Behind The Brand / J.Hannah
Jess Hannah Révész, founder and designer of jewellery and nail polish brand J Hannah is in a good place. Her refreshing honesty and creative rigour, married with a sense playfulness, produces polishes we all want to wear. Finding inspirational jumping off points in concepts like jolie laide and Wabi-sabi off-beat colours emerge that defy description - think COMPOST and EAMES. Here she articulates her philosophy and her approach to work, life and style.
Jess wears the Stella Camisole and Bailey Shirt.
I love that you put your values, as a person and as a business, very much out in the public realm. Has 'Writing your own rule book' helped you to stay on course?
Thank you! If we are to say that I’m writing my own rule book, I would definitely emphasise writing versus having written — meaning it’s something I am continuously working on. When I started, I didn’t say to myself, I’m going to launch some big brand. And it feels the same today.
In terms of a course — while I do try to stay on one — I also find value in going off, course correcting, and so on and so on. It’s been eye-opening to go through points of expansion, only to recognize along the way that I actually want to stay small, at least for the time being. I suppose it’s that adaptability and movement that’s important in my ‘rule book’.
There’s an aspect of community that has stuck with us from growing organically online…maybe for that reason, I still try to stay transparent in real time.
"Polishes that consider the gracefulness of hands, and the role of subtle colour as an element in the considered wardrobe," is a very seductive way to express what you do (it had the effect of wanting me to buy some immediately). How did you arrive at your distinctive palette?
Often, with colors, our inspirations will begin from a more ethereal and conceptual place and ‘land’ aesthetically later. For instance, our color COMPOST is based on the notion of jolie-laide. Whereas a color like AKOYA links back more obviously to the actual pearls in our jewellery collection. Our palette is for the ‘color resistant’; it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I think overall what we’re attracted to is nuance. We don’t want the color to be so easily described, and we’ve succeeded when we’re saying…it’s a little bit this & a little bit that, but we can’t quite put our finger on it. Then suddenly we’re telling a story, and the conceptual aspect is all part of the fun.
Jess wears the Stella Camisole and Bailey Shirt.
What is the biggest compliment the brand has ever had?
The biggest compliment we’ve received as a brand remains our partnership with The Met. I could get lost looking at their jewellery collections, of course, but we’re also often referencing other artworks within our practice. Working with them has deepened those references in our work and this wellspring of inspiration feels quite limitless.
Additionally, I love when a musician or artist I respect reaches out to us to say that they admire our work. We’ll occasionally have a kind of synchronous occurrence, wherein we’ll be listening to music in the studio and later hear from a musician we’ve been playing. Those moments feel very special to us because it feels like a loop of creative inspiration and mutual appreciation — what’s better really?
I like that your naming of the polishes draws reference from Eames (Charles and Rae) to Ghost Ranch (Georgia O'Keefe), through Hepworth to compost. How do you settle on the right name?
Naming polishes is very fun. Sometimes the name comes prior to pinning down the color, other times the name is the cherry on top. Generally the polishes are a fun microcosm of influences — with emphasis on micro; a small bottle, and yet a whole creative world is possible. We can’t understate how fun it is. That being said, a lot of the time our polishes are a nod to the people and things we seriously revere.
Jess wears the Stella Camisole and Bailey Shirt.
‘Compost’ has been described as ‘ugly-chic’ which is something of a badge of honour – something that hovers between the two, creating a unique dialogue. Is that a space you enjoy inhabiting?
We do like this ‘space’, another way of looking at it is perhaps through the notion of wabi-sabi. A lot of beauty products are obsessed with perfection, but we’d like to believe there’s beauty in the imperfect as well. I will say it is perhaps easier to inhabit this space through polish than jewellery, which is more geared towards the classic and elegant. We do have fun traversing such dichotomies in design though, and I would argue that what’s artful often lives in what’s hard to pin down.
The non-toxicity, cruelty-free and locally made (USA) nature of the product is central to your brand - was that hard to balance these attributes with peromance expectations?
