An explosion of colours with Jessica Lefort from Morning June: Interview

Morning June says it all! The freshness of the morning dew combined with the energy of an emerging summer, that is what the So Chic team felt when we stepped into Morning June’s jewellery box at Cluny Court. Welcome to a chest made of colors, shapes, feelings and passion! Morning June is a mosaic of worlds with each universe coming to life from the craft of a talented French designer.

The founder, Jessica Lefort is the kind woman who is independent. Loyal to herself, she just does what she loves! Maybe that’s the reason why Morning June and her founder are so similar: Like a fresh summer morning, Jessica overflows with energy and freshness as she tells us about her journey, her values and the story of her brand.

When I first arrived in Singapore, I was looking for decorations for my daughter’s room. After going around many places, I didn’t find anything I liked. I told my husband maybe I should start something because I always wanted to work in a shop, with homemade products.

But the thing is, when I buy something for my daughter, I never think about myself… I would usually do shopping for my daughter first, and then see if anything could fit me. When I was pregnant, I received a bola pendant from my husband, which it is a jewellery that makes a pleasant and soothing song.

I like jewellery and in fact, when I arrived in Singapore, we had moved here with only 5 luggages, so without a lot of stuff, and without my jewellery. I only had one pair of earrings and one necklace, that’s it. And in Singapore, I just couldn’t find something that would suit my style. I was trying to seek for unique things… I didn’t find anything. That’s why I started to think of creating a mix between jewellery and children decoration and after a while, I decided to focus on jewellery.

It has been three years and a half. And for my business it has been two and a half years.

Different parts of France. From Paris, Vierzon-Orléan, very typical. But also from Gap in the Alps, Toulouse and I found the last one this summer, Le Beausset, a small village in the south of France.

These are small designers, small workshops and I really try to help them because it’s a lot of work and it’s not industrial, all is handmade and I really try to protect and conserve the craftmanship in France and to help it get discovered in Singapore.

I love it because it is so much work, I tried to do jewellery myself but the first time, it took me maybe four hours to do one simple necklace. It is kind of an art for me and I admire it definitely.

It’s by «coup de cœur», crush of heart. I already tried some classic collections and it did not work because my clients are waiting for me to bring something special and unique like the last designer I found named Saoya. They use rosebuds or print real eucalyptus leaves to reproduce on the jewels.

Now, I will say five. I try to adjust a little bit. I still have designers with whom I have worked since the beginning, they trust me so I really want to help them and continue to work with them. When I started, I wrote them an email explaining who I am and that in Singapore it is easier to start to sell with fairs and pop-up stores. And they decided to trust me so I really appreciate that.

Morning June style? It’s be yourself, be unique as well. When people ask me “when can I wear this?”, I answer them don’t ask yourself when, if you like it then wear it. I don’t care about what people say, even my husband at the beginning, when I brought the animals from Nach Bijoux, said “are you crazy, nobody will buy them”. And finally, it’s such a successful brand. Everybody loves them, it is hand painted so they are all different. We have a lot of animals and they change twice a year. Sometimes people buy their favourite animals, other times they come with their kids “I buy a cheetah because it’s my son’s favourite”. Even the husbands come sometimes, so everyone is involved, it’s like a family purchase, it’s really cute.

At the beginning it was only jewellery but some of the brands here started to make some handbags. So, I thought, well handbags are still accessories and they are actually quite fun so why not. It’s super fun to have a lobster handbag (laugh). So for me it was ok, let’s try that. And it worked quite well as for the t-shirts. Nach Bijoux is the most important brand I have, and the biggest. It is sold all around France and in many countries, not like the other brands which are smaller. For the tee-shirts, I began with maybe 10 pieces for a trial and everybody enjoyed it because it’s original with organic cotton so it’s light for Singapore’s weather. I will launch at Boutique Fairs Spring Summer Edition 2019 tee-shirts for kids.

Usually I wear the jewellery I propose in my shop because most of the time people want to buy what you are wearing. But I am a jewellery lover, so I keep buying other jewellery. I discovered a brand called ManualMente, it’s an Italian lady making mismatched and hand painted earrings. It’s really fashionable nowadays to have one earring different from another one.

My Sipora ring, you can change the color, you can do your own mix with the beads. It’s very smart and you can do that for the necklaces and earrings too. Each time I receive new colors I share it with my lovely customers as everybody wants to collect its.

It took me a while to sell this pair so I thought nobody wanted it and just kept it for me. And now that I am wearing it everybody likes it.

In haute couture I love Céline because it is very elegant and simple, I like when people can’t recognise the identity of the brand thanks to it uniqueness. I also like brands like Paul and Joe Sister or Cotelac. For my shopping clothing in Singapore, I go to Alfie Brown or Paris and Me. Both shops are at Cluny Court as well.

We often go to Botanic Gardens because we are living nearby and we are very close to nature.