Today we’d like to introduce you to Talla Kuperman.
Hi Talla, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My founder story is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. It is an example of triumph found within trauma. I hope that my story, as well as my jewelry, brings hope and inspiration to others who may find themselves in a similar situation.
Ten years ago, I lost my incredibly handsome and sweet brother Amir to a rare stomach cancer. We were very close siblings. Close in age, we are only 2 years apart, and close in relationship. We were the best of friends. I had the privilege of having him in my life until he was 32. After Amir’s passing, I remember wandering around the world surrounded by a thick cloud of grief, sadness and general confusion about the turn that our lives had taken. At the funeral home where I was making his arrangements, they handed me a packet with a whole slew of information as well as a copy of my brother’s fingerprints. I realized quickly that there was a niche jewelry market that makes fingerprint jewelry so you can physically be able to touch a part of your loved ones body. I adored the idea and knew that not only did I want to have a piece like that made from my brother’s fingerprints but I actually needed to be able to physically hold his hand again.
I looked at the options and styles offered to me but none of them felt right to me. Most were incredibly gaudy and just not my vibe and I wanted something that was both beautiful as well as worthy of my brother’s legacy. I spent almost an entire decade waiting around for someone to create the vision that I had in mind. Once the pandemic hit, I realized that so many people are experiencing the same feeling of profound loss I had experienced. I came to the conclusion that it was time to build the courage to be the person who creates that amazing line of fingerprint jewelry to not only fill a demand in the grief world but also bring a feeling of connection to people in a time when they need it most. That was the birth of Love Talla. A line of stylish and meaningful fingerprint jewelry to tell the stories and help us feel connected to our most cherished souls.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of my business journey has been so smooth and so easy and some of it has been incredibly difficult. I hold a BS in Biochemistry and I spent 13 years working in risk analysis for large insurance companies so as you can see, I had zero experience starting a jewelry line. I had to learn everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, from scratch. In addition to making stylish and beautiful fingerprint jewelry, I also set out to solve some of the problems that I experienced in the fingerprint jewelry world. For example, there were a few artists that were creating gorgeous pieces of fingerprint jewelry but the prices were astronomical and absolutely unattainable for the masses. I wanted my line to be of the highest quality but the price to be as low as possible so that I could bring joy to as many people as I could.
I ran into a lot of confusion about the ordering and the obtaining of the fingerprint process. I put a lot of technology behind this solution so that the customer experience would be fully transparent, easy and seamless. But I was on a major time crunch because I wanted to launch my business in time for Mother’s Day. Love Talla fingerprint pendants make incredible gifts for moms who love wearing meaningful and sentimental jewelry. But the reality of a pandemic born business was that we were living in unprecedented times. Many businesses had to close their doors, there was major disruption in global supply chains, communication with production factories was near impossible and one of the biggest challenges that I would have never been able to foresee was the fact that no production factory was willing to take a chance on a brand new jewelry line backed by a founder that had zero experience in the jewelry industry. The only reason Love Talla is in existence today is because of the people who felt moved by my story and my desire to build a legacy in my brother’s name and took a major chance on me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Love Talla?
Love Talla is a passion project of mine dedicated to my late brother’s legacy but also dedicated to my rad little daughter Lexi for whom I live my life for. I specialize in fingerprint jewelry that is stylish and elegant as well as incredibly meaningful and sentimental. What sets me apart from my competitors are my en vogue styles, a seamless customer experience, and the personal touch that goes into the creation of every single pendant.
One thing that I didn’t predict was how far the reach would be on my Love Talla fingerprint concept. Having discovered this jewelry niche in the grief world, I knew that people who wanted to create remembrance necklaces were an obvious customer base. Being a mom and loving any type of personalized, one-of-a-kind jewelry that represents my love for my daughter made me realize that “mom jewelry” was also an easy transition. The Dog Mom base is something I would have never been able to predict. I love seeing how many fur baby paw prints and nose prints cross my production line.
I also adore the Best Friend Necklace line. The BFF line put me on the map by getting Love Talla featured in Wall Street Journal amongst major jewelry giants. The line is a modern and personalized twist to the old school BFF necklaces but now you can wear your bestie’s fingerprint around your neck. I am most proud of the fact that I have been able to cross over thresholds that were not recognized before and bring the beauty of fingerprint jewelry to the mainstream jewelry world.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
This is probably a good question to ask my childhood friends but I was generally a super social, fun-loving kid. I put feeling like I was a part of a community above all else and loved all my friends to bits and pieces. Looking back, my desire to be a part of a tight-knit group came from the fact that we are immigrants to this country. I was 9 when I moved to the US and it was the second country that I had moved to in my short life. I was born in Iran and my family and I left when I was five. The only country that was willing to take us in as refugees of war at that time was Switzerland. I spent three years of my childhood living in a refugee camp in a tiny town called Bremgarten where my brother and I had the most magical childhood experiences. I will forever be indebted to all the wonderful human beings in Switzerland who helped us thrive in their beautiful country. Once we landed in the US, it was very important to my parents that we acclimated to our new culture and that we set down strong roots. My roots came from my community and friendships. Thirty years later, these are the same people I run to for anything and everything and I know they feel the same way about me.
Pricing:
- Sterling Silver Line: $170-250
- Fine Jewelry Line: $900-$1,800
Contact Info:
- Email: info@lovetalla.com
- Website: https://www.lovetalla.com/
- Instagram: @lovetalla
- Facebook: Love Talla
Image Credits:
Karla Hernz of KollectiveLuv Photography Professional Photography, INC. (Product Photos)