Making a non-toxic and cruelty free product is the ideal for our overarching principle of beauty. That being said, the reality is that this industry is rife with greenwashing, fear mongering and unregulated claims. For this reason, we really try our best not to make any false claims ourselves. Beauty products inherently are not sustainable from an environmental perspective and shouldnt be marketed as such. But this all goes back to how one defines the term sustainable in the first place. The claims of ‘sustainability’ or ‘clean beauty’ make the consumer feel as though their purchase will have a positive impact, when in reality the best thing one could do is buy, use, and waste less. So with that in mind we are trying to make the best and most beautiful products we can (not every single product under the sun) and encourage our consumers to really use and enjoy to the fullest extent.
Generally, there are a lot of people working together towards making beauty better for people and the planet — although I cannot stress enough how this is a work in progress for our industry, and at the end of the day it’s all consumerism. I try my best to educate myself outside of the consumer bubble by reading and following a lot of chemists on Instagram (been loving @theecowell), but to be honest, in going through the process ourselves, we are learning how much work there is left to do!
What would be your one piece of mentoring advice to anyone starting a business today?
In a way, my advice would be to not take too much advice. While it’s of course important to keep an eye on the trajectory of those who inspire — a misstep would be to believe that the same moves on the same course are replicable. Again, it’s more about movement than anything else, keeping your ear to the ground and staying flexible.
That Ira Glass quote that everyone loves to cite…but I can’t begin to stress the importance of the sentiment — forever striving toward closing the gap between your taste and your work, and both will continue to evolve and improve!
The creation of jewellery pieces that are timeless and cherised is at the core of the brand's offering but I like your inclusiveness to those that just want to check on the content - and you say as much. Where does this attitude, this generosity of spirit come from?
Thanks for saying so! I think in some ways, again, the time where the brand grew online was unique and it all still felt a bit smaller. There was an intrinsic element of community within that that I’d like to preserve. I also went to school for graphic communication — so in some ways interacting by way of ‘content’ feels as much a part of the J.Hannah DNA as appreciating and sharing design by way of more tangible objects.
What matters to you most in your personal space and how would you describe your home?
Objects from friends and family that hold sentimental value matter most. My grandmother’s jewellery — a lot of which was recently stolen. There’s always that question, what would you take in a fire…having things taken away only made me more appreciative for what I do have, most of all that which isn’t material anyhow. That being said, two pieces of my grandmother’s remain and I'm eternally grateful for the thief’s oversight. I have nostalgic pieces from my parents' abundant art collection (my mom is a painter) around my home, as well as vignettes of mini objects (a mini blown glass vase by close friend Becca Mapes) and treasures peppered on top of each mantel. My mom calls me a bower bird as they are known for stealing shiny objects to beautify their nests. I love a good tchotchke, I can’t help myself.
I would say my home could be described as restrained eclectic.
What’s the last significant thing you bought for the home / for yourself?
I’m definitely overly committed to fine framing — but it feels worth it. The Kazuo Motozawa pendant lamp for my dining room is a recent prized possession. Framing + lighting…these are subtle elements of a home that speak volumes.
With all the challenges of building a business, how do you manage to switch off?
Running your own business means it doesn’t shut off when you go home. For this reason, I do ironically have to schedule time to do nothing — but Sundays often naturally take on this shape…I’ll see friends or have a date night.
Often ‘switching off’ seems to have two modes — inward or outward. Inward may look like going back into the body — through dance or some other type of movement. Or I’ll have another impulse, which is to go out and retain something of the world — see a concert or exhibit. Though, in some ways, that only leads to more design inspiration haha…but that’s where my work doesn’t always feel like work. I used to be quite bad at switching off! But I like to think I’ve become at least less rigid about overseeing all aspects of it as business at all times.
Jess wears the Casey Panelled Shirt and Mortimer Pleated Pant.
What 5 words best describe you?
