Lois Hill, the hand-crafted silver jewelry designer, has signed a license agreement with New York City–based Unique Designs to distribute and sell her product.
Hill (pictured) launched the mostly sterling silver line in 1997. Her jewelry carries $100 to $1,000 price points and has dotted the shelves of Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Jared.
“The product is unique,” Unique Designs CEO Tejas Shah tells JCK. “Everything is handwoven, which is very rare these days.”
Lois Hill previously had a licensing agreement with Deconic, the Brooklyn, N.Y.–based subsidiary of Brooks Brothers Group.
Unique Designs’ Shah says the line fills a niche that companies like his don’t typically venture into.
“It’s something that we don’t have currently in our product mix,” he explains. “We already do a lot of diamond business, but this has zero overlap [with that]. It’s a nice extension for us.”
While Unique, also known as Kiran Jewels, is an Indian company, the product will continue to be manufactured in different parts of the world, Shah says.
“It’s not something we could just take to India and produce ourselves,” he says. “We want to maintain the integrity of the brand. We will continue to [produce it] like she has done.”
The deal calls for Unique Designs to fund and handle distribution and sales of the line. Shah is hoping to get it placed in department stores, jewelry retailers, online, and other major channels. It plans to boost promotion for the line and increase use of the designer herself as a brand spokesperson, Shah says.
In a statement, Hill called Unique Designs “among the most progressive and innovative leaders in the fine jewelry industry.
“We have [their] strong position and solid relationships in the industry that will give the Lois Hill brand an incredible opportunity for multichannel growth,” she added.
(Images courtesy of Unique Designs)
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