Vania Escauriza Gagliardone and David Martinez, a husband and wife duo, officially opened their handcrafted jewelry and leather accessory store in Elmwood Village on Oct. 24. The local shop, Vania & David, is home to Gagliardone’s original designs. The collection contains handbags and quality leather accessories, varying from money holders to small clutches. The shop also carries a line of necklaces, rings and earrings, some of which are made using stones.

Each accessory, whether it be handbag or jewelry, is made to last longer and age well. The materials used are 100 percent free of most chemicals used in other products on the market and the jewelry sold is handcrafted with products made from within the USA.

“Everything started when I was young, and everything was a dream for me,” Gagliardone said. “If I saw a ring somewhere I wanted it. Like how kids love candies, I love rings. If you live in South America, unless you live in Brazil, you don’t get natural stones. Being able to design my own stuff is a dream come true.”

The couple initially came to Buffalo this past summer to showcase their accessories in a pop-up shop on Elmwood. The reception from the visitors at the pop-up prompted Gagliardone to feel that a store was needed.

“I never thought of opening a store right now, and then after being extremely successful after the pop-up, I realized there was an opportunity for the store. It came more of a necessity because everyone asked if there was going to be one,” she said.

Martinez plays various roles within both the business and design aspects of the store. Gagliardone credits Martinez’s forward attitude and retail skills as two aspects that help balance the equilibrium within the business.

“I’m loving everything about the store and it’s amazing,” she said. “It’s like giving birth to a child and it’s our business and there’s nothing that can compare to that. It’s amazing having the store and the business and we just can’t wait so see the how far we can go.”

Vania & David has also been successful beyond the city. Having been featured in both Artvoice and Buffalo Rising, some of their accessories can be viewed on the big screen in movies such as “Sharknado 2,” “The American Side,” a Woodstock Film Festival feature and “Produce,” a Dallas Film Festival feature.

India Summers, a junior fashion merchandising major, took a visit to the store where she purchased one of the stone necklaces for sale.

“I like it because it’s meaningful,” she said. “It has flavor, and I mean flavor as in good style. To me, it has an urban look to it and I like that.”

To Gagliardone the future seems bright and welcoming. The store is popular and booming with much more prospects to come.

“The only limits in your life are the one that we put in our heads,” she said. “The sky is the limit. Sometimes there are people that have a lot of different experiences. Nothing is impossible, we can do anything that we want. It’s just up to us to break all those walls and say that we’re going to make it.”
For more information on Vania & David, visit their website at www.vaniaanddavid.com or follow them on Instagram at instagram.com/vaniaanddavid.

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