Normal Originals: Castlecliff
The practice of carrying the past, forward.
Normal Originals
Normal Originals is a series about the people behind our shows.
Each feature spotlights a vendor from the Not-A-Normal Show, designers, collectors, and independent brands who show up, build spaces with us, and bring these marketplaces to life. While the weekends are often filled with movement, selling, and momentum, Originals is our way of slowing down and making space for the stories that don’t always fit inside a booth.
It’s important to us to truly know the people behind the work. That belief is what led us to create Normal Originals.
Through organic conversations and studio visits, our team captures each vendor’s journey, the process, intention, and choices made when no one is watching. This series isn’t about trends. It’s about values.
Our first edition on Substack is from our visit to Castlecliff’s Brooklyn studio. Designed by Stephanie Schwalli, she has been a brand with our shows since day one at Barneys. It was so exciting to dive into her story and learn how she acquired a historical brand to bring it back to life.
A Brand Reborn
When we first came across Castlecliff, what stood out wasn’t just the jewelry, it was the care.
At a time when so many brands are chasing what’s next, Castlecliff looks inward. Into history. What’s happening here isn’t a relaunch in the traditional sense. It feels more like a return.
Castlecliff began in the early 20th century and became known for its bold costume jewelry throughout the 1940s, before closing in the mid-1970s. Decades later, the brand has reemerged, not as nostalgia, but as something considered and alive.
That return is led by Stephanie Schwalli, who acquired Castlecliff to continue its legacy.
Rather than treating the brand as a blank slate, Stephanie approached it as something with memory, an archive, a language, a history worth protecting. Her work is about carrying that forward, not polishing it into something unrecognizable.
Material as Memory
What defines Castlecliff today is its relationship to material.
Each piece is made using recycled, upcycled, and deadstock materials, a choice that feels both practical and deeply intentional. These materials already lived a life before they arrived here, and that history is part of the design.
Legacy, Made Present
Castlecliff sits in a rare place between past and present. Stephanie looks deeply into archival pieces for inspiration and each piece she hand makes connects multiple eras of the brand.
The archive isn’t treated as something precious and untouchable, but as a living reference. History informs the work without trapping it. The result feels timeless rather than retro.
This balance — honoring what came before while making room for what’s next — is something I think about constantly when building the show itself. Creating spaces where craft, history, and contemporary life can exist together without losing their edges.
Why This Matters
Stories like Castlecliff’s are why Normal Originals exists.
In a world obsessed with what’s new, there’s something powerful about choosing care, longevity, and meaning instead. About building slowly. About listening before speaking.
This isn’t just jewelry. It’s a philosophy. One that asks us to think differently about what we buy, what we keep, and what we carry forward.
