How Maria Tash has carved a niche in the body adornment space as a pioneer in piercing.
The jewellery is known for its innovative designs, combining precious metals like gold and platinum with diamonds, sapphires, and other gemstones. Pieces are often delicate yet edgy, with a focus on both aesthetics and function. Many celebrities and fashion content creators have embraced the brand, helping it become a global luxury name.
To delve into her journey and see how it all began, Emirates Woman spoke to Tash on her inspiration since launch the brand.
Talk us through your background.
My journey into the world of jewellery and piercing began at a young age. I grew up in suburban Long Island, New York, and I was deeply influenced by the vibrant goth and punk Manhattan music and fashion scenes of the 1980s. The street fashion and culture in this period was inspirational, and I would also attend many jewellery conventions. These influences must have blended into my subconscious. The exposure to unconventional styles and an early fascination with multiple piercings ignited my passion for creating unique jewellery that blends fashion, beauty, and fine jewellery.
I have a degree in science from Barnard College at Columbia University. My time there taught me how to be rigorous and how to do thorough research. I used these skills in my designs using new patented mechanisms, and for creating software like my Tash Studio try on. I also attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.
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What inspired to launch your namesake jewellery brand, Maria Tash?
I’ve been compelled to design jewellery since I was a young teenager playing with silver wire and drawing designs on paper. When I decided after college to open a store in the East Village of Manhattan, I called it Venus Modern Body Arts Inc. I was afraid to put my name on the door in the beginning, and then after several years, I knew I wanted public recognition of my designs. That’s when I started using my name – about 11 years after I opened my first store. I wanted to become known for creating unusual looks by merging the elegance and exquisite craftsmanship of the best in fine jewellery with the boldness of piercing.
What makes a perfectly curated ear?
There are many well curated ears. They look deliberate – each piece chosen for a reason, each piece relating to each other for a reason, and then custom fit to the skin. Great curations speak about the taste of the wearer and their individual style. It’s also a reflection of different physical aspects such as how skin tone dictates the metal color/s chosen, and how they fit on the anatomy. Great curations have rings and studs that relate to each other by telling a story – like a diamond lotus flower with marquise diamond petals falling off and “landing” in different parts of the ear. I’ve also created celestial looks where different sizes of round diamonds in different parts of the ear create the illusion of stars with different distances in space. Ultimately the look should be coherent and deliberate.
The exquisite blue gems and diamonds are an addition to the ear curation – tell us more.
I believe you are speaking about the light blue diamonds. I wanted a stone that was not white but had the scintillation and light performance of our white diamonds. The light blue HTHP stones are natural diamonds that are subjected to a high temperature that induces their color. The blue is a joyful light one, like the sky on a clear day, and is complementary to most apparel choices.
Which Maria Tash Jewellery piece is your go-to?
I have several pieces I wear daily and rarely change. One of my favorites is the floating diamond tassel earrings in 18k yellow gold, size 6.5mm. I wear a pair in my left and right helix piercings and sometimes shunt them to my lobes when feeling more conservative. The white pear and round diamonds match and scintillate with a white gold dominant jewellery theme, and the subtle yellow gold setting works with apparel with distinctive gold threads. They are intricate, lightweight, and full of movement.
How is a Maria Tash piercing experience unique?
There are several factors that make our piercing and styling experience differentiated and excellent beyond stringent sterile procedures and a luxurious environment. I am known for a piercing aesthetic called forward facing – an angle that best flatters the wearer and is most applicable to earlobes. All Maria Tash piercers are trained in this specific angling. We also have specialised Maria Tash tools to aid in the preview of a stud placement, so clients do not have to only rely on what a piercer thinks will work and can make accurate choices for placement.
These tools show the full surface area of a stud so clients can move it prior to a piercing – it’s vastly superior to a dot on the surface of the skin. We have similar preview tools for ring placement and moving prior to piercing. I’ve also developed software that collects and tracks the piercers’ placements and angles after piercing as a part of my quality control. I also have Tash Studio software I developed and patented which allows clients to design their look and bring it to staff to clearly communicate their desired effect.
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With many celebrities wearing your designs, do you have a favourite red carpet moment?
I really enjoyed when Rihanna wore some of my statement diamond pieces for the MET gala. She has done so twice, and they were wonderful and proud moments.
What were some of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
Starting and operating a retail business in Manhattan, for me, came with working long hours for many years, seven days a week. I think this took a toll on my personal life, as I was always at work or thinking about work. There were also periods where cash flow was tight, in the early years, and I did not take a salary when necessary to keep the ship afloat in addition to borrowing money from my family. Years later, and many store locations later, the challenges changed. They are now more about inventory management and cash flow, long distance management, and creating excellent training programs. The challenges continue to be there, they just take different forms as you grow.
What do you do to stay focused, motivated and empowered?
I still love to design, more than any other aspect of my job outside of meeting clients and helping them realise their vision. New York City is a hub of creativity and inspiration and helps to keep me productive. I have a demanding job and want to accomplish as much as I can, so self-care is a top priority. I eat very cleanly now, as I want as much energy, mental clarity, and skin quality as possible. I do Pure Barre several times per week, and on the weekends attend a dance class Off Broadway. This type of body movement and my love of dance keeps me in touch with my body and its importance, not just my mind. I also go to acupuncture regularly.
What advice would you give to aspiring women entrepreneurs?
I feel very compelled to get the designs in my head out and into the public realm. I think it is important to identify what you naturally think about frequently, what you love to do, and then understand what your natural talents are. If you can find a way to create a business out of what you love and are good at, it can be a source of deep joy and not feel like work. As a designer you want to develop signature styles that over time people recognise as your brand. In the luxury sector it is important to understand high-end materials, and create products that are distinctive, durable, and top quality.
This is ‘The Visionary Issue’ – what is your vision for the future?
My vision is to continue to expand the Maria Tash’s brand globally while staying true to our core values of innovation, individuality, and quality. I will continue to create looks people have never seen before – both through my jewelry design and how they are applied to the body through novel piercing locations. We create looks where people question how it works and think the effect is beautiful. I want people to feel beautiful, empowered, and happy as a result of my work and to bring the vision to major cities around the world.
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