings that were my grandmother’s; they are mid-century modern, bauble rings.  Whenever I wear them I am reminded of her, she had a very eclectic, bold sense of style that had a huge influence on me.  

The Good News is you can get 10% OFF the entire collection: The ROPES made in Maine This Month Only.. Enter Code: ROPES10