Momboss: The Ladies Behind The Jewelry Brand Bario Neal
Written by James Kicinski-McCoy
Photography by Photographed By Melissa Kurzenski
Few items in a woman’s wardrobe hold as much sentimental value as a piece of jewelry. Be it an inherited family heirloom or a gifted token of adoration, almost every woman (and man!) can admit to having a ring or necklace that are especially cherished on account of its history. This week’s Momboss duo—jewelry-makers Anna Bario and Page Neal, co-founders of Bario Neal—understand the significance that jewels can have. The two hard-working mamas have been designing their pieces with ethics, origin, and sentimentalism in mind for over a decade. And, after ten years of business together and three kiddos added into the mix, Bario and Neal are still just as passionate about the materials and craftsmanship that make up their pieces as they were on day one. We sat down with the two to discuss their journey and the challenges and rewards of balancing motherhood, entrepreneurship, and beyond.
-
-
Gang's all here! (From left to right): Anna Bario and her son, Levon, 2. Page Neal and her son Miles, 4, and daughter Ila, 10 months.
Anna wears a Henrik Vibskov top, vintage jeans, and No. 6 clogs. Levon wears a vintage turtleneck and Misha & Puff knit leggings. Page wears a Popomomo dress and vintage shoes. Miles and Ila both wear head to toe Misha & Puff.
-
-
“I co-own and operate Bario Neal Jewelry alongside Anna Bario. We founded the company in 2008, and over the course of our ten years together, our roles have shifted significantly. In the beginning, Anna and I did everything from making the jewelry to all sales, bookkeeping, and more. We now have an incredible staff, which has allowed Anna and I to refine our positions. Currently, my focus for the business is with design and production, marketing, finances, and general operations.” -Page
“I am a designer, and run Bario Neal with my longtime partner-in-jewelry, Page Neal. My work involves coordinating and collaborating with our jewelers and sales team, developing our company strategies with Page, researching new ethical suppliers and industry issues, as well as good ol’ day-to-day business operations.” -Anna
-
-
“I love seeing ideas realized as physical objects that become part of other people’s lives.” -Page
“Like Page, I love seeing new designs move from idea to reality. Seeing sketches and conversation made real in wax, then metal and gems is really pretty magical.” -Anna
-
- “Page and I were both designing and making jewelry and running into questions of material origin. We work so closely with our materials, and realized early on that jewelry can carry so much significance. We began to consider questions like: ‘How do we do this without knowing our materials’ origin and history?’ We believe that the maker imparts the value of their making, and the wearer attaches their own significance when wearing the jewelry as an amulet, a marker, for remembrance, or just for fun. Page and I knew we wanted to be on the east coast, as I was just moving back from San Francisco and Page was in New York at the time. Philadelphia had an amazing network of craftspeople and manufacturers, a strong artist community, and affordable space.” -Anna
-
-
“I worked in design research at an architecture firm as well as in education at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum. The year we decided to start the business, I began a master’s degree in Integrated Product Design at the University of Pennsylvania.” -Page
“Before starting Bario Neal, I was headed for a graduate program in conflict resolution. I decided to take a year and move out west. That lead to a new boyfriend (Marco, who is now my spouse) and a lot of waitressing. I was making jewelry in a home studio off my kitchen and selling at San Francisco boutiques. I did a brief stint with a nine-to-five job at a university, and realized it wasn’t for me.” -Anna
-
-
“I have a background in sculpture, product design, and design education. I’m always the happiest in work when I have the opportunity to make something physical and daydream about how to get it out into the world.” -Page
“I grew up in West Virginia in a village built around a limestone quarry. I was interested in the impacts of mining and extractive industries early on, and studied environmental science and psychology in college. I always loved making things with my hands, but it was an internship at a metal sculpture studio that got me working in metals. When I moved to San Francisco after college, I started making jewelry so that I could keep my metal practice going without access to a huge studio.” -Anna
-
-
“Yes, always. I’ve always wanted the independence of working for myself. Like most women in the world, I experienced quite a bit of sexism early on in my education and career. It motivated me to do my own thing. I am always grateful that I don’t have some creepy male boss telling me what to do, especially right now with all the sexual harassment allegations that are being revealed. With that said, Anna and I still experience a fair amount of sexism as women business owners, which usually manifests in patronizing advice given to us by men.” -Page
“I don’t think I ever imagined myself in a traditional career. A friend of my mother’s gave me a tarot reading when I was 16 or 17 and told me I would be successful in business. I thought it was absurd at the time! Even when Page and I started Bario Neal, I imagined it as much more of a small, studio-based project where she and I would still be making everything ourselves.” -Anna
-
- “Honestly what comes to mind is shoulder pads and breast milk. I think I'm just conjuring up an image of Diane Keaton in that ‘80s movie Baby Boom.” -Page
-
- “I don't know any working moms who aren't giving it all they’ve got. I think about how much women do and have always done all the time, and how rarely it is acknowledged in our culture. Since having kids, I have observed that if you are a working dad who is also engaged in his children's lives, you are constantly told how good of a father you are. For instance, this summer I was out to dinner with my husband, our toddler, and our infant. I was nursing the baby, while my husband was playing a game with our son. An older couple came up to us at the end of the meal and gave my husband $40 for being a good dad, then they told me I looked great for just having a baby. We were both so uncomfortable that all we could do was laugh. I often think about that story and how it so neatly sums up cultural expectations and sexism. What would a mom have to do to get $40 from a stranger for being a good mom? Probably breastfeed her baby, while competing in a triathlon, and then go home to cook an organic four-course dinner.” -Page
-
