“Where would you take your new Love, Margaux laptop sleeve?”

Immersed in the gemstone trade since she was a child growing up in Hong Kong, Arwa Jumkawala only felt it was natural that she also ended up with her own gemstone jewelry business GemKitty Jewelry. With the support and love from her parents and friends, she took the leap of faith and moved across the country to launch GemKitty Jewelry, a unique concept where customers get to “string” their own beads onto select styles of necklaces and earrings that Arwa designer herself! Claim bragging rights by picking from colorful natural gemstone beads and adding them to your necklace to create the perfect piece. Not quite sure what you want? Click and choose from several beautiful ready-made pieces from Arwa’s Limited Edition collection. Shipped in beautiful packaging to your doorstep, the best way to shop for busy entreprenesses that still want the ultimate shopping experience.

Read our interview to learn more about the sweet Arwa and GemKitty Jewelry. We love you and thank you for supporting CRAVE Portland!

Arwa, can you tell me a little about yourself?
I grew up in Hong Kong and consider it my home town. My parents imported and exported gemstone beads there and so my childhood consisted of being at the business with them playing with rocks! It only seems natural that I ended up in my business also. Before I launched my business, I was a Pilates instructor for four years in Washington D.C.–I only recently moved to Portland last summer! I fell in love with the city when I visited and knew that I wanted to launch GemKitty in Portland. An interesting fact about my family: I am of Indian and Chinese background and when my parents got married, they had three wedding ceremonies. A traditional Indian, Chinese and white dress wedding!

GemKitty is a unique concept. How did you discover this was what you wanted it to be?
I made jewelry in D.C. in my small studio for fun and always had friends come over to collaborate and I would make them pieces. I was also really inspired by NikeID two years ago and the whole concept of personalization and mass customization. I asked, how can I take what I’m doing with friends now on a larger scale and to bring it online?

What’s a typical day in the life of Arwa?
It varies day to day, but overall I spend about 40% of my time designing and actually making jewelry or fulfilling orders. The majority of my time is spent on marketing, social media, PR efforts, networking, and getting my name out there.

What are the different ways to purchase GemKitty?
There’s two ways to get your hands on jewels from GemKitty:

• Design-Your-Own: You pick the beads and we make it to order. Simple as that!
• Limited Edition: Readymade pieces that pretty much showcase my inspiration. Another reason they are limited is because the beads are often times hard to come across or come in limited amounts. For example, there might’ve just been one rock which made only a handful of strings of beads. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!

We just launched our earrings collection, which you can design-your-own or just click and choose from pieces available and ready to ship!

Where do your gemstone beads come from?
They’re exclusively from my parents wholesale gemstone jewelry business in Hong Kong and India. Generally they’re mined in mainland China and other countries, then go to Hong Kong to be turned into gemstones. The quality tends to be better in Hong Kong and there’s also fair labor. Since I don’t get to take too many trips East, my dad is also the person that buys the limited edition beads! He’s been in the trade for 30 years, I trust him!

How do you go about designing your Limited Edition collection?
Generally the beads will come in and for the most part I will experiment and play! It’s pretty much my personal play time, and whatever inspirations I have will come out during this process. I often end up with a wall full of designs that will never make it into production, but luckily a select few make the cut and my customers then get to experiment and play with the beads they’d like to add.

Do you have any advice for beginners looking to get into jewelry making?
I believe that looking for inspiration in magazines, books or the Internet and elsewhere is a good way to practice and to get to know your hands. Jewelry making is a lot of muscle memory, so once you get it your work will become faster and better. Also, attend gem shows that are hosted several times a year. You get better deals and get a chance to see what’s out there. But if it’s super cheap, be aware because they might’ve been treated with chemicals and dyes. GemKitty gemstones are natural, untreated (undyed, no heat added, etc.) and are some of the best quality!

Do you have a national or international following?
I do have many clients on the east coast. I’ve been told that the aesthetic of my jewelry is traditional, kind of like an update to your mother’s pearls. It is also a little more “preppy” and that’s kind of what the style is like on the east coast.

What’s one thing you’re excited about, and one thing you’d love to enhance?
I’m thrilled that my earrings are now available on the website. It’s been my baby for five months and I’m super excited to see where it goes. I would love to update some of the necklace styles I have. There’s currently 7 styles to choose from, and my goal is to update them every season.

What are the rewards of having your own business, besides being your own boss?
I’ve only been launched since October of 2009, but every day I wake up excited, blessed and delighted to be doing what I’m doing.

What do customers get with their GemKitty jewelry?
They’ll get all natural gemstones and sterling silver, free repairs, 30 days satisfaction guaranteed and beautiful GemKitty branded gift packaging. Often times when you order things online it comes in an unsightly brown packaging and bubble wrap, so I wanted to make the experience of getting GemKitty like opening a gift. In addition, I’m confident in offering 30 days satisfaction guaranteed because of the quality and effort we put into making each piece. And each customer technically customizes it herself, so she knows exactly what she’s getting. Up to date, we’ve had no returns!

What are your plans for the future?
I dream of having a tiny studio with a storefront. I miss that interaction with people when I used to have friends come over to my little studio to make jewelry. It would be wonderful to have again! I’d also love to collaborate with local designers and showcase their work, maybe have it part of the Limited Edition collection.

Is there anyone you’d like to mention in this interview?
My parents, there’s no way I would’ve taken the leap without their support. I’m also grateful for the talented Gemkitty website development team and to Sara Gray for taking beautiful photos of my jewelry. And also Todd, whose been an amazing darling!

Do you have any last words for our readers?
I’d love to hear from everyone and get feedback. Find us on Facebook or Twitter!
Also, CRAVE readers get 10% off until 7/5/10 – just enter weheartcrave in the gift certificate box during checkout!