We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Mandelbaum a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear your thoughts about family businesses.

In 2017, Rachel founded Gold & Honey with a vision to bring bold, colorful jewelry to life. She began by designing pieces featuring druzy stones and heart motifs that were playful and eye-catching, which quickly gained traction. After proving the concept with strong sales on Amazon, Rachel invited her sister Elizabeth to join the journey. It was a leap of faith. Elizabeth left her corporate job at David Yurman to help build Gold & Honey into something truly special.
From the start, we wanted Gold & Honey to be a family business. We brought in our two older sisters, Laura and Melissa, to help us grow and stay organized. Laura managed operations, Melissa oversaw accounting, Elizabeth focused on sales, and Rachel continued to lead creative direction.
Of course, like many family ventures, we had our challenges. Each of us brought our own unique work style. Some of us were night owls, others more structured and type-A, and as you can imagine, creative minds can be a little “organized messy.” Working with siblings meant there wasn’t always a professional filter, which made things a bit more colorful (to say the least)!
As time went on, Laura and Melissa stepped away to focus on their growing families. Today, Gold & Honey is run by Rachel and Elizabeth. Rachel handles all things pretty like photography, social media, and the website, while Elizabeth manages sales and all backend operations. We collaborate on design and love the balance we’ve found.
While we don’t have children of our own (unless you count our dogs and cats!), our niece is graduating high school this year and has been asking to join the business. We finally said yes, so she’ll be working with us for a few months before starting college. Wish us luck!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Gold & Honey is a sister-founded jewelry brand that was born out of a shared love for creativity, family, and fashion. We were born with silver, gold and art running through our veins. Our grandfather worked as a diamond cutter, our great aunts had a clothing store, our father started with watch repairs, then a bench jeweler, and eventually a designer and sculptor.
I’m Rachel, the founder and original designer behind Gold & Honey. I always wanted to be in the fashion industry. I would draw a lot growing up, and then when it was time to go to college, I wanted to learn about the business side of things. I set my sights on the London College of Fashion, where I spent the next 3 years living in the fashion capitol. After college, I went on to work for the luxury designer, David Yurman, but I felt there was more for me to experience. Throughout the years, I was fortunate to have traveled quite a bit, which helped me gain inspiration and a desire to have meaning in what I do for the long run. Drawing from cultures, architecture and history from Japan, Italy, Poland, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Thailand, Mexico etc., I came home to New York and immediately started my mood board and business plan for Gold & Honey.
In 2017, I started experimenting with bold, colorful designs and statement pieces. What started as a creative outlet quickly gained momentum on Amazon, and after seeing real success and demand, I invited my sister Elizabeth to join me full-time. She made the leap from her corporate role at David Yurman, and together we began building a true family business.
When I was 14, I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis. A rare condition in children, and not easily diagnosed or understood. It effected my eyes, hands, legs and speech, so as a jewelry lover, it made putting on and taking off jewelry very difficult.
Our brand was never meant to follow trends. It was meant to stand out and be accessible. Gold & Honey offers a range of playful, feminine, and bold jewelry with a modern twist. To make sure that I could also wear my own designs, we added a few key elements that other people could benefit from as well. For our earrings, we use large ear backs. This makes it so much easier to hold a small piece in your fingertips without dropping or struggling to put it on. For our necklaces and bracelets, we use oversized clasps, magnetic closures and hinged bangles that make stacking a breeze. You wouldn’t believe how many people thank us for these small yet powerful details every day.
We solve a simple but important problem: helping people express themselves through jewelry that feels unique, fresh, and fun. In a world of mass-produced accessories, we focus on quality, creativity, and charm. Our customers often tell us they feel happier or more confident when wearing our designs, which is truly the greatest compliment.
What sets us apart is our story, our hands-on approach, and our commitment to making each customer feel like part of the Gold & Honey family. We’re not a faceless brand. We’re two sisters (and occasional help from our third-generation niece!) who genuinely love what we do. We manage everything from design to social media to customer service ourselves, which means every detail has our personal touch.
We’re most proud of how far we’ve come as a small, women-owned business, especially during times when the future felt uncertain. Growing Gold & Honey together, as sisters, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. Whether you’re dressing up for a night out or just want a little sparkle in your everyday life, our goal is to help you shine with pieces that feel like you.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Before the pandemic, our business was centered around in-person trade shows like NY Now and Coterie. These shows were essential for getting our brand in front of buyers and into stores across the country. We loved the energy of meeting people face-to-face, receiving instant feedback, and building meaningful relationships. Putting a face to a name is how we initially launched Gold & Honey and grew our wholesale partnerships.
In February 2020, we attended what would unknowingly be our last in-person show. There was talk of a virus circulating, but none of us could have imagined the scale of what was about to unfold. When COVID hit, trade shows disappeared virtually overnight, along with a core part of our business model.
Like many small businesses, we had to pivot quickly. We shifted our entire focus to e-commerce, which meant improving our website, doubling down on social media, and finding creative ways to connect with customers digitally. What we couldn’t have predicted, though, was how perfectly our bold, playful earrings would meet the moment. With so many people working from home and living life on Zoom, “above-the-keyboard” fashion became a thing. Our statement earrings became a go-to accessory for adding personality to screen-time style.
We did everything from creating home-made videos turning our living room into a showroom so that we could participate in virtual trade shows, creating reels in our backyard, and making hundreds of personalized look books to send buyers for when they were ready for business as “usual” again.
Ironically, 2020 became the year we truly learned what it means to navigate the world and business with resilience. We discovered that resilience isn’t just about surviving tough times. It’s about listening to what people need, embracing change, and staying connected to your creativity. With factories worldwide shut down, shipping delays, and brick-and-mortar stores closed, we had to quickly find new ways to make our inventory accessible to customers. That year pushed us to rethink every part of our process, and in doing so, it ultimately made our brand stronger, more agile, and more in sync with both our production partners and our community than ever before.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Ok, this is a doozy! In 2018, we had someone set up a meeting for us with a very large retailer. This meeting was supposed to be two brands showing collections back-to-back. We set up their conference room with all of our colorful jewelry on displays instead of on trays so that Gold & Honey would have a lasting impression.
Well, the buyer opened the door and immediately yelled, “This doesn’t look like moissanite! Who are you and get out!” We had no idea that she didn’t know we would be there presenting Gold & Honey. We kind of high jacked the meeting.
THANKFULLY, the head buyer, whose reputation is known throughout the industry as being tough, looked around and said we have 1 minute to convince her to carry our line. We only needed 30 seconds because Elizabeth just completed a course at FIT about “how to pitch your brand in 30 seconds.” She took the reins and just started talking. She gave us a chance, and we ended up getting our collection into that retailer. We still laugh about it to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.goldandhoney.com
• Instagram: @gold_and_honey
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoldAndHoneyJewelry