We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Strang recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

If I could stop time and make any changes to launching my online only jewelry brand, coco + peach jewelry, I wouldn’t change a single thing. That may surprise people who may say that they wish they started their dream job sooner but I needed to have lived before making my own creative dream happen. And it starts with my origin story: I launched this brand in 2019 but I already had a lifetime of connections with jewelry design and sales. My parents have owned a fine jewelry store in Chicago (they still do) since I was a child and so did most of my aunts and uncles. I basically grew up in the back room of my parents’ store and watched their bench jeweler create and fix jewelry my whole life. From these early experiences, I learned how jewelry is made, what can and cannot be done and how a finished piece is supposed to look and feel on the wearer. Being in the middle of the jewelry world from a young age helped me understand the mechanics behind jewelry so when I started designing pieces for myself for fun over a decade ago, I had a clear idea of the foundation needed for my pieces- they have to be functional, lightweight and effortless for the wearer. Having that hands on experience was crucial to where I am today and guides me in my design process.

When I started designing pieces for myself, I already had a well established and successful career as a clinical psychologist with my own private practice. In 2017, over a family trip to Amsterdam, I decided to take a risk and start my brand based on a few designs I had made. Similar to what I had already done with my psychology career, I took the steps to learn how to start an online brand having already a clear, hands on (and lifetime) experience with making jewelry. Being in graduate school, starting a private practice and even teaching graduate courses gave me buckets of confidence. It was this strong sense of self that helped me reach out to other jewelry designers that I admired and ask questions about creating a brand, selling online and working with manufacturers. With this information and a few years of research, I was able to make contacts in the manufacturing world and sent my designs to be created by global artisans. I firmly believe that my previous experiences of starting a business from scratch helped me launch my brand. I had already heard “no,” had flukes and made mistakes in my private practice- those experiences helped me grow and I needed to have that personal growth before creating coco + peach jewelry.

While the logistics of jewelry is an important half of my jewelry brand, the other half is based purely on my creativity and imagination. I sketch ideas out on a daily basis and these are based on things I see around me (buildings, plants) and people that dress and look chic that I may see while people watching in Chicago, my hometown. I also love to pop open my own jewelry case and think of how I can rework pieces gifted for me or look for what is missing that I would want to wear. I believe my design process would not be as rich in creativity without having lived long enough to eschew trends and focus more on classics. I have made fashion faux pas in my life and this information has guided me to only want to design pieces that are timeless, easy to wear and light.

When people ask me for career advice, I tell them the same thing that is my own guiding principle- live your life and remember you only live once. There is no perfect time to start something except the present time and I’d rather spend my time thinking about the now and the future than regrets from the past that I cannot change.

Jessica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I launched coco + peach jewelry in 2019 after years of designing jewelry for myself. I would often get stopped in the street and have strangers ask where I bought earrings or necklaces I was wearing. This happened so often that I decided to create a small collection and sell my pieces online.

Since starting my brand, I have been fortunate to have my jewelry in publications including Vogue Japan, Vogue Ukraine, L’Officiel India, Harper’s BAZAAR Vietnam and more. My jewelry has been on the runway at LA Fashion Week 2022 and even in a Times Square billboard during NY Fashion Week 2022. I like to say that my jewelry is made for the grocery run to the gala, from the fashion runway to running errands, from day to night and everywhere in between.

I am most proud of the client feedback I receive when someone purchases my pieces for themselves or others. I love seeing my friends and family proudly wearing their coco + peach jewelry and also love when clients send me their selfies in my jewelry.

To new followers or people that aren’t familiar with coco + peach jewelry, I’d want them to know that it’s just me doing everything- the design, answering emails, packaging the boxes that get delivered to their doors. I also would want people to know that my brand is about being chic + philanthropic- $1 of every sale is donated to Chicago’s largest food bank and that in turn feeds three Chicagoans in need. Shopping at coco + peach not only makes you look good but feel good at the same time.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I built my social media presence by doing a few things that made me successful. First, I showed up. Literally- I decided to post every day and in a short time I started to figure out what I wanted my “voice” to be on social media. By doing this, I made my brand into one that is stylish, highlights BIPOC men and women (like me) and is aspirational to my followers.

I also decided to be real with my followers. The more that I posted about myself and my life, the more people responded to my social media and bought from my brand. I had to take a leap for that since I’d lived my life anonymously and it took time for me to be comfortable with sharing details of my life with complete strangers but I got used to it.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think my reputation was built on a giving my clients well crafted jewelry and showing them all the ways that my pieces can be worn. I love all the photo shoots, editorials and runways my pieces have appeared but I also want my clients to know that coco + peach jewelry can be worn anywhere which makes my brand unique. For example, the Carolina earrings, my best selling earrings, have been on major runways and featured in countless magazines but they are also my go to pair to wear every day when I’m grabbing coffee or meeting my husband for a date. My jewelry is versatile and you don’t have to take off anything since it can all be worn from day to night.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.cocopeachjewelry.com
• Instagram: @coco_and_peach_jewelry
• Facebook: @cocoandpeachjewelry

Image Credits
AC photography Luis Arévalo Blake Martin