VRAI is a vertically integrated jewellery company owned by Diamond Foundry. It grows diamonds in a zero-emission foundry in the Pacific Northwest, powered by hydropower from the Columbia River, and sells the finished jewellery directly to customers.
Building VRAI's headless luxury ecommerce experience
VRAI needed to turn an ambitious luxury design into a fast, reliable ecommerce experience. Tailor Hub embedded two senior engineers into its product organisation and built a headless storefront that combined Shopify's commercial capabilities with the creative control required by the brand.
Client
Challenge
Buying fine jewellery online is an expensive and emotional decision. VRAI's website had to create desire, explain the provenance of its diamonds and build enough trust for customers to make a high-value purchase.
mendesaltaren had designed a new digital experience with a high visual bar, including detailed layouts, motion and editorial storytelling. VRAI needed an engineering team capable of translating that ambition into production while protecting storefront performance and the reliability of the purchasing journey.
What we built
Tailor Hub built a headless ecommerce experience using Next.js, DatoCMS, NX and Shopify.
Shopify manages the commercial foundation, including the catalogue, product variants, checkout and orders. The decoupled frontend gives VRAI greater control over performance, interaction and visual presentation. DatoCMS allows the content team to manage the editorial layer without depending on engineering for every update.
Two senior Tailor engineers worked directly with VRAI and mendesaltaren to translate the design system and motion into production-ready components. The implementation had to remain faithful at every breakpoint while supporting a fast, maintainable storefront.
Delivery model
The project called for a team that could join VRAI's existing setup quickly and take responsibility for the launch. Tailor Hub's engineers adapted to its tools, priorities and working practices within days, operating as part of the product organisation.
That proximity helped keep design decisions, technical performance and commercial requirements connected throughout the build. The engineers remained with VRAI after the initial launch and the relationship continued.
Tailor Hub onboarded two engineers who quickly became part of our team our team and took full ownership of the ecommerce launch—just like internal employees. They delivered outstanding work, and we were so pleased with the collaboration that we continued working with them beyond the initial project
Sam Gardenswartz - VP, Product & E-commerce at VRAI
Impact
Two senior engineers embedded directly into VRAI's product organisation
End-to-end ownership of the headless ecommerce build
A storefront combining Shopify commerce with a bespoke luxury experience
Continued engagement beyond the initial launch