designer spotlight: mejuri makes fine jewelry a uniquely personal decision for every woman

Designer Spotlight is a regular column focused on style/design and working women.
Canadian may Chu Libased e-
The brand of fine jewelry, redefine the personal jewelry decision.
Former engineer Noura Sakkijha and experienced art director Justine lanc. on focuses on ensuring that women get a positive boutique jewelry buying experience that reflects her personality,New, high-
She receives high-quality, modern, minimalist earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings every week.
Mejuri also specializes in online sales to eliminate traditional retail price increases.
These strategies make brands stand out in crowded markets. “We [hope]
The trend of creating women to buy jewelry for themselves rather than genius (
Or wait for men to buy them jewelry).
Our goal is to make jewelry a part of women\'s daily lives, just as they think about shoes and bags --
It\'s exciting that 89% of our deals are done by women!
Said Sakkijha and lanccon.
Sakkijha founded Mejuri in 2013.
The company initially engaged in crowdsourcing goods by working with and displaying jewelry designers around the world.
After working as creative director at Lanson, Mejuri built its own boutique jewelry collection and direct-to-
Reshaping consumer brands
Launched in early 2015.
Investors include real estate companies and 500 start-ups.
Mejuri has exceeded millions of dollars in the second year of operation, reporting 20-
30% of transactions per month come from repeat customers.
Prior to the establishment of Mejuri, Sakkijha was a CIBC processing engineer with a master\'s degree in business administration from Ryerson University and an industrial engineering degree from Jordan University.
She is currently a friendly industry for members of the Toronto Board.
Lanson holds a master\'s degree in Les Arts de coratifs and has held many artistic director positions in various institutions, including Seenk senior artistic director in Paris.
Kristina Moore: What do you think of the power that may Giuli gives to working women?
Noura Sakkijha: Our mission at Mejuri is simple: to bring exquisite jewelry to the everyday life of women.
We do this by frequently introducing fresh contemporary designs that are energized by expert jewelers, and (
Because we are a direct consumer brand)
We are able to provide our jewelry at an available price without affecting the quality.
We don\'t talk to men either. . .
We can say this: our brand is not for men.
We want to break the pattern we see in fine classic jewelry: selling gifts to men to women, but creating a brand that connects with women on a more personal level.
Justin Lanson: (busy)
Modern women do not want to spend a lot of time looking for designs in a very fragmented market, and do not want to spend all their salaries on having quality jewelry.
She wants her style to be simple and she doesn\'t want to look too hard, but she also wants the \"brand experience \".
\"They are independent women and want to have the option to buy quality, not
Overpriced jewelry for their dayto-day lives.
We gave them the choice.
We made it.
89% of our customers are women who want to be kind to themselves and friends, which means a lot!
What makes you decide to cooperate?
Sakkijha: I met Justin at the end of 2014.
I remember sitting for hours when we first met.
We discussed the concept of the brand;
What are our ideas for luxury goods and how to create something meaningful for the new generation.
After that, I knew we had the same vision and immediately thought I wanted to build Mejuri with her!
Justine\'s skills are a complement to my skills.
She has a strong creative vision that allows us to continuously enhance our brand vision.
We walked through the ups and downs together and even lived in San Francisco together!
Two years later, I knew I had made the right decision.
Lanson: two years ago, after working for the art director for many years, I felt it was time to make a change.
I want to do something fresh and spontaneous.
So I submitted my resignation to Paris and moved to Canada.
I met Nura here and we clicked right away.
Her courage, her persistent vision and her knowledge and enthusiasm for fine jewelry left a deep impression on me;
I know this is the kind of woman who can do a great job.
I did not hesitate to follow her on this adventure.
How do you maintain the quality and provide the available price?
Sakkijha: We have a directto-
Our jewelry is handmade.
Crafted by professional manufacturers.
As a result of this process, we don\'t mark our jewelry 8 times or 10 times as much as traditional jewelry brands do, so we are able to sell directly to our customers and help pass on these savings to them.
We work directly with the best jewelers from Canada and around the world.
These people are personally known to us, who share our values and are committed to excellence in craftsmanship and responsible production.
Our jewellers are our friends and collaborators and we are proud of their work and ethical processes, which we consider to be at the heart of Mejuri.
It is always the expertise of our auditing manufacturers in a month-
Experience, values and practices.
We did that.
From the perspective of marketing, we also understand what modern consumers and millennials are concerned about.
Luxury is no longer a price issue or a unique one: its craftsmanship, creative design, quality materials, and a great brand experience.
We don\'t spend our resources on expensive advertising activities because we believe in a more realistic approach.
Instead, we rely on organic referrals to get a more realistic exposure, word-of-
Word of mouth in advertising and paid marketing is getting less and less.
Of course, this philosophy extends to all aspects of our brand, including how we show ourselves in an aesthetic way, because our activities are very natural, just like the women we show and talk: in real life, in the city, shot in a coffee shop, there is no big touch.
People see their women.
All of this creates a sense of community and belonging for us and our customers, which is as precious as our jewelry.
How does social media affect the growth of Mejuri?
Sakkijha: Social media has always been a part of us.
We are an online brand and this is how we keep in touch with the online community.
This is our voice.
It makes us inclusive, creates and strengthens our relationship with our customers: this is where they interact with us and where they are listened and we get feedback.
We did a great job and people always commented that our customer service was one of the best they received.
