Meet Ella Jones
A chat with our General Manager at Faraday's Bar uncovered her deep respect for heritage craftsmanship, a love for timeless luxury and her thoughts on unchanged human nature.
“For me visiting Faradays is not just about the brands and the product, it’s about the total experience”.
Considered detail is everything to Ella.
It’s the design, presentation and thoughtful curation of everything at Faradays that I feel so proud to present. From rare fragrance by Xerjoff and the latest Louboutins to our in-house florist, at No. 8 Faraday Street, it’s like stepping into a full sensory experience. It’s almost overwhelming, in the best possible way.
On her background, and her ‘why’.
I’ve been working in the luxury fashion industry for more than a decade now, and a good half of it in the start-up space. While my primary focus has always been about fostering a team of great people and driving a business forward (and still is), like it often is when working in a start-up environment in this industry, you end up working across all aspects of the business - there’s elements of HR and studio management to marketing support and staff training, and of course, dealing directly with our wonderful clients - one of my favourite parts of the job.
The other common thread that I’ve always found the most rewarding in all my roles is the process of supporting founders with creative minds - helping them to take their game changing ideas from inception to reality.
On the collision of pioneering heritage brands with new creatives, and how that shapes the Faradays experience.
It’s the fresh perspective combined with the classics that I love. You can walk from Ginori 1735 homeware, designed in the 1700s, to Loewe, which is now almost 200 years old, and over to the latest season of Alexandre Vauthier, a fresh brand from Paris making waves around the world on almost every celebrity and magazine cover at the moment. It’s an amazing juxtaposition of new and old worlds as you walk around. Almost all of our brands have never been in our market before and it’s like we’ve been able to travel the world and bring the best back to New Zealand.
That’s the best thing about the vision from Eddie and Constance, the store is not designed to be just a retail experience, it's designed to create memories.
It’s also a space that induces your creativity, people never want to leave. The thoughtful design of the store and layout of the brands is also designed around a personal experience. Our visual merchandising team are like magic elves in the night, making the store feel brand new every time you visit.
The champagne bar might have something to do with that too.
It’s a space for some quiet reflection during the day and transforms to a high end hub of conversation and business by night. I enjoy decompressing at the end of the day and running through all my client interactions, what people got from it, what they enjoyed - more often than not with a baby bottle of Ruinart Blanc de Blanc in tow…
On what’s made it into her own wardrobe so far.
Shoes. Probably too many shoes.
It’s a biased thing to say, but we truly have the most incredible and varied collection of footwear available in the country. I have already purchased a few pairs of Alexandre Vauthier, a pair from Louboutin and Alaïa… I possibly need an intervention. Working here is a dangerous place.
But for me, shoes can make an entire outfit, I’ll often style an entire outfit around a pair of heels.
I also just invested in the most exceptionally well cut suit from Dadelszen - their sell-out Helena jacket has just been restocked and now comes with a matching Monaco trouser which is to die for. It’s incredible how instantaneously transformative it is. I slip it on and feel like I can take on the world.
On how she starts her day.
Funnily enough, I’m not a pre-planner in terms of outfits and what to wear each day. I enjoy taking my time, pulling together an outfit each morning.
However, I always start with skincare, it’s the most important thing in my day. Emma Lewisham everything!
Then, obviously, coffee. I can't start the day without picking up a coffee en route to the store. It’s not even really the caffeine, it's the process of stopping and waiting. It gives me time to think and plan my day, set goals for myself and for the team. Then we’re into it.
On her first port of call for a long weekend escape.
I love getting out of the city whenever I can, it's always refreshing to go somewhere new - I'm a light packer and usually ready for anything at short notice!
Over the past few months I've been lucky enough to spend time in Tara Iti, in Hawkes Bay and to spend time at my family favourite - Queenstown.
I've been finding I'm actually quite handy around the golf course.
On her ultimate indulgence.
Skincare, Pilates and a great glass of wine.
My skincare and wellness routine is a total indulgence but also essential for me, I feel incredible after a facial and simply doing a class. I get to switch off from everything and just enjoy the stillness for an hour.
Whenever I am away for a weekend or on holiday, I always look to book in a massage as it really helps me decompress.
As for my favourite wine at the moment, the white Burgundy list at Faraday’s Bar has ruined me for life - who knew Chardonnay could be that good?
I'm also a voracious reader, I love both modern and classic literature. But you'll also always find me reading BOF on a daily basis.
On her biggest professional inspiration.
It sounds like a cliché but it’s my family - my mum in particular is really my biggest inspiration.
We’re all really hard workers and believe whatever you do, give it 110%. When I chose fashion and luxury as a career, my family gave me their full support and had a total belief that I’d go on to be part of some really transformational brands and experiences - and my position at Faradays is truly the culmination of this.
On that note, with Mother’s Day just around the corner, what will she be treating her mum to next Sunday?
Grace & Flora flowers always, and a La Perla night slip (which I may or may not pinch later…)
On what she loves most about her role.
I love that every day I get to come to work and help bring to life the entrepreneurial spirit and incredible vision of Eddie and Constance, whilst building a wider team to help scale our vision.
We’re a tight knit, supportive, skilled, and passionate team of twelve and we are growing day by day. I’m super proud of where we’ve taken Faradays already in its sixth month in business and can’t wait to see where we end up next... Working at Faradays is truly my dream job, I couldn’t have invented a better fit.
