When designer Sophie Buhai shuttered her ready-to-wear collection Vena Cava, she decided to devote herself full-time to the West Coast. After returning to Los Angeles from New York, Buhai entered new territory with the launch of a namesake e-commerce site in March, selling her first jewelry and home collections. As for the idea of selling jewelry and home furnishings together: put simply, it’s because both elements coexist in Buhai’s universe. The designs are bold, and have an earthy, grown-up vibe where everything on the site is one aesthetic that is translated into spaces, home objects, and jewelry.
Buhai features vintage finds, including Arne Jacobsen tea rests and Nathalie Du Pasquier napkin rings, alongside objects she’s making herself, like a black U-shaped ikebana vase. The sculptural jewelry reads classic, as she’s not trying to reinvent the wheel- she’s just trying to make pieces that last forever. Although her creations often reference the work of others, including Robert Mapplethorpe, they are each and every bit her design, hand made by a silversmith in downtown L.A. and a woodworker in Pacific Palisades. www.sophiebuhai.com
