A Girl You Should Know: Daisy Pyo
The NYC-based jewelry designer fills us in on her summer travels, favorite souvenirs, and why her best ideas tend to find her outside.
Daisy Pyo is either somewhere without service or looking for an excuse to lose it. The Korean-American jewelry designer behind the label Lobeta spends her days journaling, hiking, calling home, and dreaming up new pieces far from her screen. This summer, Pyo’s wandering spirit has taken her from her home in Brooklyn to the grassy trails of the French Alps and Barcelona’s colorful, crowded streets, usually by way of an airplane window seat. Her feed is a travel diary told through mountain paths and winding cobblestone streets, the kind that makes you reconsider your own vacation photos. But the places she visits leave their clearest trace in her designs.
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten while traveling?
Too many! There’s this rotisserie chicken joint in Seoul that I will always keep going back to. Sounds basic and boring, but rotisserie in Korea is different. There’s literally a man outside the restaurant, slow-cooking the chicken in a woodfire, which makes it super juicy and tender. It’s stuffed with sticky rice and sometimes chestnuts and jujube dates. I’m salivating just thinking about it.
Do you talk to strangers?
I’m a yapper, so yes.
Your go-to souvenir?
Kinda corny, but I’ve always loved collecting magnets for my fridge and postcards for my junk journal. My partner and I have also started a spoon collection. Also foods, snacks, and sauces that are special to the place that I’m visiting.
How did you get into making jewelry?
In 2022, I started taking jewelry making classes and really enjoyed it. It felt so good to wear jewelry that I made myself. Seeing it patina and build character over time felt truly unique to me. I’ve always been a bit of a serial hobbyist, but this was the first thing that made me feel like it could lead to something. At the same time, I started to visit Korea more often and got really interested in the fashion scene there.
Where did the idea to start Lobeta come from?
It came about so organically while my partner, Nick, and I were in Seoul, finding jewelry we loved with tasteful designs and quality silver. We got engaged earlier that year and instead of planning a wedding, we started building Lobeta together. Long story short, it was built to create intentionally designed pieces, highlight Korean craftsmanship, and bridge the gap between my two worlds: Seoul and New York.
What does the name mean?
It’s derived from “low beta,” a meditative state where one finds inner stillness and coherence between the internal and external. My hope is that our jewelry can help you build confidence to show up shamelessly as yourself, but also be a reminder that this starts with getting attuned to your inner world.
Which piece that you’ve designed feels the most “you”?
Definitely the Vinea earring. It’s a spiral earring inspired by the notion of transformation, non-linear growth, impermanence, and the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth. It’s a quiet reminder of something I strongly believe in: continual change and how our inner work is truly our life’s work!
What’s the first piece of jewelry you remember loving?
My mom had this gold pendant necklace that I remember her always wearing when I was a child. She passed it down to me when I was a teenager, and I never took it off. Sadly, I lost it 7 years ago, but I still think about it often.
If you could borrow one person’s jewelry box, whose would it be?
Phoebe Buffay from Friends. She always had the coolest ring stack and earrings.
Where do your best ideas find you?
Outside, away from my phone.
What’s on your jewelry moodboard forever?
Elements of nature: the textures of trees, forests, mountains, flowers, plants, water, light. There’s so much that she (nature) can teach us, show us, and remind us.
What’s the most-worn thing in your closet?
Probably my camo Croc flats that I got secondhand. I can’t stop wearing them!
Current obsession?
The answer to this will always be Danchoo, my son (cat).
What’s a material you’re dying to work with?
I’ve just started to work more with stones and gems, which feels like a very exciting step for Lobeta. This isn’t jewelry related, but I’ve been eager to work with wood next.
Last photo on your camera roll?
What’s your go-to dinner order?
Thai, pad kee mao and it must be the super thick noodles!
How do you ground yourself?
My daily morning routine: reading nonfiction (currently it’s Becoming Supernatural by Joe Dispenza, whose books changed my life), journaling, and moving my body. On top of that I do weekly somatic therapy, take lots of walks outside, stay off my phone (I love my Brick), and call my mom and sister. As much as I love living in New York, I’m grateful we have a car to go upstate whenever we can. Spending time outside fills my cup and gives me time and space to tend to my inner world.
What’s something nobody knows about you?
I was in a chess club in elementary school, won a tournament, and was crowned chess queen.