Particular, empathetic, epicurean, loyal, dialectical-thinker. Is that 6?
bEHIND THE BRAND / J.HANNAH
Jess Hannah Révész, founder and designer of jewellery and nail polish brand J Hannah is in a good place. Her refreshing honesty and creative rigour, married with a sense playfulness, produces polishes we all want to wear. Finding inspirational jumping off points in concepts like jolie laide and Wabi-sabi off-beat colours emerge that defy description - think COMPOST and EAMES. Here she articulates her philosophy and her approach to work, life and style.
Jess wears the Stella Camisole and Bailey Shirt.
I love that you put your values, as a person and as a business, very much out in the public realm. Has 'Writing your own rule book' helped you to stay on course?
Thank you! If we are to say that I’m writing my own rule book, I would definitely emphasise writing versus having written — meaning it’s something I am continuously working on. When I started, I didn’t say to myself, I’m going to launch some big brand. And it feels the same today.
In terms of a course — while I do try to stay on one — I also find value in going off, course correcting, and so on and so on. It’s been eye-opening to go through points of expansion, only to recognize along the way that I actually want to stay small, at least for the time being. I suppose it’s that adaptability and movement that’s important in my ‘rule book’.
There’s an aspect of community that has stuck with us from growing organically online…maybe for that reason, I still try to stay transparent in real time.
"Polishes that consider the gracefulness of hands, and the role of subtle colour as an element in the considered wardrobe," is a very seductive way to express what you do (it had the effect of wanting me to buy some immediately). How did you arrive at your distinctive palette?
Often, with colors, our inspirations will begin from a more ethereal and conceptual place and ‘land’ aesthetically later. For instance, our color COMPOST is based on the notion of jolie-laide. Whereas a color like AKOYA links back more obviously to the actual pearls in our jewellery collection. Our palette is for the ‘color resistant’; it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I think overall what we’re attracted to is nuance. We don’t want the color to be so easily described, and we’ve succeeded when we’re saying…it’s a little bit this & a little bit that, but we can’t quite put our finger on it. Then suddenly we’re telling a story, and the conceptual aspect is all part of the fun.
Jess wears the Stella Camisole and Bailey Shirt.
What is the biggest compliment the brand has ever had?
The biggest compliment we’ve received as a brand remains our partnership with The Met. I could get lost looking at their jewellery collections, of course, but we’re also often referencing other artworks within our practice. Working with them has deepened those references in our work and this wellspring of inspiration feels quite limitless.
Additionally, I love when a musician or artist I respect reaches out to us to say that they admire our work. We’ll occasionally have a kind of synchronous occurrence, wherein we’ll be listening to music in the studio and later hear from a musician we’ve been playing. Those moments feel very special to us because it feels like a loop of creative inspiration and mutual appreciation — what’s better really?
I like that your naming of the polishes draws reference from Eames (Charles and Rae) to Ghost Ranch (Georgia O'Keefe), through Hepworth to compost. How do you settle on the right name?
Naming polishes is very fun. Sometimes the name comes prior to pinning down the color, other times the name is the cherry on top. Generally the polishes are a fun microcosm of influences — with emphasis on micro; a small bottle, and yet a whole creative world is possible. We can’t understate how fun it is. That being said, a lot of the time our polishes are a nod to the people and things we seriously revere.
Jess wears the Stella Camisole and Bailey Shirt.
‘Compost’ has been described as ‘ugly-chic’ which is something of a badge of honour – something that hovers between the two, creating a unique dialogue. Is that a space you enjoy inhabiting?
We do like this ‘space’, another way of looking at it is perhaps through the notion of wabi-sabi. A lot of beauty products are obsessed with perfection, but we’d like to believe there’s beauty in the imperfect as well. I will say it is perhaps easier to inhabit this space through polish than jewellery, which is more geared towards the classic and elegant. We do have fun traversing such dichotomies in design though, and I would argue that what’s artful often lives in what’s hard to pin down.
The non-toxicity, cruelty-free and locally made (USA) nature of the product is central to your brand - was that hard to balance these attributes with peromance expectations?
