Chapter 3 — The Fox, My Brand's Symbol
As I mentioned in Chapter 2, this is the story behind one of my signature pieces — the fox ring.
I had a Chihuahua named Maxi. He had been with me since I was living in a studio apartment in Montmartre, before I even started jewelry school. Maxi looked nothing like a typical Chihuahua — his snout was long, his body large and elongated, and his coat a deep, warm gold.
An elegant older lady in the same building used to call him "petit renard" — little fox — because he looked so much like one.
Maxi sometimes chased his own tail, spinning around in circles. He could never quite catch it, but he kept trying. Watching that, something sparked in my mind. The first piece I made for the "Eat Yourself" collection was the fox ring.
From there, other animals joined the collection — a panther, a cat, a goldfish — and eventually I found myself creating many animal rings beyond the "Eat Yourself" concept.
There was a small theater in front of the apartment where Maxi and I lived. Every autumn, fallen leaves from the trees would gather across the square, forming a yellow carpet on the ground. Watching Maxi walk across those golden leaves was beautiful, and I still see it clearly in my mind. That image gave birth to the Fox & Ginkgo earrings and necklace.
For many years after, through the hard times and the good ones alike, Maxi stayed by my side. He passed away at the age of fourteen, from old age. He was always there beside me as I worked, and as a tribute to him — and because I wanted him to stay with me always — the current brand logo features a fox and ginkgo leaves.