affordable jewelry

Origami Owl


Have you heard about the 17-year-old entrepreneur who’s three-year-old company is on track to earn $250 million this year?

121213_OrigamiOwl_BellaWhen Isabella Weems was 14 years old, she really wanted a new car. So she spent her time hosting jewelry parties and selling lockets instead of hanging out with her friends.

Now, Bella (as she’s called) not only has a white Jeep she calls Alice, she’s also the founder of a wildly popular custom jewelry business known as Origami Owl.

Who would have thought that my dream of wanting to buy a car for my sixteenth birthday would be the inspiration behind a successful jewelry company?

Origami Owl has thousands of “Independent Designers” who host their own Jewelry Bars® – private parties where they serve up a trendy array of fun jewels directly to shoppers. According to a recent article in Forbes, there’s about 50,000 of these independent designers. That’s a lot of parties!

We tell stories with jewelry.

The company has several branded jewelry lines. The signature Living Lockets® collection gives the wearer a chance to add personality to their jewels with charms, lockets, dangles and chains. Tagged™ is Made in the USA and combines fine pewter tags sporting special words with little charms on a chain, creating a statement about who you are and what you believe in.

121213_OrigamiOwl_01Originally, Bella started her locket business with about $700, selling at house parties and boutiques before she set up a mall kiosk near her Arizona home. The company is an all-in-the-family-type affair; Bella’s mom Chrissy helped her develop the product, while her uncles and aunt help run the business, along with other employees. Origami Owl is developing a new platform to help the independent designers run their business with new tools such as training, webinars, instructional videos as well as a mobile app.

Meanwhile, Bella is still going to high school –and considering college- before taking the reins of her profitable company with both hands.

KanDi Jewelry


101613_KanDiJewelry_candybraceletWho says you can’t have your candy and wear it too!? 

KanDi Jewelry is a very fun line of jewelry for girls, tweens and teens. The New York-based company designs and manufactures bracelets, necklaces, earrings and hair ties that resemble kids’ favorite candy treats, only this modern version of candy jewelry is just for stylish show.

Once upon a time, it was okay to eat candy necklaces and lick sticky ring pops. But unfortunately when you hit a certain age, sucking on jewelry is just not cool anymore.

101613_KanDiJewelry_jawbreakernecklaceCandy necklaces were all the rage when I was young, but once you ate the candy, the jewelry was all gone! From candy necklaces to gummy bears and jawbreakers, the new KanDi’s  are fun, colorful, stylish … and irresistible.

101613_KanDiJewelry_hairtiesEye Candy. Candy fiend Dani Kates dreamed up KanDi Jewelry for all the little girls who grow up, but never outgrow their love of candy –just like her. Dani’s original diamond KanDi necklace became such a hit that celebrities such as Lauren Graham, Kristen Bell, Fergie, Lindsay Lohan, Sharon Stone, Hayden Panettiere and others were seen wearing it.

“After just a year and a half, we are available in over 150 children’s boutiques and candy stores throughout the U.S. and Canada -and we are growing every day,” Dani tells me.

Plus, KanDi Jewelry’s full range of candy-inspired pieces are so affordable, no one can have just one!

  • 101613_KanDiJewelry_gummibearsChildren’s Retail Today publishes new posts on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you want to get the word out about your innovative, imaginative and inspiring products for children, contact me today!