WHat is the EASE Collective?
Ease \ ’ēz \ : The state of being comfortable : an easy fit : effortlessness
Collective \ kə-’lek-tiv \ : denoting a number of persons or things considered as one group or whole
The Ease Collective provides simple, high quality, handmade jewelry that is easy and effortless for everyday wear. Most of my pieces are designed not to be taken off. They are meant to be lived in. All the pieces in the collection are designed to work together. Mix and match with ease and confidence.
My story
My name is Ani and I am the owner and designer of The Ease Collective. I was born and raised near Seattle, Washington and have had a love of jewelry and jewelry making for as long as I can remember.
After graduating from the University of Washington in 2007, I moved to the Hawaiian island of Maui. I got a job selling jewelry at a gallery that specialized in handmade jewelry by local designers. I had the opportunity to get to know these designers and was soaking up all the facets of the jewelry industry. I was so inspired and had the amazing guidance and encouragement of the experienced designers I worked with over the years. I began metal smithing classes in 2013 and soon after I started my first collection.
I continued to manage the jewelry store and the owners were so kind to offer my jewelry a spot on their coveted shelves. Life was cruising along nicely and then everything changed…I met a guy. He is a pilot and to make a long story short, after 11 years on Maui I found myself back in the Pacific Northwest. I moved to Oregon, first a few years in downtown Portland and now we have settled in the beautiful Central Oregon mountain town of Bend. I still draw inspiration from the islands with the use of Tahitian pearls and organic textures. I now have the added inspiration of the clean lines of the city, the sleek silhouettes of aviation and the beauty of the Cascade Mountains.
Aviation Jewelry
At the same time that I was falling in love with my pilot. I was also falling in love in aviation. He is not only an F-15 fighter pilot and airline pilot but also a general aviation pilot. I’ve always loved traveling but being thrown into all these aviation communities has been so much fun and has really sparked a new passion of being airborne.
The Aviation Collection started with the F-15. One of the women in our squadron asked me to design a piece inspired by the jet for the other pilot wives and girlfriends. It was a hit and word spread around the F-15 community and I began getting orders from other squadrons around the country. I absolutely loved drawing inspiration from the aircrafts and I wanted to do more. I designed a few more military airframes, an airliner and few general aviation airframes as well!