One of the leading voices in the jewelry industry is Eugenie Niarchos, the owner and designer of Venyx. In an interview with Forbes, she discusses her venture into jewelry from fashion and more.
"I’ve always been obsessed with fashion and dressing up as a kid, and I was always very creative in my own way," said Niarchos when asked why he went from the fashion industry to jewelry. "While I was working in the fashion industry, I was asked by a childhood friend who had a family-run jewelry business to help create a more modern, younger line. We were the first to do this and it worked out pretty successfully for us. That’s when I realized that jewelry was my passion. I went in to study it and collaborate with some companies and then finally took the step to launch my own company in 2013."
Niarchos was asked about the meaning behind his brand's name, to which he said, "I didn’t want to call the brand my name because I didn’t want it to be associated with anyone or anything. I wanted to create a new world full of mystery. Venyx is a mix of the words Venus and onyx. A planet and a stone."
When asked about his favorite piece in the Mother Earth collection, Niarchos said, "I just created a Mother Earth world pendant set around an opal sphere. It is very special and looks galactic. Otherwise, I wear my Mini Atlas pendant everyday. It’s a map of the world in gold on Azurmalachite. It’s very cute and it reminds me of how precious our planet is and how much of it I want to explore."
"I am very creative, but not so business savvy. It was tough to start and I was lucky to have some close people advising me," said Niarchos when asked about the process of first starting Venyx. "I was also lucky to find a good team from the beginning. It’s very important to find the right people and for them to get along. I obviously have made many mistakes throughout my career. But, you learn from these mistakes. When I started, I had to consign jewelry to shops, which was costly for me and set me back. I ended up with lots of unsold stock which was a problem. Now I only sell from my website, showroom, and very few selected shops."
Information originally sourced from Forbes.