Deassín—modern design meets classic craftsmanship

There’s no end of reasons to support small businesses. But during the month of November, there’s one extra reason: Small Business Day on November 30. Here at N26, we think small businesses deserve more than just one day, so we’re stretching our celebration throughout the entire month of November. Today we’re introducing you to the artisan jeweler Deassín, a project founded by Lucía Ruiz de Assín. Since 2013, Lucía has been working in her Madrid workshop, tirelessly combining innovation with tradition. Best of all? Every piece from Deassín is always handmade by Lucía. 

After studying advertising and PR at the Complutense University of Madrid, Lucía decided to devote more time to what she’d known since childhood was her true calling: jewelry design.  She took several jewelry courses and then started to work as an apprentice with an artist/jeweler in Chile. When she came back to Madrid and wound up working in several other companies, she decided to study jewelry full time. Slowly she created her own brand to reflect her personality, which you can see clearly in the rings, bracelets, earrings and  pendants available in her online shop. Deassín also offers engagement and wedding rings.

We caught up with Lucía and she told all about what goes on behind the scenes at Deassín, as well as how she’s been coping during 2020—a year that’s been especially tough on artists and entrepreneurs like her.

When and why did you decide to start your own venture?

I established the brand six years ago. My ambition was not to start a venture, but rather to create and develop my own designs. There are those who wish to set up something and search for a niche or a purpose, and those who already have a purpose and starting a venture is the result of that. 

How did you come up with the idea of creating a jewelry business?

It came from the need to create and design freely, in line with my own identity and creative impulse. After studying jewelry, I worked in a number of brands to develop their own identity. It was very clear to me that if I wanted to make my own jewelry, I had to set up my own brand. From then on, I realized that I enjoyed what I was doing and that I could devote myself to this as something more than a hobby. This evolved in a fairly organic way—at first, I wasn’t sure whether this would turn into a business, and I worked for other companies in parallel for a long time before devoting myself exclusively to my brand. 

Can you tell us about your creative process when designing and envisioning new jewelry? 

I guess it all starts with inspiration, which is a rather whimsical and abstract concept—and you can’t always tell where it comes from. Sometimes it’s just a material that inspires you, or maybe a shape, a color, a type of light or a beat. Other times, it’s all these things at once. Nevertheless, in my case, ideas are laid out in the workshop. Here, I hold the materials in my hands and can shape them directly on the body—on the fingers, ears, or neck. It’s a very intuitive process that involves a lot of trial and error. I hardly ever resort to drawing designs on paper. In general, I only use it to sketch ideas when they come to mind, and I don’t want to forget them. 

How has the coronavirus affected your business? 

Deassín always worked with online orders and, so far, the coronavirus hasn’t had a negative effect on sales. On the contrary—sales have actually gone up during lockdown. Now more than ever we hope to continue growing. The public appears to be more willing to support small businesses that offer products manufactured locally, ethically, and sustainably, either buying from brick-and-mortar stores or online. In this respect, we had the advantage that these values have always been part of our identity.

How have you adapted to the new situation? 

We continue to do things the way we did before, while paying more attention to our social networks and launching small capsule collections between larger collections. It’s about releasing jewelry that we create spontaneously without announcing big campaigns, which demands planning and deadlines suited for a big collection. The coronavirus has fostered a new way of working, adapted to the new circumstances—if you’re under lockdown and can’t set up a photoshoot, then do it at home. You can do incredible things with fewer means.

At Deassín, we strongly identify with the slow fashion movement—it’s a cause that promotes fair trade. In slow fashion, the responsible consumer makes purchasing decisions carefully, buying a product that he or she values for its quality. The products are manufactured transparently, ethically, and often locally. These factors make the consumer more willing to pay a fair price for the product. This model doesn’t allow for the major discounts like you see with the fast fashion industry, where cheap garments are worn and then quickly discarded. This requires a tremendous amount of stock, and often sharp discounts happen to drive consumers to buy up the stock just to make room for more. At Deassín, we don't offer major discounts. Instead, we propose small discounts from time to time.

What do you think sets small businesses apart from large companies?

We offer proximity, transparency, and a more customized service. This also means a face and a reference person you can identify with. In our case, in addition to the jewels available in our collection, we also produce handcrafted custom artwork designed in collaboration with our clients. 

Discover Lucía’s handmade jewelry by visiting her online shop! Don’t miss out on her new creations and subscribe to her newsletter. You can also follow her on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.