Objects of Affection: Olivia Fleming
It is not often that a surprise gift from a loved one embodies your specific taste and extensive needs. The balance between practicality and beauty can be challenging to achieve, and to wrap it into one and cover it in gold - miraculous!
For Olivia Fleming, Senior Features Editor at Harper's Bazaar, founder of Olivia Kane Jewelry, and our newest feature in this installment of Objects of Affection, this balance was achieved through her husband’s Christmas gift of a gold jewelry box. Olivia confesses to having a particular style, and shares her love for the spaces she has discovered to store her precious moments and favorite jewelry pieces.
Olivia’s passion for aesthetic and hidden treasures highlights her drive for style and inspires us to keep beauty in mind for every part of life.
1. What is the backstory of the item? How did you obtain this piece?
Olivia Fleming: "My Object of Affection is my jewelry box, which holds my most precious Olivia Kane necklaces and rings. My husband gave it to me for Christmas. For years, I was stashing my jewelry in plastic pouches in my bedside table, or haphazardly leaving pieces around the house. He found a box that not only appealed to my love of gold, but is extremely functional, with space for my fine jewelry and costume pieces that I’ve collected since childhood. I also store polaroids from our honeymoon in the small draws, which always make me smile when I open them."
2. What is it that makes the object so special to you?
OF: I am very picky, with a very specific home décor aesthetic. Because I’m so particular, it can be hard to buy me gifts, so the fact that my husband conducted an intensive search for something he knew I needed but wouldn’t buy for myself, and that he knows me well enough to be confident in his choice, made it the perfect gift.
3. Did it take long to find a place for the object in your home?
OF: I knew it needed to be front and center on my dresser, for easy access, next to my favorite books and perfume.
4. Does the piece garner a lot of attention when guests are over?
OF: I think a jewelry designer-approved jewelry box will always elicit a reaction from guests (everyone asks Matt where he got it from), but more often it’s the jewelry pieces the box holds that garner the most attention. I love having somewhere pretty to display the pieces I love the most! It’s like my own personal treasure chest.
5. Any tips for helping readers find their own object of affection?
Objects of affection are always so personal that I think my best piece of advice would be to trust your instincts—because a home filled with objects you love and treasure always makes for the most compelling interior design.
