We recently connected with Camila Montoya and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Camila thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

What a good question! Although we live in a world full of competition where social media makes us compare our process with others, I do believe that we should define success by looking at ourselves in the past, and seeing how much we have grown, learned, experienced, and enjoy! This is a recommendation for all, including me, to see success as something you don’t have to spend all your life looking for, more to feel successful with the little things you do in your everyday routine. Never forget that success is not something that looks so far, so impossible to achieve.

I see success as being able to take some time off your work and spend time with your loved ones, success means finishing a task that you were ignoring for days, success means being able to balance your work and personal life, success means enjoying the process and not to focus only on the finish point. And yes, success is such an individual definition that what it means to me probably it won’t mean to you but we should always remember that success is not a fixed destination but a journey.

It’s important to periodically reassess your goals and priorities as they may evolve. Be patient with yourself and acknowledge that setbacks and challenges are a natural part of any journey toward success.

Camila, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Camila Montoya and I’m proudly Colombian. I have been living in New York for several years now, and it was there, after 3 years of extensive research, trial, and error, and brand planning, that I decided to launch d’Francisco. A sustainable jewelry brand inspired by nature, designed using 3D technology and produced with recycled metals. This is what I currently dedicate my mind, soul, and heart to.

As I mentioned earlier, I live in New York, but since I started this entrepreneurial dream, I’ve had the opportunity to live for short periods in states like Florida and California, aiming to elevate the brand and make more people conscious about consuming fashion and jewelry, where quality takes precedence over quantity.

My country was my main source of inspiration behind the brand. d’Francisco began with the idea of representing its biodiversity; not many may know, but Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world. It was when I migrated that I felt the need to use my knowledge and skills to elevate my country and culture. The pieces are inspired by the flora and fauna and serve as a form of communication and expression, highlighting the imminent urgency to respect and protect our planet and the living beings that inhabit it.

I am a firm believer that fashion is a political, social, and environmental representation. This is why d’Francisco, in the jewelry industry, goes hand in hand with the new consumer standards. We are here to revolutionize the market, demonstrating that in this new era, being part of fashion requires creating companies with sustainable and responsible knowledge.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Even though I’ve always been immersed in creative fields, and being creative has come quite naturally to me, something I greatly enjoy, I never imagined ending up in the jewelry industry. I studied and worked as an architect for five years, and while my time studying architecture was one of the happiest periods of my life, working as an architect turned out to be somewhat the opposite. It was due to my desire for more creativity that I began taking jewelry classes, as I found metals to be fascinating materials!

Gradually, without even realizing it, I found myself deeply involved in this industry, which I knew little to nothing about. Armed with my background in architecture and years of experience in 3D technologies, I decided to leverage this knowledge and merge it with jewelry-making. After three years, numerous classes, countless attempts, buying a 3D machine with my savings, and swapping social outings for drawing sessions on many nights, I came to the point where, despite my fear, I was ready to take the leap. I believed it was time to show the world a new way of creating jewelry.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I have plenty of books to recommend but before I name a few, I’ll like to share something that since I launched my brand I have been doing and have positively impacted my days! First of all, every day when I wake up and after doing myself a coffee (yes, I’m a coffee lover) I read 10 pages of a book. This task takes less than 15 minutes but allows you to start your days with a fresh start and with more knowledge, of course! To put it into perspective so far for 2023 (and we are at the beginning of August) I have read more than 9 books. The moment you add this into your routine you begin to realize how powerful and easy it is to make it happen.

Secondly, I divide my books into two main categories; the first one includes, entrepreneurship, including the story of other jewelry brands, tips to launch new products, new technologies, etc. The second one is more focused on self-love, motivational books. Books while reading them, they make me ask questions about my personal life, my relationships, my habits, and more! This allows me to balance my work and life!

Finally, and to name you a couple of my favorite books I’ll say; Launch by Jeff Walker is a great book if you want to launch a product or service or want to get better at storytelling and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma is, a great book to remind us the importance of balance in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dfranciscojewelry.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dfranciscojewelry/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dfranciscojewelry
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/d-francisco/?viewAsMember=true
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYjxl9crotU&t=1s

Image Credits
BesameMucho Collection photo: photographer Melissa Chaves Rest of Photos: d’Francisco’s Team