- “Perspective is everything. It’s definitely difficult having less time for work, though I love the moment when I leave to pick up my son. Motherhood is so all-encompassing when I’m with him. I try to let everything else disappear in that time.” -Anna
-
-
“Childcare.” -Page
“One thing about having less time as a parent is that you work fast in the time you do have. I work a fair amount at night. I’ve always been the kind of person who’s ready to start a project at 10 p.m. I think I’m often the most creative at that time.” -Anna
-
-
“I love running, reading, making things with my hands, playing with the kids, and watching the dumbest comedies that I can find on Netflix.” -Page
“Having a kid has made it easier to turn off the work brain. There isn’t as much time to just relax, but being with my son is so engaging that it does allow me to separate more from work when I’m with him. I try to treat weekends as sacred, especially after working weekends for so many years.” -Anna
-
- “I think it’s hard to digest the more ephemeral advice like ‘enjoy your kids’. It all goes by so fast, even if it is true. So, here is some real, practical advice: you don't have to wash the breast pump parts every time you pump during the day. Just get a big Ziploc bag and put the pump stuff in it. Then, place it inside the fridge!” -Page
-
-
“Anna and I started Bario Neal when we were in our mid-twenties. It was fueled by credit card debt, caffeine, and big dreams. It took years for Anna and I to pay ourselves, and then several more years to pay ourselves more than minimum wage. It would have been hard to do had we had children at that point in our lives. So, I would say if you want to start a business without funding, then maybe do it before kids. And, if you are already a mother and want to start a business, then try to secure funding.” -Page
“I am grateful that we did the heavy lifting of starting our company before we had kids! The hours and the intensity of not having enough help would have been much tougher as a parent. We still have crazy days now, but we also have a pretty strong culture at Bario Neal (five of us are moms) that kids come first, and everyone else understands.” -Anna
-
- “Be confident in what you want.” -Page
-
- “For my son, I took three months off. And, for my daughter, I took four months off because she was born a month early. She is only ten months old now, so I am still trying to work part-time. I am incredibly grateful to Anna and the entire Bario Neal crew that I have been able to take the time off. I wish our country placed a higher value on leave, so that all parents would be able to spend longer periods of time with their children.” -Page
-
-
“Before kids, I was much more of a workaholic. Now, I try to strike a balance where I feel devoted and confident in my job, but also remember my primary responsibility as parent. I'm home with the kids if they are sick. I keep my cell phone on me all day in case the nanny or my son's preschool calls. The kids always win.” -Page
“This isn’t a new observation, but our culture is so oriented toward work. I love going to parties in other countries and talking to people for hours without ever learning what they do for work. Here it’s essentially the second thing you learn about someone after their name. In my twenties, ambition combined with the demands of a growing company made work pretty central to my life. Having children reorients you; your child is the center of your life, and I’ve enjoyed that. It can make work more difficult, but it definitely makes life more interesting.” -Anna
-
- “I think I am more thoughtful with my ambition. I ask myself more frequently now, ‘What's the long-term goal of this and how do we want to cultivate a sustainable and enriching business?’” -Page
-
-
“Our families are wonderful, but they don't live nearby and most of my friends work, so we spend a bulk of our disposable income on childcare. At first this was hard for me to swallow, but now I just accept it as the reality. My kids will not be young forever, and I'll have opportunities in the future to buy nice shoes or contribute to my 401(k) account.” -Page
“I moved from Philly to Brooklyn in 2013 to open our New York City showroom. When Levon was born, we actually moved to southern Vermont where we have an amazing support system, and still split time between Vermont and Brooklyn.” -Anna
-
- “Take a real vacation with your partner without work and without kids.” -Page
-
- “Absolutely! It is something I struggle with, and I will be the first to admit that I am the mom responding to emails on her iPhone at the playground, which makes me feel like a jerk at times. But, on the flip side, working remotely allows you to be on the playground with your kids during the middle of the day.” -Page
-
- “I think it's a challenge to keep perspective. Business realities are always shifting. Sometimes everything is smooth sailing, then it quickly turns rocky. Now that we have been doing this for almost ten years, I am much more comfortable with the highs and lows than I was five years ago. Nonetheless, it can be challenging to not be reactive.” -Page
-
- “I tend not to think that much about competition; I find the comparisons distracting.” -Page
-
-
“Morning coffee, quiet time, a breast pump, and my phone.” -Page
“I always have a Canson spiral bound sketchbook and a Pilot G2 .38 pen. I have a stack of 20 of these notebooks going back the last six years at least.” -Anna
-
- “I think people would be surprised to know that the core of the job is communication.” -Page
-
- “I would love it if I could dress up everyday, but I find that I don't have time to exercise and also get fancy. Often times, I wear spandex and running shoes, so that I can fit in a quick run after work. You can tell if I am feeling lazy because I'll be wearing heels.” -Page
-
- “I do a lot with our ethical sourcing and activism within the industry. I sit on the board of Ethical Metalsmiths, which is an amazing resource and a really open community. The Jewelry Industry Summit, which Bario Neal is helping to plan, is doing really strong work to try to move the whole industry forward in terms of benefiting the people and places throughout our entire supply chain.” -Anna
-
- “Intelligence, a genuine interest in the company, a relevant skill set, and social ease.” -Page
-
- “Bibimbap.” -Page
-
-
“I take a trip. It can be as simple as a day trip to a city or a museum I've never visited before.” -Page
“I go for a walk or a run or exploring new places. If I’m really stuck, often just finding a park or a café I’ve never been to will open things up for me.” -Anna
-
- It's a family affair!
-
- “We are working towards releasing a suites collection for our rings with stones in the spring, and of course a baby bangle collection that is featured in this photoshoot. Stay tuned!” -Page
Share this story
