With Love Darling, the European sustainable jewelry brand, has landed in America. Founded in Denmark by Elisabeth Crossley-Wright in 2016, the brand is built around the United Nations Global Goals for sustainability and embodies the sentiment that a piece of jewelry can speak a thousand words. The Global Goals were agreed upon by world leaders in 2015 with the goal of creating a better world by 2030 by ending poverty, fighting inequality and addressing climate change.
After working for the United Nations in Kosovo and serving as an army officer, Crossley-Wright combined her passion for storytelling with jewelry, seeing the medium as an outlet to express strong messages. Each With Love Darling collection comes with significant meaning, including values of community, connection and collaboration.
The brand’s jewelry is made from sustainably recycled materials and shipped using eco-friendly materials, with most of production currently taking place in Afghanistan, Kenya and India, with the goal of expanding into other countries in need. Through employing women and refugees, With Love Darling is giving the artisans income to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.
Below, Crossley-Wright shares the goals and values behind With Love Darling, what led her to enter into the jewelry industry and the kinds of stories that she strives to tell with her designs.
How did you make the transition from your military career to designing jewelry?
During my NATO missions and subsequent work with the United Nations, I saw the vast inequalities in the world. I’m drawn toward storytelling as a medium to create change and awareness and have always loved the stories jewelry can tell. It seemed to be an obvious way for me to connect with people and get the important message of the Global Goals across.
What influences your designs and collections?
I’m always trying to convey a message with my designs, from promoting awareness of clean water to equality and quality education for all. Jewelry design is a platform that allows me to have a voice, and I use it as my outlet for what I want to say. So, with each collection, I really just design what I want to say.
Can you share what inspires your mission to build communities through With Love Darling?
I want to leave the world a little better than I found it. I want to use the privilege I have enjoyed by being born in a welfare society to create change for others who weren’t so lucky. I’m passionate about the Global Goals and want to spread the message of the Goals with all my effort. I have four children, and I want them to live in a world that is equal, clean and safe.
What are the sustainability practices that With Love Darling is committed to uphold?
We try to incorporate the Global Goals in who we are and all that we do. This means that we offer good working conditions and sustainable wages (Global Goal #8), we produce responsibly and sustainably with recycled materials (Goal #12) and we have just become carbon neutral.
How did the partnership with Red Nose Day come about? How did you come up with the design for the collection?
I have personally admired the Red Nose Day organization for as long as I can remember, and as our values are so similar, it was an obvious partnership to me. We started the initial conversations with its team early in 2020, and we were excited to have the year-long collaboration launch in mid-November 2021.
The collection is made up of six unisex styles ranging from earrings to necklaces and bracelets, letting the whole family get in on the phil- anthropic movement. Plus, 100% of net proceeds from this capsule is donated to Red Nose Day and its efforts to support impoverished children — so by purchasing a bracelet, you are helping thousands of kids in need. I’m so pleased with what we’ve been able to produce and the story we’ve been able to tell in such a short time and am excited to see it grow.
