During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Maranda Pair would walk to her merchandising job and see Black Lives Matter protests. There were helicopters above and sirens wailing; she felt like the country was going back in time. Amid the turmoil of the year, the Richmond native found a creative outlet to release her emotions.
“I’m really big on peace, love and good vibes,” she says. “I found the need to express beauty in chaos.” Pair began making earrings for her mother and family members, then friends and followers began requesting particular styles. “It automatically came to me,” she says. “I’m not gonna make just single earrings.” This was the beginning of her business, Ginger’s Love.
Maranda Pair of Ginger’s Love
“Ginger’s Love is the brand that you can feel. It’s more than just accessories or jewelry, it’s spreading peace and love into the world,” Pair says. “I’ve had customers come to me and say that just putting on their [earrings] helped them feel better.”
The business name came from a night out right before pandemic lockdowns. “I used to go out a lot,” Pair says, adding that friends began calling her Ginger because of her spicy personality — “cool and good for your spirit.”
“Two of my friends had been calling me Ginger, and one had my name in their phone as ‘Ginger Love,’ so it seemed like a good choice.”
Pair, who holds a fashion merchandising degree from Old Dominion University, has released four earring collections: Introducing Ginger’s Love, We Black Everyday, Freedom and Pride. Each pair is meant to bring a sense of peace to the wearer, with names such as Strength, Peace, Forgive and Light.
Pair hopes that her earrings help customers not just feel good, but feel well — a state she describes as an inner peace. “I like to think you can choose to feel good, but feeling well is inside out, it is strength and courage,” she says.
She also serves as vendor coordinator for RVA Fashion Week, and collaborated with designer Keziah Amaree to create runway looks featuring Amaree’s clothes and Pair’s earrings.
Ginger’s Love earrings are available at her website, gingerslove.com, and on Amazon.
