Fifteen years ago, life partners Yves Spinelli and Dwyer Kilcollin founded the jewelry brand Spinelli Kilcollin in Los Angeles. Quickly, the company became recognizable for its signature linked-ring style: interlocking bands of precious metals connected by small rings, worn across several fingers or stacked on one. Although this aesthetic and the others that followed wooed the jewelry landscape, Spinelli Kilcollin’s ethos was what captured the hearts of buyers around the globe. From using recycled gold and conflict-free diamonds to support organizations like the Marsha P. Johnson Foundation to creating a collaborative residency with Market Highland Park in Dallas, pop-ups, collaborations, and collections were influenced by its principles of craftsmanship, authenticity, and responsibility.
Whitewall spoke with the duo behind Spinelli Kilcollin about how their philosophy of connection—between people, materials, and meaning—continues to guide their ever-expanding universe of fine jewelry.
From First Rings to a Shared Language
Courtesy of Spinelli & Kilcollin.
Courtesy of Spinelli & Kilcollin.
WHITEWALL: Spinelli Kilcollin is celebrating its 15th anniversary. How would you say the past 15 years in business have been? What did it give the brand in terms of DNA, ethos, identity, or expansion?
DWYER KILCOLLIN: The past 15 years have been long in the making, but so short in reflecting. It’s only now, as I’ve dusted off my hard drives, that the winding journey we’ve had confronts me. The beginning was hard because we didn’t have the money we felt we needed to start a brand. Hard because we were “nobodies,” and it is extremely hard to open doors for yourself when people don’t recognize anything important about you. Hard because of the hours. So many hours, so many late nights. In the beginning, only our friends wanted our linked rings, and we couldn’t get any traction with stores. I invented this way of wrapping leather around pearls to make necklaces and bracelets—and that’s what people bought. Our tables were covered with thread, leather scraps, and pearls. We braided and wrapped for what seemed like forever!
When Barneys picked up our line in 2014, they bought our rings. We were relieved to finally be recognized as the brand we were to become.
WW: Now, the brand is known for its signature linked rings and sculptural, stackable silhouettes. Where did this come from?
YVES SPINELLI: In 2008, I was working at Maxfield in L.A. My father owned a beauty salon with my mom in Honolulu, where I grew up, and was making jewelry on weekends. My dad grew up in Italy and worked with his father, a blacksmith, and loved creating things from metal. I was talking to him on the phone, and we discussed linking three thin rings so I could wear them across three fingers. Instead, my dad connected five rings of different thicknesses to wear stacked on one finger. I liked it because I could double bands on two fingers for a tougher look. Soon after I started wearing it to work, a woman asked to buy one. My dad made five more, and one fit her. I gave another to Dwyer, and that was the beginning of our brand.
“We’re lucky to be surrounded by an amazing community of creatives across art, music, design, and tech,”
-Dwyer Kilcollin
WW: Tell us a bit about designing today. Where does a typical idea or piece start? What inspires your designs the most today?
YS: Everything in our design philosophy comes from that first ring. There is a material integrity, and intimate, authentic relationships with the materials as they become a ring, now through the hands of our jewelers in Los Angeles. Each piece is formed of connecting, moving parts. The forms are almost entirely circles. The balance and proportion between parts unifies the designs across all of our earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, and into objects and store design. Our designs come from an intangible feeling we get when we see forms against one another. An idea starts as a new way to connect our elements together, and is refined by looking for that feeling. When it’s there, the design is done.
WW: You’re based in Los Angeles. How have your relationships with local artisans and global creatives shaped your collections over the years?
DK: L.A. is the perfect place to play with ideas. We’re lucky to be surrounded by an amazing community of creatives across art, music, design, and tech. Their energy, perspective, and ideas constantly feed our work. It’s that mix of inspiration—sometimes visible, sometimes abstract—that shapes our designs and reminds us everything is connected.
Design as Relationship and Responsibility at Spinelli Kilcollin
Spinelli & Kilcollin NY Store. Courtesy of Spinelli & Kilcollin.
WW: The brand has also been known to support social and cultural causes through donating proceeds to organizations it aligns with, such as the Solarium ring for Marsha P. Johnson. How are you thinking about design as activism, and pushing forward narratives about what’s important to you as designers through the designs themselves?
YS: Our brand is how we participate in and exist in the world. That’s the value in it for us. The brand becomes a platform that gives us, and our team, a bigger voice and a way to scale our impact. With this comes a lot of responsibility and the need to be incredibly intentional. The Marsha P. Johnson Foundation was something Yves has followed for a long time, and it’s something we all believe in. Dwyer is non-binary, and many on the team relate to and are inspired by Marsha P in a myriad of ways. That’s an example of a social and cultural cause. Our social and environmental footprint is an even larger aspect of our brand, and a key focus of ours as we grow and improve.
Everything we do—from conflict-free diamonds and recycled gold to handcrafted pieces made in L.A. with our talented local artisans—is rooted in sustainability and ethics. Our dedication to sustainability includes our environmental initiatives, ethical sourcing, and other practices. We also focus on supporting organizations directly impacted by the jewelry industry, like mining families. We have also been working toward greater transparency and traceability with all our suppliers—tracking the origins of our stones and understanding the impact of every step. It’s been a major effort, but it matters to us and the industry we are part of. We hope our efforts inspire change while creating pieces that people cherish.
“Our dedication to sustainability includes our environmental initiatives, ethical sourcing, and other practices,”
-Yves Spinelli
WW: What’s in your jewelry box?
YS: I always wear a version of my original Aquarius ring on three fingers—sometimes in black gold or platinum, sometimes in 22k gold.
DK: Samples! I wear whatever we’re working on next. I’m too excited to wait. Plus, I have my orange ring and two Stellas, so I can wear one on each hand.
Courtesy of Spinelli & Kilcollin.
