We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joanna, Jaclyn & Anzie Stein a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Joanna, Jaclyn & Anzie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

Our heroes have been the people who have helped us and inspired us along the way.

As a child it began with our grandmothers, our mother and cousin Eve who taught us how to be creative and to take making art seriously. They taught us to always be open to learning and to enjoy the process of creating something.
Our uncle Allen who started an art and framing business, Renwil was the one who inspired us to take our hobby of creating jewelry to the next level.
Our community in Montreal has been so supportive. Childhood friends worked with us in the beginning stages of the business. Close friends like the Brownsteins, shoutout to Browns Shoes, have helped so much and have given us alot of support and inspiration.
Debra Margles who was the head of Michael Kors Canada and very involved in philanthropy including ICRF as well, was very supportive and showed us how to not shy away from our talents and how to make connections.
Our father, Barry who helped us start our business when he thought he wasnt going to make it through his illness, and miraculously survived stage 4 colon cancer. We’re so grateful he’s here with us today. He taught us how to be a hard worked and persevere and how to not be afraid to make investments in things we truly believe in.
Our husbands and family who support us when we need to focus on work and when we need to travel!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Anzie Jewelry is best known for our colorful fine jewelry that is minimalist and easy to wear every day. Although it is fine jewelry, it can be worn casually and is made to last a lifetime.
Our pieces are inspired by nature, the cosmos and by vintage and antique jewelry. We specialize in pieces made with precious colored gemstones.
We started the company in 1999 from Montreal, QC Canada and continue to create pieces we love 25 years later.

Our customer service and custom designs set us apart from other designers. We provide a huge breadth of color, material, gemstones and price point and have a unique customer experience whether it’s online or in person.
Our designs are made to be every day luxury. Comfort and quality are important to us and we design new pieces every month of the year so we always have something fun and exciting coming out.

We’re most proud of our team, our new location and our clients who we work with!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During covid we didnt have anyone in our office and we had a small team shipping out orders. We were surprised at how much our online sales grew and ever since then we’ve been putting a larger amount of resources aside dedicated to building that side of our business. Social media and our email newsletters have been instrumental in building our direct to consumer business as well as showcasing what’s new and existing to the retailers.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

The first large retailer we sold to was when we were accompanying our father to New York for a medical trip. We had no idea if it would work but we kept persisting on getting a meeting. When we got to the meeting we were so nervous and barely knew what to say so we just showed our pieces and hoped for the best. When they picked up the line and put it into 60 stores, we couldn’t believe it and we were overjoyed with the opportunity! That was a major stepping stone for us and lay the groundwork of how to continue to build our business. The buyers and teams we worked with taught us so much.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.anzie.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anziejewelry
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anziejewelry
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/anzie-jewelry

Image Credits

Valérie Sangin
Mark Glenn
Phanie Ethier