Talāyee Fine Jewelry
In the heart of San Francisco, we visited the home studio and met with Shermineh Ghane - the Iranian-American founder and designer of Talāyee Fine Jewelry, a brand that skillfully blends ancient Persian traditions with modern, handcrafted designs.
Talāyee focuses on bespoke and limited-production jewelry made from ethically and sustainably sourced materials.
Check out a video tour of Shermineh’s San Francisco studio and sneak peak of how she creates her handcrafted designs!
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There are a few different factors that inspired me to start Talāyee Fine Jewelry. The first was that making fine jewelry, and exploring the art is a creative outlet I absolutely needed at a point in my life where there was too much focus on non-creative things. The second is that I was frustrated as a jewelry shopper that I couldn't find fun, unique, colorful jewelry using fine metals and gemstones, that was handmade and responsibly sourced at an accessible price point. The market was flooded with fast fashion gold-filled jewelry at insanely high markups, or really high-end independent designers that were at tiers inaccessible to the average 30-something year old woman. So I decided to fill that gap. The last factor was that I wanted to honor my Persian heritage by adding little nods and elements of ancient Persian design as a way to share my history and culture that I love with people who may be curious about it, or are just getting introduced through my work.
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I like to think that because I have a hand in everything as a solo business owner, my brand is truly unique because it fully embodies who I am. I design and make every piece, I pack every order, I write every communication, I manage all the social media. When you purchase a Talāyee jewel, or you are interacting with an element of the business, you are getting a piece of my heart and soul with it.
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In the very early days of starting the business, I was nervous to price my pieces "too high", and by "too high", I mean at a price-point where I could cover all my expenses and pay myself appropriately. Because I did that, it stalled the growth I could have had in the first year of the business. Since then I've definitely adjusted a few things while still being able to deliver on the promise of offering unique fine jewelry at a more accessible price point without compromising the health of my business. This allows me to continue creating jewelry that people love!
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There are so many positives I've experienced in making the shift of working a full-time job in tech to being a full-time business owner. And a lot of them were things I was expecting based on the advice I had gotten over the years. The thing I would have wanted to hear, and want any new business owner to know, is that it is ok to make mistakes. That is how you learn. Welcome them, learn from them, and then adjust.
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I draw inspiration from a couple of different places. For big overarching ideas that then influence collections, I look to ancient Persian art, architecture, and jewelry, or to nature and the world around me. When it comes to narrowing down those ideas, I really let the materials do the talking, whether it's the shape of a gemstone telling me how it should be set, or the luster of the metal letting me know how I should finish the final piece.
If you’re an entrepreneur seeking to establish a strong, authentic brand identity, explore looking Talāyee Fine Jewelry and discover the power of honoring your story through exquisite design.
And if you’re ready to embark on your own brand positioning journey, click below to learn more about our Brand Positioning Framework Course.