In an interview with HotNewHipHop, Avianne & Co jewelry owner, Joe Avianne discusses coming up in the jewelry industry and becoming the favored seller for artists like Cam'ron, Lil Pump, Bobby Shmurda, and more.
When asked what a day in the life is like when heading into work, Avianne said, "So today is Monday. My 13 year old and my 10 year old, we have a 5 AM wake-up call. We go in to see a trainer, specifically picked for their sport so that they can have the strength and conditioning that they need. I instilled into my children that the mind is a muscle as well, and you need to train that muscle. You need to be able to see what you want out of what you're doing— visualize it so you can manifest it to reality. I also run an Avianne fitness program, where I have kids that are physically, mentally, and emotionally trained for free. I love to work out. That's how I maintain my level of competitiveness. It also keeps me young. But before starting my workout, I come to work.
"I have about 30 employees. I set them all straight. I'll round them up, get my production team going, look over my designs with my design team, give my input there, open up the shop. I'm up there in front, and then I have my production team that's downstairs, so I oversee all of that as well. Then I go upstairs to my eCommerce division, where I have about five, six salesmen up there, reaching out, receiving emails, making phone calls, and targeting clients that are up-and-coming, since I'm an older guy. I try to stay in tune with everything, but it's pretty difficult with a lot going on in my life. I've got my son and my nephew that have joined the business, and they're in tune with what's going on. They run the media team."
When asked what jewelry means to him, Avianne said, "Jewelry in itself speaks volumes for you without you having to even open your mouth. if you walk into a club, or a room, or anywhere for that matter, people are already sizing you up, whether you have jewelry on or not. They're looking at what you're wearing. They're looking at how you're carrying yourself, how you did your hair, how you're smelling. They're looking at your jewelry. All that sh*t is speaking for you before you open up your mouth to say one word."
When asked what sets Avianne & Co apart from the competition, Avianne said, "We're one of the most demanded brands when it comes down to customizing. For example, customers come to me and they say, 'Joe, I want you to make me my name." I'm like, "Your name? You just want me to make your basic nameplate?' And they'll be like, 'Yeah, I want you to make me a basic nameplate.' I'll say, 'Alright... you know, I can do that for you, but you know why you came here, right? There's a reason why you're here. The reason why you're here is because you understand that we do quality, and I will never steer you in the wrong direction as far as creativity is concerned.' It's not like I'm sitting here trying to sell standard pieces, because those pieces, anybody and everybody can do. Just like I used to get up and I used to have a focus on training and winning certain competitions, I have a goal to come into work, touch certain pieces, and go in for certain people to make sure I win. I don't have to have a platinum record every month, but what I can deliver is six pieces a year. That's one piece every two months that I can focus on and make sure gets done, that makes noise—everlasting noise, not just noise for that moment.
"I'm filming my own documentary, and I asked Cam’ron in an interview, 'What made you come to us?' At that time, Jacob the Jeweler was f*cking daddy. He said, 'Yo, you guys were just like me. Young, starting off… and I was starting off. I wanted to build with somebody from the bottom, that way we could both build together and get to where we both needed to go. At the same time, it was your guys' personalities.' He was like, 'Yeah, Jacob was a name, but he wasn't a personality.' You can't sit there and chill with him. You can't smoke with him, or invite him to the studio, or be personable. And his prices were out of this world. Then Cam'ron goes, 'And look at you guys today. I knew you guys had something about you. I knew it. You guys had that fire even then.'"
Information originally sourced from HotNewHipHop.
