5th December 2025
Notes From A Founder,
by Ti Chang
For the next instalment of our series, we speak to Co-founder and Chief Design Officer of CRAVE, a pleasure jewellery brand redefining luxury in intimacy products. The US-based artist, industrial designer, and entrepreneur has a vision of bringing beauty and emotional connection to pleasure products and is best known for the Vesper vibrator necklace.
She tells us how she navigates business as a female founder, facing challenges of building a product within a ‘taboo’ category, earning credibility, and how she remains authentic in an ever-evolving market.
15th February 2025
Notes From A Founder,
by Chloe Forde
Introducing a new series, created to spotlight the women shaping the world around them; the founders building considered brands with purpose and perspective. At Bluebella, we believe in the power of community and, as a female-founded business, we are committed to championing women who lead the way—the power is in the progress.
We delve into the stories behind the brands, having honest, intelligent conversations that reflect the multifaceted nature of women in business today.
This week, we chat to fashion stylist, mum and Ace & Prince founder Chloe Forde, on the challenges of starting a business during the pandemic, the power of female community and having open conversations about money and business.
Tell us about Ace & Prince. How did it come into fruition?
Ace and Prince launched just before COVID hit with my then business partner. As a stylist, I work with a number of big brands and—just by the nature of the business—sometimes that space for creativity is limited. I wanted something that I could have complete creative control over.
We launched A&P with just under £500, out of a shed. Neither of us had ever run a business—I built the website, we bought 150 pieces as our initial run and we sold out on launch night. Since then, the brand has evolved beyond what I could have ever imagined. We now have a beautiful community, we host events that are centred in meeting like-minded people and the product line continues to expand.
How have you felt the power of the female community in building your brand?
Women are at the core of every decision I make, in both life and in business. I feel really passionately about the role women have in uplifting other women but also sharing information and opportunities. I think it is really important for us to have open discussions about money and business. I’m keen to create spaces where women are at the forefront of decision-making and the creation of opportunities to learn and grow. Almost all of the people I work with—from my accountant to my seamstresses—are women. My female community are the bones of this business, and I'm really proud of that.
“Women are at the core of every decision I make, in both life and in business. I feel really passionately about the role women have in uplifting other women but also sharing information and opportunities.”
You’re a business owner, mother and creative—what does it mean to balance those worlds?
There is no balance and I have made peace with that. I have a very full life and that is such a privilege. There are times I feel incredibly overwhelmed because all three of those things are full-time jobs on their own. But I also feel empowered by it— whilst I have the energy, I am going to continue to try my best to make it work! I lean heavily into convenience when times are particularly busy… a service wash at a laundrette feels like ultimate luxury to me!
What progress do you think is needed to improve the industry/make it easier for women to start a business?
Conversation, conversation, conversation! Open and frank conversations that don’t skirt around the truths about money and business.
Ace & Prince feels incredibly considered — what guides the decisions you make for your brand, creatively and commercially?
Thank you. I have always operated on a bit of a ‘if it ain't broke don’t fix it’ mindset. When we launched, we shot every tote against a white wall in front of my apartment. We still do that, it’s simple and feels like part of the brand identity now. All of these things started off quite unintentionally but are now considered choices that we’ve made to keep the brand's core values the same.
All decisions I make as a founder are guided by who the A&P customer is and what they will like. My Commercial decisions are still based on feeling and intuition. We don’t put any big spend behind digital marketing campaigns; we have created an A&P lifestyle that feels very authentic to who our customer is.
You’re a business owner, mother and creative—what does it mean to balance those worlds?
There is no balance and I have made peace with that. I have a very full life and that is such a privilege. There are times I feel incredibly overwhelmed because all three of those things are full-time jobs on their own. But I also feel empowered by it— whilst I have the energy, I am going to continue to try my best to make it work! I lean heavily into convenience when times are particularly busy… a service wash at a laundrette feels like ultimate luxury to me!
What progress do you think is needed to improve the industry/make it easier for women to start a business?
Conversation, conversation, conversation! Open and frank conversations that don’t skirt around the truths about money and business.
Ace & Prince feels incredibly considered — what guides the decisions you make for your brand, creatively and commercially?
