The Entrepreneur With An Enviable Eye

Rip & Tan: What initially inspired you to launch Paloroma?

Jane Keltner de Valle: Paloroma was totally and completely inspired by my children. My son had eczema as a baby, which sent me on a journey to find clean, effective formulas we could trust and use for our own family.

Rip & Tan: What did you feel was missing from children’s skincare and how does Paloroma work to fill this gap?

Jane Keltner de Valle: We couldn’t find a modern baby and child skincare brand that we connected with inside and out.

Paloroma is clean and transparent in its ingredients and thoughtful and beautiful in its design. We wanted something we could trust, but beyond that, something we could connect with.

Rip & Tan: Before Paloroma, you were the Style Director at Architectural Digest. How did your years in media serve as a starting point for your entrepreneurial spirit?

Jane Keltner de Valle: An editor is really a storyteller, weaving together narratives both visually and verbally. Those are the same tools you use to dream up a brand, except that instead of telling someone else’s story you’re creating your own.

During my years as an editor, I had access to so many incredible people doing incredible things. I learned from the best of the best. That definitely inspired me as I set off on this journey.

Rip & Tan: How did you know it was time to take a leap and start something new?

Jane Keltner de Valle: When I could no longer silence the voice in the back of my head. We started hatching the idea for Paloroma when I was pregnant with my youngest. In a weird way, I felt pregnant with so many ideas. There is something incredibly empowering about growing a life inside of you. It makes you feel like you can do anything.

Rip & Tan: It’s no secret that being a female entrepreneur has its fair share of hurdles. What words of advice would you give a woman looking to launch her own business?

Jane Keltner de Valle: There are so many women I admire who have launched their own businesses. My advice would be to seek out the female entrepreneurs in your orbit—both those who are ten steps ahead of you and those who are just starting out. I’ve found so much wisdom and camaraderie in the circle of women around me.

Rip & Tan: We imagine after years at AD you have quite the eye for interiors. Tell us a bit about your home and the vision behind your design.

Jane Keltner de Valle: I’m lucky to be married to an immensely talented architect and designer, Giancarlo Valle. Our home is really a credit to him. We live in a loft in an early 20th-century building on the waterfront in Brooklyn. It used to be a cardboard factory and still bears many of those architectural hallmarks—soaring ceilings, large columns and beams throughout. We loved the bones of it, but wanted to bring in warmth and make it feel like a family home.

Rip & Tan: Which room does your family gravitate towards the most? Why?

Jane Keltner de Valle: The silver lining of city living is that there is no wasted space. We really use and enjoy every room.

Everyone gathers around the kitchen island for breakfast; we have dinner at the dining table and also do art projects or set up our laptops there; the living room is the kids’ favorite spot for family movie nights or lego projects; the den is an explosion of toys, totally taken over by the children; the library became a fully functioning home office during the pandemic; and our bedrooms are these serene sanctuaries where we read, unwind, and drift off to sleep.

Rip & Tan: Are there any design secrets you’ve cultivated over the years?

Jane Keltner de Valle: Rome wasn’t built in a day. It takes time to add all the layers that make a house feel like a home. Ours in particular is constantly evolving. It’s like a laboratory for Giancarlo—things come and go all the time. It keeps things fun and interesting for me and the children!

Rip & Tan: What does living well mean to you?

Jane Keltner de Valle: Living well means having a home that is a true expression of the people who inhabit it—a place that can shelter them, grow with them, and inspire them. But, honestly, the most important ingredient to living well is who you fill your home with. Family and loved ones are the real heart of a home.

 

 

Images: Sara Kerens