Julia Ferentinos is a New York-based artist, designer and founder of Juju Vera. Before developing the label, she sourced vintage jewelry and antiques for private clients, publications and other creative projects. That experience gave her a close view of the materials, proportions and details that allow certain objects to remain appealing across generations.
Ferentinos has said that she did not receive formal training in jewelry design. Ferentinos instead draws on her experience with painting and sculpture, approaching each piece through shape, volume, weight and its relationship with the body. This approach is especially clear in Juju Vera’s Petra Shell Pendant, which became the brand’s most widely recognized design.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Profession | Artist and jewelry designer |
| Professional base | New York City |
| Brand | Juju Vera |
| Previous work | Vintage jewelry and antiques sourcing |
| Design approach | Influenced by painting and sculpture |
| Signature design | Petra Shell Pendant |
| Industry recognition | CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist |
Vintage Sourcing Developed Her Eye for Enduring Design
Before establishing Juju Vera, Ferentinos ran a small sourcing business focused on vintage jewelry and antiques. She found pieces for private clients, publications and creative projects while developing an understanding of why some objects retain their visual power long after their original period.
Her searches took her to established flea markets and specialist shops in cities including Paris, Mexico City and Milan. Ferentinos told Vogue that the pieces attracting her attention tended to share qualities such as careful proportion, mystery and nostalgia.
This work became a practical form of design education. Studying jewelry from different periods helped her examine materials, construction and the difference between a short-lived fashion item and an object that continues to feel relevant. Rather than leaving that experience behind, she carried it into Juju Vera’s visual language.
Painting and Sculpture Shaped Her Jewelry Method
Ferentinos has been direct that she has no formal training as a jeweler. Her background in painting and sculpture gave her another entry point into the discipline, with greater emphasis on an object’s physical character than on conventional jewelry categories.
She begins with form, proportion and volume before considering surface texture, metal finishes, stones and movement. She also thinks about how an object sits against the body, treating jewelry as wearable sculpture rather than a decorative detail added at the end of an outfit.
Her references include antiquity, architecture and decorative arts. She has also connected her work to her Greek and Italian heritage, particularly through classical motifs reworked in contemporary form. These influences appear in substantial collars, cuffs, pendants and objects that balance historic references with cleaner modern shapes.
Juju Vera Began as a Carefully Developed Personal Project
Ferentinos spent approximately two and a half years researching and developing the original Juju Vera collection. She has said that the project did not begin with a formal business plan or a predetermined route to market. Her attention initially focused on creating pieces she believed had emotion, longevity, and a clear visual identity.
The debut assortment contained 26 pieces. Alongside collars, cuffs, earrings and pendants, it included decorative objects such as a lighter case and a dish informed by an ancient Mediterranean mosaic. This broader range established Juju Vera as a design studio rather than a label centered on one jewelry category.
There is a discrepancy over when the business formally began. Contemporary profiles from Vogue, Who What Wear and The Zoe Report place its public launch in the summer of 2024, with Who What Wear specifying July. A later Vogue profile connected with the Fashion Fund lists Juju Vera as founded in 2025. The available accounts therefore support a summer 2024 public introduction, but the formal founding year remains inconsistently reported.
The Petra Shell Pendant Required Nearly Two Years of Testing
The Petra Shell Pendant became the clearest example of Ferentinos’s slow design process. According to her account in The Zoe Report, it took almost two years of development, involving sketches, changing references, and repeated adjustments.
A photograph of Mia Farrow at Cannes in 1968 helped shape her thinking about the pendant’s scale and long chain. Ferentinos also considered natural shell forms, architectural geometry, Art Deco details and classical influences before reaching the final design.
Prototype testing continued for months. She wore different versions to assess the shape, curvature, weight, and the way the pendant rested against clothing and the body. Her method involved living with the object rather than judging it solely from a drawing or sample table.
The official product page for the silver version describes it as a handcrafted shell necklace made from solid sterling silver. It has five teardrop charms and open loops at the back that allow different chain arrangements. Ferentinos said she had seen customers wear it as a shorter necklace, belt ornament, or brooch, matching her preference for individual styling.
Moda Operandi Helped Introduce Juju Vera to the Market
Juju Vera’s early commercial development began through Instagram. Ferentinos said Lauren Santo Domingo discovered her visual work and contacted her about one of the pieces. Santo Domingo then connected her with Moda Operandi‘s jewelry team, which encouraged her to complete the collection and helped bring it to the retailer’s audience.
