Interview: POMS

Totally on point.

If you haven’t seen women adorning themselves in brightly coloured pastel pom poms of late, we don’t know where you’ve been hiding. Seriously, the bright pastels of POMS are everywhere and in the very best way possible. Reminding us that it’s always summer somewhere, the latest collection, GEMM, is about as on point as you can get. We caught up with the legend behind it all, Adriana Giuffrida for a chat.

Hi Adriana, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I am a designer who makes POMS jewellery. I also have a gorgeous family that I look after. Life is good.

Tell us about the latest collection, GEMM. How long have you been working on it?
Each collection takes a while. GEMM took about six to eight weeks to design and sample, and then production can take anywhere from two to three months. So you can spend quite some time with each collection. Then you send them into the world and hope people like what you have done.

And there are bags now as well! Had you wanted to branch out and add extra pieces for a while?
I really have. I started the process of the bags with a lining, which was designed a few years ago. The print was so good, that it took me a while to work out how to do it justice, so each season I would visit the idea and if it didn’t seem right, I would have to shelf it for the next time. Finally it came together with the GEMM collection and I’m so glad with the finished product.

I read that travel plays an important part in your inspiration – where was your last holiday to and what did you get up to?
I love travelling so much. I love finding trinkets overseas that can inspire me. My last holiday was to Italy, the motherland. We went to Milan, Rome and the Amalfi Coast. It was our first holiday with Valentina, and she was an amazing traveller. We explored the galleries in Milan, did the touristy things in Rome. Then we explored the Amalfi Coast with more of my family, and spent time by the pool reading books, it was just heaven.

And where is next on the vacation dream list?  
So hard to choose! We find we constantly go back to Italy; we are just drawn to it. Next year we will be going back for some dear friend’s wedding in Capri, which I am so excited about, and will explore different parts of Italy that we haven’t seen before, and of course the Venice Biennale.

POMS has been going for nearly three years now – does it still mean  the same thing to you now as it did when you began?
I think it means more to me now than it did before. When I started it was a hobby that I did whilst working other jobs and the collections kept growing. Now POMS is my full time job, so it means so much to me to be able to do what I love and have my hobby turn into something that I can continue to do.

What’s some advice (if any) you wish someone had given you before starting?
Enjoy the journey.

What’s been the greatest moment in POMS history thus far?
Spotting girls wearing my creations is pretty unbeatable.

And finally, the GEMM look book is amazing – who was the team behind it?
Oh thank you! It worked out so amazing. The collection was inspired by gemstones and them being found in the earth, and the team really understood that vibe. My husband, Tristan Ceddia always works on my art direction, which is so great, because we can be so honest with each other about everything. Rene Vaile is a dear friend, and has shot POMS since the very beginning; we couldn’t do anything without him. He just brings the best energy and takes amazing pictures. Mateja is the model, I became friends with her on Instagram, as she always took pictures wearing POMS and it’s so nice to have a fan of the brand to be the model. Samantha Patrikopolous did the hair and make-up, she is also a great friend and has always helped with POMS, she is the best. The amazing styling was Hayley Morgan and Ingrid Kesa, the team behind You&Me4Eva. My little girl Valentina was only 4 months old when this shoot happened, and we weren’t there. So it was so amazing to see what they all produced without me, and so cool to know that I work with people who understand the brand so incredibly well.