Stella & Dot Help Women Become Entrepreneurs From Their Home
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The costume jewelry and accessory business is a 30 billion dollar industry that's only getting bigger, as now anyone can cash out on these products right from the comfort of their home.
One company that's taking quite the bite of that business is a San Francisco-based jewelry and accessory line known as Stella & Dot, named after the grandmothers of the two women who founded it.
It is a boutique-style jewelry and accessory company which is sold out of the homes of mostly female entrepreneurs all over the country. The company has been named one of INC's 500 fastest-growing companies and is all about hosting and/or attending in-home trunk shows featuring the latest in designs and trends in jewelry. One of the founders of this incredibly fast growing company sat down to talk business, baubles and bucks.
Co-founder Jessica Herrin, a busy mom looking for flexibility in the workplace, founded the company in 2010.
The company is all about finding stylists to host "at home" trunk parties to sell this trendy, high-style quality line that women are buying up big time.
"A trunk show is nothing more than a pop-up shop, in someone's living room. It can be a girlfriend swinging by for coffee in the morning or getting together at night for a girls night in, and actually with Stella & Dot the modern part of our business is that every trunk show is online," said Herrin.
Stella & Dot has a team of over 30 designers on staff creating new styles constantly, giving the stylists more and more product to work with.
"We'll have about over 15,000 active sellers in any given month but most of those people are doing it very part-time," said Herrin. "They want to earn $500 dollars a month, a thousand dollars a month, so they will do one to two trunk shows a month."
Jewelry and handbag prices range from $16 to $300, with half-of-the-line under 50 bucks. The bigger splurge pieces go as high as $200 to $250 and many can be worn in a variety of ways like The Sardinia Collection.
Herrin picked up a large red and gold necklace with a pendant piece to show.
"This piece is classic Stella & Dot because it is all about versatility," said Herrin. "So this pendant actually comes off if you want a more paired down silhouette, and the earrings actually do the same thing, you can detach the bottom piece and created a midsize chandelier."
Stella & Dot has quite the celebrity following.
"Stella & Dot is like a who's who of who is wearing jewelry. The Middleton's have been spotted in Stella & Dot, to all kinds of rock stars like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are often spotted on the red carpet or on stage in Stella & Dot style" said Herrin.
So whether your mood is red, green, yellow, white or anything in between, this company "for women, by women" is hoping to give customers all the glamour, sparkle and, if they choose to work it, cash they've been looking for.
"I do say 'Wow' all of the time. I feel so lucky to bounce out of bed every morning loving my job and what I do. Truly our story is the success stories of all of our independent stylists all added up, so it is all of ours to celebrate," said Herrin.
For more information visit www.stelladot.com
