BY OMAR QAVI, FASHION EDITOR
FEATURES
A PERPETUAL PHASE
”Being able to share my love of these rings with customers makes the whole process worth it.”
Phase rings has gone from being made and worn solely by Tiffany Riazanova, to now being seen worn by Celeste on the cover of NME magazine and on the Graham Norton Show. This is not just a phase that comes and goes, this Phase is here to stay.
Phase began as a personal creative project, specialising in handcrafting clay, recycled plastics and resin curating beautifully unique rings. Tiff said, ‘’I had a dream one night where I was wearing the Phase rings before I had even started making rings.’’
One of the hardest things in life is turning your dreams into reality. Unlike most of us, the 22-year-old creative stuck with her dream and gave it a shot. Tiffany confidently placed the ball down on the penalty spot and calmly scored to make it 1-0 to Phase. As a result, Phase rings has been growing exponentially as a small business selling through Instagram. Starting out on Instagram with less than 500 followers, at the end of November, Phase now has just over 3000 in February and growing by the day.
The rings were initially made without the thought of even generating sales, these rings were Tiff’s ‘little babies’ that she created and took care off, sitting comfortably on her fingers as she went about her daily life. Tiffany said, ‘’after I complete a ring to order, I look at it for a while and it makes me sad to see it go. These rings are like my children, I love them so much.’’
This is one thing that stands out about the young ring designer, she absolutely adores the whole process of making the rings by being able to express her creativity without any limits or boundaries. The process of making one ring can be a long-winded process especially if something goes wrong, but this doesn’t stop her. The young creative said, ‘’Being able to share my love of these rings with customers makes the whole process worth it.’’
2020 was a dark and tough year for everyone, with Covid-19 forcing us to change the way we go about daily life. During the first lockdown, Tiff had her dream igniting her once she awoke to pursue learning, creating and selling statement pieces to complete any outfit. Inspiration was something hard to come by during the pandemic, with being limited to the confinements of your neighbourhood.
For many urbanites, inspiration for new ideas to start a fashion business most of the time comes from those you see in your everyday life in the city; people dripped out in uniquely inspiring outfits running 30 minutes late to work on the Victoria line, or stylish individuals stressfully awaiting their oat flat white in your local independent cafe. Instead she took inspiration from the natural surroundings of her hometown of Tunbridge Wells.
‘’I was drawn to the colours of the summery sky just as the sun was setting before bed.’’
These natural colours can be clearly seen in the marble collection, Phase’s signature design that sets her apart from any other ring wear brand. Tiff said, ‘’when creating a marbled piece, they all come out differently. I never know how the waves of mixed colours will turn out. It’s a process that provides me with a constant surprise and satisfaction’’ Each ring is made specifically to order, making each piece extremely personal and individually unique. No piece is exactly the same.
The young creative has many ambitions moving forward in the future in terms of scaling up her business and potentially moving into creating statement rings with metals, such as gold and silver. But for the time being, Tiff said, ‘’Every time I make a ring, I feel myself improving every day. I love handmaking these pieces, but before I move onto the next stage, I want these rings to be absolutely perfect.’’
In order to generate sales from creating or designing fashion pieces, the most important thing to think about is whether consumers can see themselves wearing it every day. Many small businesses think selfishly about what they like individually and fail to consider the wider public as a consumer, which in many cases is their downfall. Phase is an inclusive brand welcoming all customers to be involved in the process.
These rings can be worn by everyone, with the versatility and uniqueness in every design making these statement pieces the cherry on top we all need in our wardrobe. Tiff said ‘’I love bringing joy through colour, especially at the moment when things are really hard for everyone.’’
The young jewellery designer aims to be as welcoming as possible to everyone with Phase providing a platform for customers to engage with the designer, in order to have some form of involvement within the design process. Customers have the options of choosing a block colour or the marble effect with a choice of any colour they desire. They also have an option of applying the chic icing on the cake, with a choice of diamante or golden studs.
Phase really is onto big things at the moment, with huge demand and following growing every day. The designer loves every moment of the process from imagination and planning, to interacting with customers in awe of their new finger outfits. There is no doubt that one day Phase will be sold in shops and Tiffany can walk down busy London roads observing her beautiful ‘babies’ being carried on stylish fingers. This Phase really is here to stay.