The Designer

Jewelry has long been part of Stella Soriano’s life, Lily’s founder and main designer. Over a decade before Lily was born in 2017, Stella’s mother started a jewelry business selling pieces she made by hand that are composed of semi-precious stones and vintage gold necklace links. Over the years, Stella would assist her mother selling in bazaars, online platforms and even contribute her own inputs during the design process.

Stella’s penchant for jewelry design, however, did not span beyond her assistance to her mother throughout those years. Instead, she developed her own hobbies and interests. Since she was a teenager, Stella was an avid traveller. Captivated by vibrant countries such as India, Cambodia, Spain and France, she held a deep fascination with the everyday people she encountered on her trips, moving her to document her travels through street photography. Stella continued to realize her potentials in capturing images, eventually becoming a photographer for her university’s official newspaper.

After graduating college, Stella explored another love of hers—fashion and branding. She was part of a mall’s marketing team situated at Makati, Manila’s central business district, organizing events such as fashion shows and holiday activities. Following this, she worked in merchandising and learned the ins-and-outs of brand operations as she handled two Italian luxury brands.

Staying home on a sick leave one day, Stella mindlessly played around with her mother’s jewelry components laid out on a working table. She serendipitously discovered a design to her liking, eagerly showing it to her mother when she arrived home. Though maintaining the same elegance of her mother’s jewelry, the earring design Stella put together was larger and akin to a bolder statement piece. This marked the beginning of a series of innovative earrings designed by Stella, mixed and matched using the semi-precious stones of her mother alongside newfound material of fabric.

Stirred by sights fresh in her mind from her visit to Spain, Stella’s first collection back in March 2017 consisted of a summer-hued mix of tassels, pom-poms, and fabric flowers. With little expectations at hand, she decided to launch her earring collection online selling only one pair per design and with no plans of restocking. But requests to restock kept coming and the rest was history.

From its travel-inspired designs to its carefully crafted photos, Lily constantly evolves as its founder grows. Deeply influenced by Stella’s unceasing love for travel, photography, and fashion, Lily is a testament to designs integrated with the life of its designer.