VADA founder, designer and creative director Katie Caplener’s work draws from a deep well of ranging references, from ancient art to modern dance, neoclassicism to New Wave, and the obscurest of corners that exist in between.
Katie named her line for her maternal grandmother, “Vada Joy,” and her need to make jewelry appears to have been inherited too: Her late paternal grandmother “Dot” sold a line of popular costume jewelry and melted down scrap jewelry to make designs of her own. Katie has worn an anklet adorned with Dot’s initials every day for the last decade.
In advance of establishing VADA in 2013, Katie worked in specialty retail, content creation and brand strategy. Katie lives in Austin, hails from Arkansas, and spends part of the year in Los Angeles.