Behind the Brand - Meet Nearly Naked

Happy Small Business Saturday!  

Go behind the Nearly Naked brand and learn more about us, how and why we design jewelry, and why being an American Made small business is so important to us.

We were honored to be selected as a finalist for the 2014 Martha Stewart American Made awardand to get to share our story with millions of people. Excerpts below from Nearly Naked's Martha Stewart American Made profile.

Tell us about your business.

Go Nearly Naked™ was founded in 2013 by husband and wife team, Crista Grasso & Jeremy Pollack.   They combined their shared love of boudoir photography and fine lingerie with Crista's passion for jewelry design and together created the Go Nearly Naked brand, the first and only boudoir jewelry™ brand. With versatile designs that can take a woman from a cocktail party with friends to a late-night rendezvous with her love, or from an exotic beach wedding to a romantic honeymoon getaway, each piece is designed to help a woman make a statement and showcase her individuality in elegant and sensual style.

The jewelry designs typically start with a sketch, or a story about what feeling Crista would like the piece of jewelry to evoke- mystery, intrigue, romance, seduction… She then brings the jewelry to life by combining just the right luxurious materials and colors to evoke that feeling. Each piece is intricately designed, completely original, and handmade in the USA in Los Angeles, CA.

Tell us about your workspace, shop or studio.

We are avid travelers; passionate about seeing and experiencing different parts of the country and world. Our studio often becomes wherever we are when inspiration hits. Crista never leaves home without her sketch pad and jewelry kit, and has designed jewelry on planes, atop mountains, on beaches, and in more coffee shops and hotel balconies than we can count. When not travelling, we split most of our time between our studio in CT and with our team in LA.

Our studio has 5 major stations as we flow from pure creative to all business. A beautiful, ornate vintage desk inspires Crista's jewelry creation, while our office work and shipping stations are all business. Our creative brainstorming space is covered in giant whiteboards and colorful sticky notes. Last but not least is our outdoor space which we absolutely love using as often as possible. It is quiet, peaceful, and a great place to be inspired. Plus it's our 2 dogs favorite place to hang out with us while we work.

What Inspires You?

Our jewelry designs are inspired by the elegant damask prints and delicate lace found in fine lingerie and luxurious fabrics, by vintage treasures from all over the world, and by a sense of adventure in exploring and trying something new. 

Our brand is inspired by strong confident women who aren't afraid to express themselves and who embrace their innate beauty and sensuality.  By brides who wear wings on their wedding day and adorn their bare feet with jewels, by women who schedule a boudoir photoshoot just because they want to feel amazing, and by business trendsetters who are redefining 9-5 and doing it in fabulous style.  

We are inspired by our customers!   We love hearing from men who finally found "the perfect gift" and from women who say they "feel like a million bucks" in our jewelry. We love hearing how wonderful our jewelry made someone's boudoir photoshoot, or how amazing a bride felt in our jewels on her special day.  There is nothing more satisfying and inspiring. 

What makes your business stand out?

In addition to being the only jewelry designed for the boudoir, what sets us apart is our dedication to creating high quality products that marry sensual style with exceptional design.  Our pieces feature curvaceous lines and lacy metals that are every bit as sensual and fun to wear as luxury lingerie.  And by producing our products in the US, we are able to ensure that the quality and craftsmanship of every piece lives up to our high standards.

It's not enough for our jewelry to simply look beautiful, it needs to fit and move beautifully as well. Our customers always comment how comfortable our jewelry is to wear and how much they appreciate the versatility of each piece.

Supporting our belief in self-expression, while we occasionally work with professional models, most of the women you see on our site in boudoir and bridal photos are real, everyday women who have embraced being a "Nearly Naked Woman" - perfect in their imperfections and beautiful inside and out.

What does American Made mean to you?

For us, American Made is about being self-made.  It's about creating a product, business, and lifestyle from a dream.  We believe that with hard work, dedication, integrity, and a whole lot of passion, anything is possible in the US and we are proud to be an American Made business.

Our business feels like an extension of ourselves so it is so important that we trust in our suppliers and our team to produce a high quality and beautifully crafted product so that our customers can trust in us.  Creating our jewelry in the US was the only option for us.

We also love being able to work hands-on with our team and provide an amazing creative work environment for them.  We look forward to growing our team as our business and product line continues to expand. When someone purchases our jewelry, it says that they value quality, originality, and craftsmanship more than simply cost, just as we do.  That is a beautiful thing and what keeps the Made in America movement alive.

Want to know our advice for aspiring creative entrepreneurs?  See our full profile on Martha Stewart American Made here.

Meet the Team

Crista Grasso

Favorite Piece of Jewelry: Victorian Lace Filigree Body Chain

Favorite Nearly Naked Moment:  Transforming a sketch for a new design into a finished piece of jewelry

When She's Not Working on Nearly Naked, She's: Spending time with Jeremy, playing with their 2 puppies Chewbacca and Kenobi, and rocking out at a Bret Michaels concert

Crista's Role: Crista designs all of the jewelry you find at Nearly Naked and has a hand in all things creative. She is the editor-in-chief of Nearly Naked Magazine, and she is also the founder of AmberTortoise Jewelry and Crista Couture, where she specializes in making high-end custom jewelry for brides and couturepreneurs.

Jeremy Pollack