IN CONVERSATION WITH ANNE & ESTHER VEDDER
interview by JANA LETONJA
Anne and Esther Vedder are the identical powerhouse twin sisters behind Vedder & Vedder, one of the Netherlands’ most beloved jewellery brands which is slowly becoming a global success story. Since founding the label in 2016, this dynamic duo has transformed their shared passion for storytelling and craftsmanship into a multimillion-euro business built on the foundation of emotional connection — creating personalised, handcrafted pieces that carry deep personal meaning resonating with a global audience.
left:
bodysuits HUNKEMÖLLER
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
right:
bodysuit HUNKEMÖLLER
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
Beyond jewelry, the sisters have expanded their entrepreneurial empire with Feathers, a wellness line for mothers, and The Selfmade Project, a platform that mentors aspiring business owners. Their most recent venture is to go beyond their success in personalised jewellery. They have expanded their entrepreneurial empire with Vedder Diamonds, a jewellery brand specialised in natural and lab grown Diamonds. Named to Forbes’ prestigious 40 Under 40 list in 2023, Anne and Esther continue to redefine what it means to build a purpose-driven brand rooted in sisterhood, creativity, and connection — all while navigating the challenges of new motherhood together.
left:
bodysuit HUNKEMÖLLER
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
blazer RONALD VAN DER KEMP COUTURE
belt ALAÏA
right:
stockings HUNKEMÖLLER
dress NATAN COUTURE
shoes SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
You’re identical twins and business partners. How would you describe the dynamic between you both, personally and professionally?
Because we're twin sisters, we understand each other very well, we share a very unique bond. We've always shared the same vision, but we are also not afraid to be brutally honest with each other. Of course, we sometimes have different opinions about things, but we always end up intuitively returning to the same conclusion. Even when we were just starting out and still in the start-up phase of our company, we were able to pull each other through when one of us got fed up. Otherwise, we might have quit long ago if we had started the company alone.
Do you think being twins gives you a unique advantage when it comes to running a business together?
Yes, definitely, you dare to confront each other because you're used to arguing sometimes, just like all sisters do. You know things will work out, so we're extra critical of each other and we don't keep our opinions to ourselves. Being brutally authentic with each other is our superpower.
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full look SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO
stockings HUNKEMÖLLER
tie DIOR
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
right:
jacket and shirt DIOR HOMME
bodysuit HUNKEMÖLLER
trousers and boots ALAÏA
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
How did the idea for Vedder & Vedder first come to life, and what gap in the market were you hoping to fill?
Inspiration always starts close to home and heart we always say. When we were young, our mother gave jewelry-making workshops and as little girls, we would go along, and out of our pocket allowance, we could pick out beads and started making our own jewels. This is how we got involved with jewelry making at a very young age. When we were students, we followed in her footsteps and started giving jewelry workshops ourselves as a part-time job.
Just after graduating, our mother gave us a piece of gold jewelry. It was beautiful, but not unique. We were looking for something to make this piece unique. Our mother always wrote notes for us in beautiful, elegant handwriting. Then we thought how wonderful would it be if we could incorporate her handwriting into this piece. Then it would suddenly become a truly unique piece of jewelry that no one else has. This idea was almost impossible to realize, but once we found it and incorporated her handwriting into our piece, we received so many responses that we knew for sure that this would be our new business.
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dress VALENTINO via McArthurGlenn Outlet
earrings VEDDER & VEDDER
couture dress MAISON AZZURA
shoes SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO
stockings HUNKEMÖLLER
right:
jacket and shirt DIOR HOMME
bodysuit HUNKEMÖLLER
trousers and boots ALAÏA
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
Vedder & Vedder is built around jewelry with emotional value. Why was personalisation so central to your vision from the beginning?
The jewellery market is huge, and when we started 10 years ago, there were already many jewellery brands. But there wasn't a single jewellery brand that did what we did, create personalised jewellery. Think of fingerprints, handwriting, and initials in jewellery. Because we were unique in this area, we grew so quickly. Personalisation has always been very important to Vedder & Vedder.
You’ve managed to combine craftsmanship with the speed of modern retail — how do you maintain that balance of quality and efficiency?
This also makes Vedder & Vedder a much more challenging business to run. At one point, we suddenly had twice as many orders as usual. All orders are handmade in our studio, meaning we had to find more goldsmiths in no time. Because each item is unique, we can't pre-produce the jewelry. This naturally leads to stress, or certain pieces can no longer be ordered, even though we still want to sell them. Guaranteeing quality, of course, remains paramount.
left:
couture dress MAISON AZZURA
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
right:
couture dress MAISON AZZURA
lace bodysuit and skirt MONIQUE SINGH
bodysuits HUNKEMÖLLER
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
How do you ensure that the heart and authenticity of your brand stay intact as you grow internationally, especially into the US market?
It’s certainly very tempting to sell much more standard jewelry alongside our core, personalized jewelry. We’ve done this in recent years, but we’ve come back to the fact that personalized jewelry will always remain the most popular piece of our brand and that we shouldn’t lose focus on it, despite it being very tempting to start selling something that’s much easier than what we do now.
Where do you find creative inspiration — for designs, branding, or storytelling?
We find most of our inspiration when we're traveling. It's so good to sometimes step outside your comfort zone and look at what you're currently selling, and see what the trends are in other countries.
bodysuit HUNKEMÖLLER
top NATAN COUTURE
jewellery VEDDER DIAMONDS
You’ve both launched a new project, Vedder diamonds, how did that come about? What inspired you to branch out beyond jewelry?
Because the jewelry market has been completely turned upside down by the arrival of Lab-Grown Diamonds, we've started to explore this further. In America, more lab-grown diamonds are already being sold this year than natural diamonds. The arrival of Lab-Grown Diamonds has suddenly made diamond jewelry more affordable for a wider audience. We found this development very interesting because now we can design truly beautiful, next-level jewelry that was normally reserved for royal families, at a much better price. This sparked our creativity so much that we didn't want to miss this opportunity and founded Vedder Diamonds.
How do you balance the demands of being entrepreneurs, public figures, and now mothers?
We don't have an actual work-life balance. Everything blends together fluidily. On one hand, this means we can easily manage our own schedule, but on the other hand, work has always been our passion, something that we both feel and brings us both great joy.
TEAM CREDITS:
talents ANNE and ESTHER VEDDER
photography STEPHANIE PISTEL at Tempomedia
production and fashion direction PEDRO DIAS
hair and makeup CHRISTEL MAN using Redken
photography assistants LIZ VAN CAMPENHOUT and JORDI SIEVERS
styling assistants CLAIRE VAN DUREN and FLORENCE
glam assistants MARJOLEIN VAN DIJK and CHRISTEL PROVOOST
post production VERONIKA SCARINI
location EQUIPME STUDIO 8
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA
interview JANA LETONJA
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN
