We recently connected with Lisa Cowell Shams and Kelly Hancock and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa and Kelly, thanks for joining us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

KELLY:  What is the craziest story about our business?  That’s a really good question.  In some ways it’s all been a crazy ride, starting with how it came together.

LISA:  Absolutely.  We were having lunch and doing some window shopping – and there was this “A HA” moment of realizing that products across brands all look so similar. The one thing we gravitated to was a small bit of personalization on one handbag…

KELLY:  …we loved the little flair that an attached accessory gave that handbag, even though the bag itself was that same black handbag we had been seeing for years.  We wanted the accessory, not the handbag – and we realized that not only could we make accessories that gave our own handbags a unique look and at a much higher quality. And… that there was a business in this.

LISA: We actually moved pretty quickly from there and started introducing our accessories line, and while we were doing it people were giving us great feedback, including that they loved the jewelry we were wearing, – which we had also designed.

KELLY:  And voila – six months after launching accessories, we also launched fine jewelry…all because people kept asking for these pieces. It was kind of crazy, but mostly it was exciting and energizing – a really creative period for us.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

 LISA:  Kelly and I have been friends for almost 25 years.  We worked together for a relatively short time at a company but have been friends for much longer than we have been business partners.  I think we have always inspired each other – to try new things, to maybe look at things in different ways – as well as creatively.  We both really enjoy that process and we kind of riff off of one another.

KELLY:  Lisa and I often take different approaches and then somehow end up in the same place.  It’s fun and we laugh a lot together.  We are creating beautiful things, and we completely enjoy the process.  I am probably more visual, and Lisa is more verbal in how we approach this process – but between me sketching and her describing, we get to where we want.  And we work with some incredible artisans to help bring those designs to life.  We are curating a line that we are really proud of.

LISA:  I think if there is a real sweet spot for us, it’s in upcycling gems or pieces that our clients have – transforming them into something completely new.  People will come to us and ask what they can do with a diamond they inherited – or an engagement ring from their ex – or whatever, and we work with them to create something that they love.

KELLY:  Re-purposing – upcycling – is really exciting for us.  We have done entire shows around the idea of people bringing us their jewelry that they no longer wear and allowing us to design something that they want to wear every day.  Its also one of the reasons we aren’t excited about the “lab grown” diamond trend.  The lab grown stone doesn’t hold its value and we think it’s a lot more responsible to re-purpose what is already out there.  A diamond passed down from a family member, a sapphire or pearl sitting in your jewelry box – all of this carries a lot more meaning for our clients.

LISA: It is a privilege that someone would trust us with a family heirloom, to give us an opportunity to reimagine it for them….

KELLY: Whether it is a sterling silver charm bracelet or a flawless stone, it matters to our clients and we take that responsibility very seriously.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

KELLY:  I don’t know any business owner that hasn’t struggled with big parts of their journey.  For us, the creating part is the seamless part – but there is all of the other stuff that you need to figure out.

LISA:  It is a LOT.  You think having “the idea” is the thing that’s tough.  But it’s the other stuff – and that stuff is super important.  Setting up accounts, getting business licenses, figuring out the website and e-commerce channels….

KELLY:  …right.  E-commerce.  We have done that one TWICE because we didn’t get it right the first time around.  Then finding the artisans and gem dealers that we know we can trust – and who trust us.  Not everyone will just sell or provide services to a new business.  We had to build relationships and honestly, we were so fortunate to have a dear friend who was willing to mentor us and vouch for us.

LISA:  This whole experience is one massive learning curve.  We have met people who have great skills, but they get swamped by all of the “stuff” that goes into building a business and we have found that we have to just keep pushing forward, ask for help or advise — and then go figure it out

Have you ever had to pivot?

LISA:  Is think this one is right up there with resilience.  It isn’t just ONE pivot, it is an ongoing series of pivots.

KELLY:   Right at the start, we thought we were going into the accessories business and only the accessories business.  We love our accessories, and they are still a part of our offering – but the main business evolved very quickly into fine jewelry.  I would say we spend 80-85% of our business time on the jewelry.  That was a whole different learning curve from the accessory side.

LISA:  I remember when we started, we thought that by just putting up a website and an Instagram, the world would find us.  It was “build it and they will come.” Wrong.  We had to go out and meet people, pick the brains of every person we could think of, entice people to allow us to do pop-ups and trunk shows…

KELLY:  ….We went to music festivals and local merchants….and we are still doing a lot of these things.  And we love it.  All of the pivots, all of the change – it is challenging and sometimes it is not easy, but we love it.  We love looking for new outlets to get the word out about us, connecting with new customers, all of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeuje.co
• Instagram: @jeujeitup
• Facebook: jeuje

Image Credits

Photo Credits: Kelly Hancock and Lisa Cowell Shams