canada.com:
At Stella & Dot, sales are up — way up. The U.S.-based firm is enjoying an increase in business of 700 per cent over this time last year, according to Blythe Harris, creative director and a partner in the company.
Stella & Dot was founded by Jessica Herrin, who like Harris is just 36 years old. Herrin co-founded the world’s leading wedding site, WeddingChannel.com, while still a student at Stanford business school in California.
The company designs and sells mid-priced fashion jewelry inspired by the contents of Herrin’s grandmother Dot’s jewelry box and by modern trends on the international fashion runways. Prices start below $20 for a simple charm and run into the hundreds for elaborate necklaces (a favourite of Harris’s is the Natasha bib necklace, $198, handcrafted in an embroidery house that supplies Roberto Cavalli and other high-end designers).
Stella & Dot calls itself a “dream fulfilment company” where independent sales consultants are known as “stylists” and a home party is a “trunk show.”
E-tailing, social networking and viral marketing have allowed for a new ease in communication and sales.
Women in direct sales are not earning a little “dress money” over a cup of tea like their mothers may have. Top sellers are pulling in six-figure incomes, says Harris, on the phone from her design studio in New York City.
“We’ve tapped into a fundamental need here, which is for women to have great work-life balance. There’s this whole untapped workforce of stay-at-home moms who want an entrepreneurial opportunity that’s really modern and speaks to them.”
Logo from Stella & Dot