Thank you. I have always operated on a bit of a ‘if it ain't broke don’t fix it’ mindset. When we launched, we shot every tote against a white wall in front of my apartment. We still do that, it’s simple and feels like part of the brand identity now. All of these things started off quite unintentionally but are now considered choices that we’ve made to keep the brand's core values the same.
All decisions I make as a founder are guided by who the A&P customer is and what they will like. My Commercial decisions are still based on feeling and intuition. We don’t put any big spend behind digital marketing campaigns; we have created an A&P lifestyle that feels very authentic to who our customer is.
You’re Have you felt the power of the female community in building Crave?
Absolutely. Not just women, but men and people in general. CRAVE exists because of our community. From the very beginning, people championed the brand by sharing their stories, buying CRAVE for their friends, and wearing our pieces openly in the world.
My support system is made up of a close-knit group of creative women, fellow founders, and the customers who write to us about how our pieces made them feel or the memorable experiences they had with them. I keep a file of notes I’ve received from people over the years, and on my lowest days, I look through them to remind myself why this work matters.
You’re an industrial designer, activist and a conceptual artist — what does it mean to balance those worlds?
T: For me, these worlds are not things to balance but currents I move between, each taking the lead when needed. They are not separate. They are different expressions of the same ideas, shaped for different purposes. The how, who, and why shift with the work, and navigating that with intention is part of my creative practice.
Industrial design gives me rigor and discipline. Activism gives me purpose. Art gives me the space to feel and to question. When I design pleasure jewelry for CRAVE, the spark comes from emotion, from the desire for beauty and confidence in pleasure, yet the realization of that idea relies on engineering and manufacturing. With my personal art, the intentions are more intimate. The parameters and the audience change, and the dialogue becomes private rather than commercial. Moving between them is not always seamless, but it keeps my work honest, grounded, and deeply personal.
What progress do you think is needed to improve the industry/make it easier for women to start a business?
T: Access to capital, mentorship, and networks that have historically excluded women is essential. And representation matters. When more women are visible in leadership, in design, and in boardrooms, everything shifts. As a mentor of mine, Cindy Gallop, often says, “Don’t stand with me. Pay me.” It is a reminder that true support for women requires more than encouragement. It requires investment.
What advice would you give to other women looking to start their own business?
T: Start with what you wish existed in the world, not what you think other people will like. That emotional conviction is essential. Entrepreneurship comes with extreme highs and lows, and many days when you will want to quit, but if you are deeply connected to your mission, you will have the resilience to weather the journey.
One of the most surreal moments was when Madonna said she would wear our 24k gold Vesper for the rest of her life. That kind of recognition feels epic, but it only happens when something is created from a place of truth. If you start with what you genuinely wish to see in the world, the chances of it resonating with people, and with icons like Madonna, become much greater.
There have been incredible wins and equally intense challenges, but the perspective I have gained is that clarity of purpose, thoughtful execution, and resilience are what carry a small business forward.
Crave feels incredibly considered — what guides the decisions you make for your brand, creatively and commercially?
T: We think very carefully about the why and the how behind everything we create. Why does this piece of literature belong here? How will someone feel when they open this package or read this message? How do we talk about intimate or sensitive subjects in a way that is fair, factual, and respectful?
We consider every touchpoint of the brand, from social content to customer service, and we work hard to ensure that anyone who interacts with CRAVE feels respected and heard. We move with intention, sometimes more slowly than others, but I believe that is necessary.
What I am most proud of is our community. There is an IYKYK club that has grown organically because of pleasure jewelry. People use it to connect and find kindred spirits in so many spaces, from clubs and restaurants to queer and pleasure-positive environments. It has become a way of finding the cool kids who want you to sit with them.
At Bluebella, we seek to redefine sensuality for the modern woman. You are celebrated for bringing a new definition of luxury to intimacy products: tell us more about that.
T: Luxury to me is about beauty, and beauty is never lazy. Paola Antonelli once said, “The opposite of beauty is laziness,” and I think about that often. Beauty requires effort, thought, and care. We are relentless in our intentionality and our originality. It is the care we bring to every stage of design and the respect we put into shaping the entire experience around it.
Our products are original, and it is effortful to be original. We created the pleasure jewelry category because we had a clear point of view to share with the world. I believe our pieces elevate the conversation around pleasure in a way that is uniquely respectful and that invites curiosity and connection.