We recently connected with London Hester and have shared our conversation below.
Hi London, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
The KALM Collective is a joint venture between my best friend, Kai and I. We wanted a name not only represented us well but would have staying-power and speak to how we wanted our customers to feel. We started off by trying to combine our names into one word, but that just didn’t fit the vibe and energy we were looking for. We wanted something easy for customer to remember. The business isn’t just about – it’s about our customers and our community too. I started to scramble the letters in our names and KALM jumped out at me. It stands for Kai Alisha and London Monet – our first and middle names. I added “Collective” to highlight the collaborative-nature of our partnership. Both Kai and I loved it!
London, 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?
The KALM Collective is a stylish jewelry brand inspired by women with active family, social and professional lives who want to look polished with minimal effort. As each of us manages our daily schedule and the unplanned hurdles life can sometimes throw at us, we hope that our curated collection of everyday jewelry and accessories becomes a staple in your daily routine that makes getting ready fun and easy.
The owners, Kai and London – are two fun, driven and confident women who had a vision to create a brand of affordable luxury for women. The dynamic duo met while attending college and instantly became best friends, bonding over their shared love of fashion and beauty. As proud Black women, both are passionate about supporting underserved communities and empowering women to live their best lives now.
In 2020, the two were inspired to expand their friendship into a business partnership, establishing The KALM Collective, with a mission to help create a culture of confident women by offering effortless pieces to enhance any casual or glam look.
As new business owners, we are take pride in a mission statement that is customer-centered and our brand values of quality, customer service, women’s empowerment and equity that are the driving foundation of our business decisions.
Brand Values:
QUALITY: The products available on our site are carefully selected for our customers with quality being the most important part of the curation process. Every piece is handpicked by us and are products that we wear in our daily lives.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: From browsing our site, to placing your order and unboxing your package, we strive to provide a seamless and enjoyable experience for all of our customers. We know that you have many choices as you shop, and we greatly appreciate your business. Your satisfaction is our benchmark for success, and we are committed to ensuring you are pleased with the products you receive.
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT: We stand for women. We stand with women. We wholly support women. We are committed to collaboration and partnerships with other women-owned brands as we continue to grow The KALM Collective. We hope to inspire and empower women to become business owners, grow in confidence and live their best lives now.
EQUITY FOR ALL: We believe in fairness, justice, dignity and respect for all. We understand that these ideals are meaningless without action; therefore, we are committed to serving and sowing into underserved communities with our time and resources through volunteer opportunities and scholarships. As we continue to grow our brand, so shall our contributions and efforts increase.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
My business partner, Kai, and I meet in college through mutual friends. I was coordinating a scholarship pageant for a fraternity on campus, and Kai came along with a friend who was trying out for the event. The way she showed up to support her friend really stood out to me. Later on we became roommates and our friendship continued to grow through fun, heart-breaking and challenging life experiences. Through years of friendship, you build trust and learn the integrity and character of people around you. These are things that mattered to us both when considering going into business with a friend.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I would recommend The Way of the Shepherd by Dr. Kevin Leman and BIll Pentak – hands down! It’s a short but might book and should be required reading for anyone managing a team. It has a great imagery and covers all the leadership skills you need in 7 easy steps. I love it because it has the team and individual team members at the center of success – not the leader. It’s the absolute opposite approach as to what we commonly see in corporate America. A lot of leaders are self-centered and only really concerned with their own successes. No one likes working for a leader like that. My greatest accomplishment so far in business is that we have been able to partner with several of our friends on special projects for KALM and we have all enjoyed the experience. There’s mutual respect amongst us and that, in itself, produces great results.
Contact Info:
- Website: kalmcollective.com
- Instagram: thekalmcollective
- Facebook: thekalmcollective
Image Credits
C.N. Rodris Photography