New York-based designer Marla Aaron is an unapologetic overpacker, with her jewellery travelling much as she does. The pieces she wears at home come with her, including a platinum and diamond chain and lock. ‘It’s one of those things that is an absolute indulgence, but it’s discreet, so perfect for everywhere,’ she tells Wallpaper*. Where to put it all is a design question she has been exploring with jewellery-storage specialist Wolf, a collaboration whose latest instalment makes a pleasure of packing things away.
Following the Everything and Baby Everything boxes, the Some of the Things Box turns that shared fascination with compartments and mechanisms into a compact travel case.
The lacquered wooden exterior unfolds to reveal brass hooks with pockets, snap-fastened ring rolls, a zipped compartment and an envelope-style section, each accessed by its own small ritual. Wolf’s LusterLoc-treated ultrasuede lining helps protect jewellery against tarnishing, while the exterior comes in Chocolate, Vanilla, Navy, Tomato and Bubblegum. Priced at £435, the case launches in London on 16 October and in the US on 27 October.
Aaron has already adopted it for her own collection, describing the act of travelling with her jewellery as ‘a delicious experience’. To mark the launch, she joins Wallpaper* for the latest edition of In Transit, our interview series exploring the travel habits and philosophies of creative minds.
How Marla Aaron travels
What’s your earliest travel memory?
‘When I was five, my mother and I travelled from New York to Los Angeles to see my aunt, and it was still the era when you dressed for travel. She took me to Bergdorf Goodman to pick a travel outfit, and it was the most perfect purple wool coat with a matching hat and a purple dress underneath. I wouldn’t take off the coat, and I got sick on the plane twice and never wore it again.’
What role does travel play in your life?
‘I travel a lot for work, and my family doesn’t live in New York, so I am a traveller. I view my time in transit (on planes or trains) as “me” time. I doomscroll, watch movies I love, read books… I rarely work when I am in transit, and I like it this way.’
‘The worst part of travelling is leaving my beloved Nena.’
What attracts you to a destination?
‘Anything. I’ve met someone, eaten something or read about something from that place, and I’m in.’
Do you pack for who you are, or who you think you’ll become on that trip?
‘Who I am, always. The latter is a terrible idea.’
‘Lago Alumine is a hauntingly beautiful lake in Villa Pehuenia in the province of Neuquén, Argentina.’
What’s the most unnecessary thing you always bring ‘just in case’ – and the most essential?
‘It’s the same thing. I call it “the sick pouch”, and it includes anything and everything I could need if I get sick in a place other than home – all kinds of medicine, plasters, teabags. What you don’t want is to get sick in a place that is very foreign to you and have to negotiate a pharmacy in another language when you are alone and unwell. Been there, done that, so I am ready for anything.’
What’s one garment, accessory or beauty tip you always rely on when travelling?
‘An extra sweater, an extra layer of moisture (I love Pixi Moisture Sticks), a small, wonderful bag that can be used for something a bit dressy and also during the day. I love this Joseph Duclos bag.’
‘In Manama, Bahrain.’
Do you have a travel habit – something you do every time, wherever you are, even if it’s irrational?
‘I like to have breakfast in bed when I’m travelling. Even if there is the most fantastic breakfast awaiting me elsewhere, I have breakfast in my room, with coffee before I get dressed. I am cranky if anything else happens.’
Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met while travelling?
‘On a flight between Palm Beach and New York, I sat next to the Zimbabwean jeweller Patrick Mavros, and he is the loveliest guy. He then visited my showroom in New York. I don’t really talk to strangers on planes, but Patrick was insistent… He even told me afterwards how rude I was for being so unwilling to engage, and I guess he was right! He’s a lovely guy, and he taught me a lesson about being open to that. I mean, what are the odds that two jewellery designers are seated next to each other?’
‘Hardware from a store in Buenos Aires.’
What’s the best thing you’ve ever brought back from a trip?
‘A small stool that I carried back from a trip to Africa when I was 22 years old. It has pride of place in my living room to this day, after multiple homes in multiple countries.’
‘The stool that has travelled with me since I was 22 years old from Africa to all my living rooms.’
What’s a place that changed the way you think, or taught you something lasting?
‘I was an exchange student in a village in Argentina for a year when I was 17 years old, and it fundamentally changed who I am as a person for the better. I can’t imagine what I would have been like otherwise!’
Which place in the world feels most like you?
‘Of course, New York. I’ve been to many places around the world, but it is New York for me forever.’
According to Marla...
Journey or destination? ‘I am always on the journey.’
Window or aisle? ‘Aisle on a plane, window on the train.’
Early flight or last flight of the day? ‘No preference.’
Overpack or underpack? ‘Overpack, always.’
Plan everything or arrive and figure it out? ‘Arrive and figure it out, but maybe with a couple of solid notions of what to do.’
Go-to travel snack? ‘Whatever is being served on the plane. I am not picky at all. I may have a bag of snacks, but literally, it will be birdseed, and I will forsake it for whatever else is being served.’
Who’s always on your playlist? ‘Maruja Limón, Bach, whatever my son tells me I should be listening to – he regularly shares his playlists with me.’
‘A very typical travel look.’