We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maria Bomio Martinez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Maria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard
One of the things that sets Resilience apart from the industry standard is our commitment to creating pieces that reflect the personal, emotional journey of resilience itself. In the jewelry industry, where mass production often prioritizes quantity over meaning, we focus on crafting each piece with a story behind it, aiming to connect with people on a more intimate level. Every design is intentional, symbolizing strength, healing, and beauty born from hardship.
A particularly meaningful story that illustrates this difference is when I was commissioned by a customer who had also experienced a profound personal loss. She shared her story with me, and together, we created a custom piece that honored her journey and her loved one. This wasn’t just a transaction; it was an exchange rooted in shared understanding, empathy, and healing. Being able to make something so personally meaningful for her reminded me why I started Resilience in the first place: to create jewelry that isn’t just worn, but that also carries the weight and beauty of personal stories.
By staying small and focusing on connection and storytelling, Resilience offers something rare in a large-scale industry: a sense of closeness, understanding, and individuality. Our clients know that when they wear a piece, it’s not just about aesthetics—it’s a celebration of their own journey, of resilience, and of the beauty that can rise from life’s challenges. This difference matters because it allows us to go beyond jewelry as a product and instead create jewelry as an experience, as a source of strength and comfort.
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?
I’m María José Bomio, the founder and creative force behind Resilience, a jewelry brand born from a deeply personal journey. After the passing of my son, I needed a way to channel my emotions and honor his memory. Creating jewelry became my path to healing and, eventually, a mission to help others celebrate their own stories of resilience, beauty, and strength.
Resilience specializes in handcrafted pieces designed to connect on a personal level, each carrying a message of hope and endurance. Our collection includes necklaces, bracelets, and rings that symbolize resilience and the strength to overcome challenges. Each piece is created with intention, aiming to offer more than an accessory—it’s a way to honor life’s pivotal moments, whether celebrating, healing, or remembering.
What sets Resilience apart is our dedication to storytelling. Many clients come to us seeking jewelry that resonates with a specific experience or memory, and we work together to create pieces that truly represent their journey. This heartfelt approach turns our jewelry into symbols of transformation and personal strength.
I am most proud of the bonds I’ve built through Resilience. Our clients aren’t just customers; they’re individuals who trust us to be part of their life stories. Knowing that our jewelry has become a source of comfort and inspiration is incredibly meaningful to me. Resilience exists to honor your story and to help you carry a reminder of your own strength, wherever life may lead.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A big lesson I had to unlearn was the idea that vulnerability makes you weaker. For a long time, I believed that showing my emotions or asking for help meant I wasn’t strong enough to handle things on my own. When I lost my son, I initially tried to carry that pain alone, convinced that resilience meant holding it all together.
But grief has a way of teaching you otherwise. I realized that real resilience isn’t about hiding what you feel—it’s about facing it and allowing others to support you. When I began creating jewelry as a way to cope, I was opening up to others in a way I hadn’t before. Sharing my journey through Resilience, my jewelry brand, meant sharing my vulnerability, and it was incredibly freeing. I discovered that people didn’t judge me for it; instead, they connected with me more deeply.
Letting go of that “strong on my own” mindset has allowed me to build meaningful connections with clients who see my jewelry as symbols of their own journeys. This has taught me that resilience is strengthened, not diminished, by letting others in.
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?
One of my favorite marketing stories comes from the first time I took a real risk to promote Resilience. It was shortly after launching the brand, and I decided to host a small pop-up event to showcase my jewelry. I was excited but also terrified—everything was new, and I didn’t have a large following yet. The odds were stacked against me: I didn’t have a big marketing budget, and I was still learning how to make connections with potential clients.
I decided to take a leap and reach out to a local community group that supported families going through tough times. It felt like a risk because I wasn’t sure if they’d resonate with what I was doing, or if they’d even want to attend. But I believed in the idea that jewelry could tell stories and connect people, especially during moments of healing. I sent an email with a personal story about how Resilience came to be, hoping it would strike a chord.
To my surprise, not only did the group respond positively, but they helped spread the word to others who needed a symbol of strength and remembrance. I set up the pop-up with a small, intimate display, but when the day came, the turnout exceeded my expectations. People shared their own stories with me, and I created custom pieces for a few of them right on the spot. It felt so rewarding to know that my jewelry was becoming part of their journeys, just as it had been part of mine.
That event marked a turning point for me. It taught me that taking a risk and being vulnerable in my marketing—sharing my personal story—was the key to building connections. It also showed me that people weren’t just looking for a product; they were looking for meaning and something that spoke to their own experiences. That moment gave me the confidence to continue pursuing my mission with Resilience, knowing that authenticity and vulnerability would always be at the heart of my brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.resiliencejewelry.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resiliencejewelry
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.phpId61557532370975
Image Credits
Laura Fernández