An early trunk show followed. Ferentinos credited that relationship with helping the project enter the market when she had strong creative ideas but no formal launch plan.
She later told The Zoe Report that the Petra had sold out three times by April 2025 and that there were waiting lists for some versions. She also described the label’s growth as largely organic and driven by word of mouth. Those commercial details came from her first-hand account rather than published sales records.
Ferentinos remained closely involved with the brand’s presentation as interest increased. In April 2025, she said she still oversaw its imagery and social-media storytelling, keeping the visual identity connected to the references behind the designs.
Timelessness and Individual Styling Guide the Brand
Ferentinos does not want a conventional seasonal calendar to determine when new products appear. In her March 2025 Who What Wear interview, she explained that she preferred releasing pieces carefully instead of producing a new assortment for every spring–summer or autumn–winter cycle.
Longevity is central to that position. She has spoken about making jewelry that can remain in use for years and potentially pass from one wearer to another. Handmade construction, comfort and material integrity are therefore considered alongside appearance.
She also avoids prescribing one correct way to wear each design. Cuffs can sit at the wrist or higher on the arm, while earrings and pendants can be styled in deliberately unexpected ways. Her stated goal is to give the wearer room to interpret the object rather than reproduce a fixed campaign look.
The brand name carries the same connection between personal history and lasting objects. “Juju” came from a childhood nickname created when her brother could not pronounce Julia, while Vera was her grandmother’s name. Ferentinos combined them as a reference to herself, family memory, and her interest in creating future keepsakes.
Growth Required Her to Become a Business Manager
As Juju Vera developed beyond its original personal-project stage, Ferentinos had to take responsibility for areas outside design. She described managing employees, suppliers, and commercial relationships while learning how to protect the brand’s creative identity.
In a June 2026 Vogue interview, she said that trusting herself had been one of the hardest parts of the transition. She was learning to identify fully as a designer while also taking on the responsibilities of an entrepreneur.
At that point, Juju Vera had three full-time employees, including Ferentinos. She valued the team’s closeness and the ability to work toward a shared objective, but she also acknowledged the tension between creative work and business management.
That experience shaped her view of what emerging designers need from the wider industry. Ferentinos called for more mentorship focused on business infrastructure, particularly for creative founders whose projects grow organically before they have established management systems.
Industry Recognition Expanded Juju Vera’s Reach
The Petra pendant received significant third-party recognition in 2025. Lyst ranked the White Petra Shell Pendant seventh on its Q2 Hottest Products list, which assesses activity including searches, page views, interactions, sales, and social-media attention across its platform.
One Vogue Italia passage described the pendant as sixth in the ranking, but Lyst’s own published list places it at number seven. The official Lyst position provides the clearer record.
A larger professional milestone followed in June 2026, when the Council of Fashion Designers of America selected Ferentinos as one of ten CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists. The program supports emerging US-based design talent through mentorship and financial awards.
Ferentinos presented Juju Vera to the program’s judges on 10 June. During the accompanying Vogue interview, she discussed the difficulty of building business systems around an organically growing creative project and named mentorship as an area she wanted the industry to strengthen.
On 1 September 2026, the CFDA announced that she would join the other finalists in its Americans in Paris showroom on 3–4 October during Paris Fashion Week. As of 3 September 2026, the showroom remained scheduled for the following month. The Fashion Fund result was also pending, with the winner scheduled to be announced on 20 October 2026.
Juju Vera Reflects Ferentinos’s Artist-Led Approach
Juju Vera grew out of Ferentinos’s work with vintage objects and her interest in painting, sculpture, architecture, and decorative history. Her method relies on extended development, physical testing and attention to how jewelry interacts with both clothing and the body.
The Petra Shell Pendant brought that approach wider recognition, while Moda Operandi, Lyst and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund marked different stages in the label’s development. As the business expanded, Ferentinos’s role also widened from designing objects to managing a small team and building the structure needed to support the studio.
Her stated direction remains centered on carefully considered pieces that allow personal interpretation and are not limited to one fashion season. That combination of sculptural thinking, historical reference, and measured development defines Julia Ferentinos’s professional identity as a designer.