Lanchon: It\'s also a platform to help us connect jewelry with wonderful bloggers as it allows women to see jewelry in their daily lives.
Social media enables us to create our community where we find people who believe in what we do, who are involved and bring authenticity to the brand.
But most importantly, thanks to this wonderful platform, we see the love, sharing and encouragement that people have for us.
This is very direct and sincere feedback, and it is also a very democratic and transparent way of growing for emerging brands.
To put it simply: It\'s challenging and exciting and it drives us to always do better.
How do you keep the jewelry design progressive and fresh?
Our design is simple and timeless ,(
But that doesn\'t mean boring or single).
We create them to adapt to the simplicity of everyday life, but since each design is unique, we always have room for creativity.
We launch new products every week, these are small limited edition products that people like, so Mejuri always has something new and fresh.
It is our DNA to cooperate and create with others.
As a result, we have also launched a limited edition collection with fashion editors and bloggers, featuring an out-of-the-box design.
They are the source of our inspiration.
Although we don\'t focus on trends, we like to find inspiration from what touches people;
What\'s in the world, we get this push through art, magazines, and of course our followers/customers.
So our process has never been isolated and closed in one room.
It\'s not fast fashion for us, it\'s creative innovation.
Sakkijha: how we do this has a lot to do with accelerating production through technology.
So much progress has been made in the jewelry manufacturing industry, such as 3D printing and CAD design, which allows us to design faster, more responsive and more efficient than ever before.
A single design is the result of a collaborative process that is always in progress (
Lots of work! )
Nuora, is the jewelry background of your family inspiring you?
Justin, your family is an artist, what impact do they have on you?
Sakkijha: I am the third generation in my family and work in advanced jewelry.
From production, buying to retail, I always get in touch with the ins and outs of the industry, and that\'s when my passion for jewelry starts. Fast-
After a few years of tracking, I took a little detour along the way, learning industrial engineering, but I always knew that I wanted to go back to the jewelry industry.
Growing up, I saw my father working tirelessly in the jewelry industry.
He often plans the best design.
He checks every product to ensure the highest quality of the customer and only works with ethical diamond suppliers.
My father also believes that in order to succeed in the field of fine jewelry, you must build a strong reputation and take the time to educate the complexity of the customer\'s products and the details of the materials.
That is why he is able to build a strong base of loyal customers.
However, while I like every aspect of what he does, I (
I\'m a millennial.
The industry is considered too traditional for a new generation.
So I said to myself, \"there must be a way we can make up for this gap.
Introduce amazing works made at an affordable price.
\"I want to create a jewelry category where women can shop for themselves like they buy shoes and bags.
The rest is history. . .
I grew up with passionate and talented artists, painters, Taoists, architects;
This is very contagious.
It\'s inspiring, unconventional, and fascinating because it\'s challenging.
Thanks to this tradition, I am an eclectic person with incurable diseases.
Art direction is the perfect job for people like me who can\'t choose between their love for art, photography, fashion, graphic design, because it\'s about injecting creative vision into every expression area of the brand.
I respect tradition as much as I like unconventional ideas.
We all want to break the rules at Mejuri!
We have created a new type of online shopping with brand experience, upended an old industry with high standards in design and craftsmanship.
I think both of us have a meaningful background.
As far as I know, Mejuri is involved in multiple startup accelerator programs.
Why participate, what have you taken from these experiences?
Our vision is to build a global jewelry brand.
We understand the importance of connecting with people who understand the global community and technology, and through the projects we participate in, we meet investors and mentors who help us move forward and add value to our brand.
One of the most important things we realize as entrepreneurs is that we don\'t know everything.
So through these interactions, we get the push and help of people with experience and tools and teach us a lot of things that apply to our business today.
They let us learn faster, become better and grow.
What is the next step for Mejuri?
Sakkijha: We had a crazy, wonderful, amazing year.
So we are happy to continue doing this!
We want to expand and enhance all aspects of our brand.
From our offline online experience in the US and Canada to keeping the technology leading.
For us, this is a great time to start and maintain a nurturing relationship with our customers.
Lanson: in terms of products, we want to continue to highlight this process on our \"daily necessities\", combining the use of our fast supply chain and taking different approaches to rolling out limited editions on a weekly basis.
In general, we want to continue to focus on the brand experience ,(
Whether online or offline)
Stick to our values and mission of improvement and make it easy and inspiring to buy jewelry.
How do you replenish your creativity and energy?
I am Parisian so I can find inspiration anywhere! (
In My Blood).
I complement this creativity through art, people and cities, all of which are mixed together.
From Paris to New York, Toronto, San Francisco, etc.
The beat of these cities has given me so much energy!
I need healthy galleries, exhibitions and music to survive. . .
Of course there are people.
Meeting the right person at the right time will change your day or your life, which is crazy.
Sakkijha: I\'m a little different about the way creativity is done ,(I\'m an engineer).
I got ideas from Reading, benchmarking and my tutor.
I love talking to other entrepreneurs, our manufacturers, our customers: it makes me vibrant and makes me feel like I\'m part of something great.
Also, I can\'t forget social media: Instagram is a huge asset to my thinking process.
And of course my team, they are my connection to Mejuri.
That\'s simple.
After all, we are geeks in beautiful shoes and jewelry.
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Kristina Moore is a style expert focused on visual presentation and is a dynamic professional tool.
She is the founder and editor of the company\'s fashionista.
Kristina welcomes your comments and questions.