SHELLEY SANDERS OF THE LAST LINE
Shelley Gibbs Sanders is a jewelry designer based in Los Angeles, California, and the founder of The Last Line. Shelley’s career began in New York where she studied Fine Arts at Parsons School of Design before returning home to California to train with Master Jewelers in San Francisco. After learning the tricks of the trade, Shelley returned to Los Angeles to begin her career as a jewelry designer. Over time, Shelley’s roles evolved and she soon became the head designer and creative director for dozens of celebrity jewelry brands and high-end jewelry houses, working with everything from gold, diamonds, and precious stones over her tenure. After being in the “biz” for almost two decades, it’s safe to say she’s an authority and until recently the secret diamond concierge for a select few.
Inspired by her years of design experience, countless conversations with girlfriends, and of course, her own never-ending search for that perfect ____ (earring! ring! you know the saga), The Last Line was born. Working alongside her husband Teddy Sanders, the duo is applying the same pristine techniques to manufacturing fine jewelry with a refreshed mentality of putting the consumer first. The mission? To rewrite the rules of the jewelry world one direct-to-consumer diamond at a time—without losing that special feeling you get when you’re sipping champagne and trying on diamonds in real life.
Designed in Los Angeles, The Last Line was created with the mentality of giving consumers what they (actually!) wanted: The Last Perfect Pinkie Ring, The Last Perfect Tennis Bracelet, The Last Perfect Drop Earring. With a vision of The Last Line woman in mind, Shelley created a collection that embodies her juxtaposed lifestyle: a mix of high and low, vintage and modern, done-up but dressed-down and one who plays by her own rules. The collection is two-fold: The Heart and The Soul, because you know, we need both.
What inspired you to start The Last Line?
Well, it’s not the shortest story but I worked for a bunch of other brands before launching The Last Line and I have always been into jewelry. It was definitely a moment once I realized I could do it professionally, something I definitely didn’t think was possible when I was young. Ultimately, after working for other brands and designing other people’s collections I was ready to do my own line, not for vanity’s sake but because I saw the need for something different in the space. There were specific pieces my friends kept asking me where they could get and styles that could be done way better and not a central place to get them all under one roof. After seeing these problems I knew I could solve them by creating my own brand so about three years ago we went for it. I say we because I founded the company alongside my husband who is also our CEO. The story behind the name ‘The Last Line’ is that we want to be the last place you ever need to visit for fine jewelry. We really surveyed the space and found some major white space in brand, engineering, price (no retail markup!), options, quality, I could go on but ultimately we created The Last Line to address all of these, and here we are.
Were there any specific challenges that came with being a female founder in the fine jewelry industry?
Jewelry production is a bit of a boys club, especially when you’re dealing with stones and production but nothing I wasn’t prepared for. The real benefit of being a woman is being able to design pieces that women want to wear, understanding the pain points, and creating accordingly.
What are your top five favorite The Last Line pieces on a college-friendly budget – ideally under $500?
Choosing just five is tough, but I did it.
https://thisisthelast.com/products/white-topaz-five-solitaire-drop-huggie
https://thisisthelast.com/products/diamond-and-gold-heirloom-pendant
https://thisisthelast.com/products/petite-triple-diamond-stud
https://thisisthelast.com/products/mini-diamond-flower-bracelet
https://thisisthelast.com/products/connected-diamond-double-huggies
Do you have any tips or words of wisdom for college-aged women interested in pursuing a career or entrepreneurship within the fine jewelry industry?
I think the biggest thing is to go with your gut, if you think you might even a tiny bit want to be a jewelry designer or really in any profession, try it out! You’ll fully regret it if you don’t and if you try it and hate it, pivot and off you go. I think so many of my roles have influenced my next steps of where I worked or what I wanted to do.
What skills or qualities are vital to starting a successful business?
Starting a business is difficult and truly there is reason to sugarcoat it because that’s the reality. It’s stressful and scary, especially if your name is tied to it but it’s so rewarding. I think any entrepreneur will say that listening is more important than talking, patience is so important and always, always trust your gut.
What’s a book you’ve read recently that you’d recommend to CWBS readers?
At the moment, most of my reading comes in the form of podcasts. I start each day with NPR Up First and see if I can squeeze in another one later in the day. I also love ‘Second Life’ with Hillary Kerr, definitely a good listen for college women interested in starting their own business.
Who’s a woman leader that you look up to?
My daughter, Goldie. She’s three and a half years old and runs our house.