Making a non-toxic and cruelty free product is the ideal for our overarching principle of beauty. That being said, the reality is that this industry is rife with greenwashing, fear mongering and unregulated claims. For this reason, we really try our best not to make any false claims ourselves. Beauty products inherently are not sustainable from an environmental perspective and shouldnt be marketed as such. But this all goes back to how one defines the term sustainable in the first place. The claims of ‘sustainability’ or ‘clean beauty’ make the consumer feel as though their purchase will have a positive impact, when in reality the best thing one could do is buy, use, and waste less. So with that in mind we are trying to make the best and most beautiful products we can (not every single product under the sun) and encourage our consumers to really use and enjoy to the fullest extent.
Generally, there are a lot of people working together towards making beauty better for people and the planet — although I cannot stress enough how this is a work in progress for our industry, and at the end of the day it’s all consumerism. I try my best to educate myself outside of the consumer bubble by reading and following a lot of chemists on Instagram (been loving @theecowell), but to be honest, in going through the process ourselves, we are learning how much work there is left to do!
What would be your one piece of mentoring advice to anyone starting a business today?
In a way, my advice would be to not take too much advice. While it’s of course important to keep an eye on the trajectory of those who inspire — a misstep would be to believe that the same moves on the same course are replicable. Again, it’s more about movement than anything else, keeping your ear to the ground and staying flexible.
That Ira Glass quote that everyone loves to cite…but I can’t begin to stress the importance of the sentiment — forever striving toward closing the gap between your taste and your work, and both will continue to evolve and improve!
The creation of jewellery pieces that are timeless and cherised is at the core of the brand's offering but I like your inclusiveness to those that just want to check on the content - and you say as much. Where does this attitude, this generosity of spirit come from?
Thanks for saying so! I think in some ways, again, the time where the brand grew online was unique and it all still felt a bit smaller. There was an intrinsic element of community within that that I’d like to preserve. I also went to school for graphic communication — so in some ways interacting by way of ‘content’ feels as much a part of the J.Hannah DNA as appreciating and sharing design by way of more tangible objects.
What matters to you most in your personal space and how would you describe your home?
Objects from friends and family that hold sentimental value matter most. My grandmother’s jewellery — a lot of which was recently stolen. There’s always that question, what would you take in a fire…having things taken away only made me more appreciative for what I do have, most of all that which isn’t material anyhow. That being said, two pieces of my grandmother’s remain and I'm eternally grateful for the thief’s oversight. I have nostalgic pieces from my parents' abundant art collection (my mom is a painter) around my home, as well as vignettes of mini objects (a mini blown glass vase by close friend Becca Mapes) and treasures peppered on top of each mantel. My mom calls me a bower bird as they are known for stealing shiny objects to beautify their nests. I love a good tchotchke, I can’t help myself.
I would say my home could be described as restrained eclectic.
What’s the last significant thing you bought for the home / for yourself?
I’m definitely overly committed to fine framing — but it feels worth it. The Kazuo Motozawa pendant lamp for my dining room is a recent prized possession. Framing + lighting…these are subtle elements of a home that speak volumes.
With all the challenges of building a business, how do you manage to switch off?
Running your own business means it doesn’t shut off when you go home. For this reason, I do ironically have to schedule time to do nothing — but Sundays often naturally take on this shape…I’ll see friends or have a date night.
Often ‘switching off’ seems to have two modes — inward or outward. Inward may look like going back into the body — through dance or some other type of movement. Or I’ll have another impulse, which is to go out and retain something of the world — see a concert or exhibit. Though, in some ways, that only leads to more design inspiration haha…but that’s where my work doesn’t always feel like work. I used to be quite bad at switching off! But I like to think I’ve become at least less rigid about overseeing all aspects of it as business at all times.
Jess wears the Casey Panelled Shirt and Mortimer Pleated Pant.
What 5 words best describe you?
Particular, empathetic, epicurean, loyal, dialectical-thinker. Is that 6?