Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Nicole DeVito and Taylor Leigh Kurz.
Samantha and Taylor, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up, the two of us were basically twins, without actually being twins. We did everything the same – dressed the same, played the same sports, liked the same activities, went everywhere together, etc. As we grew up, we always knew we wanted to do something together. Our family is very entrepreneurial, with our dad and uncle owning a business of their own together, and our grandfather and great-uncle doing the same. So technically, we’re third generation “sibling business partners.”
So, a few years ago, we decided to try making jewelry for ourselves as a fun hobby. Buying, collecting and over-accessorizing with jewelry was always our “thing” so it didn’t come as a surprise to many that we started making our own jewelry. When others started wanting to buy our pieces, we continued making more, and our hobby grew into a business very quickly. Within months, we reached out to a couple boutiques in the Dallas area and received an immediate response that they wanted to carry our jewelry. Then, a few months after that, we went to our first market and we were picked up by ten more stores – all before NICOLE LEIGH Jewelry turned one. It might have been beginner’s luck (we joke about that!), but it gave us the confidence to keep moving along, learning and growing!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course not! Starting and growing a business is never smooth, but we’ve learned so much about an industry we never thought we’d find ourselves in (and love it more than we ever thought we could!). We were both business marketing majors, which we think has definitely helped us grow and brand our business to where it is today. There’s so so so much more that goes into owning a jewelry line beyond loving jewelry.
Our first hurdle was to re-invent our brand aesthetic. When we first started, we made colorful necklaces and bracelets, but we don’t actually wear lots of colors, so it honestly didn’t fit us. You’ll basically only find us in black, gray, tan, white and off-white. We stepped back and identified what we really wanted our brand to be (and what it still is today) – neutral, edgy and designed for the intention of being layered. We feel like this was a turning point because our jewelry started to match our own personal styles, which was extremely important to us. We didn’t want to just follow the trends; we wanted to design pieces that we would personally wear on a daily basis.
Please tell us about NICOLE LEIGH Jewelry.
We design our NICOLE LEIGH Jewelry collections with three identifiers in mind: neutral, edgy and layered. Most importantly, we are neutral. We don’t use much color (if any color at all in certain collections) and our pieces are designed intentionally to be carried over from season to season. We also don’t cater to a certain age – we like that our jewelry can be worn by teens up to women in their 70s and beyond! Yes, of course, we follow the current jewelry trends of the season, but we don’t just design pieces to look like everyone else’s. We actually intentionally design pieces that are different and don’t look like what all your friends are wearing. Also, we are extremely particular about the materials and components we use, so we aim to design pieces that are great quality at an approachable price point. We hope our customers agree!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Just growing up together! We were known as the “Kurz Sisters” and we loved doing just about everything together… and still do, obviously!
Pricing:
- Majority of our pieces retail for under $100.
- All collections retail for under $175.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nicoleleighjewelry.com
- Email: info@nicoleleighjewelry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicoleleighjewelry
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicoleleighjewelry
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
