Young & Stoned With Fine Jewelry. Meet Eve Gay The Next Big Thing To Hit The Jewelry Business
“I mean, I’ve definitely had some other people come to me and say, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ ‘You don’t know what you’re doing, you’re too young.’ And I’m like, Okay, I think I’m doing something right if you’re threatened.”
It only took a few months to land her first big moment having her business, Stoned Fine Jewelry, on the cover of Playboy Magazine, South Africa. Still in school and taking the jewelry world by storm, Eve Gay, is definitely someone you should be on the lookout for. She may be young but don’t let the age fool you.
I got to sit down with Eve to talk about creating her business during a pandemic, her inspiration, and fighting against a male-dominated industry. All while fueling her passion and helping her clients and friends drip in jewels.
What inspired you to start a jewelry company and to do it in the middle of a pandemic?
It sounds so silly, but my mom and I were talking about what I was going to do next? I’m going to be a senior at Pepperdine so I’m getting close to graduation. We were driving on PCH when I had an epiphany and I was like, “Mom, I want to be a diamond dealer. I’m gonna name my brand Stoned, it’s going to be great.” She said, “You know what, I love it, we’re going to go for it.” I started working on it, kept it super low key, literally only my family knew, no one else knew what was happening behind the scenes. My mom was helping me through it, getting all the legal paperwork. I was doing all the branding, logos, website, everything myself. It was such a huge learning lesson but it’s been so fun and it’s really just blossomed and has totally taken off.
So you’ve always been into jewelry?
I've always loved jewelry and fashion. My mom tells this story where we were shopping and I saw ruffled panties that I wanted. At the time I wasn't even potty trained but she told me, “I'll get them for you but you can never go to the bathroom in your panties.” (laughing) From that day on potty trained! I would also ask, “What are we wearing for dinner? Are we dressing casual this evening?" Only to be told, “We dress casual every evening.” Both fashion and jewelry have been a huge part of my life. Before COVID, I thought maybe I would go into the fashion industry and move to New York after graduation. I started applying for internships, and I got one with a super cool sustainable designer in New York. I was all set to start when COVID hit and they called me to say, “Hey, this isn’t happening, sorry.” It sucked but then I started thinking more about it and fashion is such a saturated industry that is very hard to stand out in right now. It wasn’t a good fit for me, I didn’t know how to sew by hand, there are so many people doing it, I wouldn’t know how to stand out. So I decided this wasn’t for me and then I was like, “You know what…diamonds! I think that’s for me.” I’m the type of person that wears all of my jewelry all the time, I never take it off. I just love it. My grandma is a big jewelry person so I think it comes from her.
I think most people can only dream of finding their “thing” right out of college or right before graduation. it’s a blessing but i know it has to also be a hustle.
It's a grind. I mean, I tell my mom about it everyday. I have so much on my plate, full schedule at Pepperdine, I've gotten straight A's. I'm not the type of person who will just turn in “F” work. Pepperdine’s Graphic section interviewed me and they were like, “Oh, you graduated, this is so great.” and I was like, “No, I'm still senior, I need my diploma.” I don't know, I just wake up and think, nobody's gonna do anything for me. I have to do it myself. I'm gonna grind as hard as I can right now and in five years, I'll be thanking myself. This is the time to do it. Even though we're in a pandemic, the rise of online shopping and at Pepperdine especially, there's lots of rings before spring. I'm really happy that I started it when I did. It’s been a grind, but I love it.
You have to love what you do to put in those hours. having never started a business what are things you wish you knew?
Some things I wish I knew… I wish I learned how to make a website. I mean, thank God, we have Google and stuff but that it’s so time consuming and so confusing. I know now why people charge so much for making websites. I'm like, “Yes, you could literally spend 24 hours straight, just making little tweaks to things.” And accounting for sure, my brain scrambles. If I was able to take in maybe a couple more accounting classes, yeah. There's been lots of mistakes, trust me. I mean, I'm not perfect. This didn't just come out perfectly. Behind the scenes, there were a lot of mistakes but I think that's when you learn, when you're in it. There's no way to teach these kinds of skills, you have to just be thrown in with the sharks, that's the best way.
Right now Stoned is an online luxury jewelry store, So how exactly does that work?
So that's where COVID has very much been a big help because everyone wants to do stuff contactless. When I was doing my market research, it showed that a lot of millennials and Gen Z, are buying stuff online. It’s not like it used to be and a lot of us have put trust in the online system. So obviously I have to build up my brand, become reputable, become credible, because no one's gonna buy a $30,000 ring just off of some random website if it's not credible and reputable. I’ve been trying to get all those little sales because I know in the end it will lead to a bigger sales. I've also implemented stuff like seeing the jewelry through high definition pictures and videos and having GIS certifications too. We're building a credible and reputable brand. You got to get used to it because it's the future for sure. One of the main parts of Stoned, which I think is unique, is my concierge service. I have a list of clients that I know exactly what their girlfriend wants, likes, and saves on Instagram. If it’s a gift I can text the client and say here are some things she may like, these are the prices, I wrap it super nice, get a card and everything. I got it down to a science and the client loves that it’s all taken care of. I actually just ran into one of my client’s fiancé and she had all of her jewelry on and she was like, “I love it, this is the best, you're amazing” and it just made me so happy. So it's really nice to have those clients come back because they love the concierge service part.
You were quoted saying “The single female is dominating the market right now.” What do you mean by that?
When I was doing my market research trying to find my target audience. I saw this huge shift in the market where maybe 30 or even 20 years ago, women were starting to buy their own jewelry. Now we're seeing this huge rise in the single female. Like my friend, she was one of my first customers who bought herself a tennis bracelet, and I was like, “Yes, we're doing this, this is great. You deserve diamonds.” And I was just with my mom the other day and we saw a friend who told us how much her daughter loves all my jewelry. She said that she wanted to get her something because she wanted to be the first person to give her daughter a diamond, not some boy. I thought that was really sweet. I mean, obviously, when a boy proposes, it's very nice, it's very special, but you know, if you can also get it for yourself, it just raises your bar. Where you don’t need someone to buy it for you, you can get it yourself. So I think it was super cool to see that shift. And all the young women I'm working with are just like killing it and working hard. They’re like, “I'm buying myself a pair of diamonds studs” and I'm like, “Yes, do it. We all should be dripping in jewels, buying it ourselves.”
A lot of people wouldn’t know that the jewelry business is very much a male dominated industry. So as a young woman what is it like for you?
I think that's been the most interesting part of it all because I sound young. That's one criticism I've gotten, I sound young. And when I get nervous, my voice gets higher and, you know, I laugh and I try to make jokes. Then in trying to deal with these older men in the industry. I tell them, Stoned is four months old but we've been on the cover of Playboy and this is all the stuff I have in the works. Like, come on, just send me the pair of earrings, and they are like, “dude…” So that part is interesting. I mean they want so many references which I understand but I also feel like I'm getting hit a little harder, because of my age. “They're like, are you sure you know what you're doing?” I'm like, “Yeah, I promise I do.” I try to stay as positive as I can.
I was actually talking with one of my classes and we had a discussion about how to know, you have a professional tone of voice and I brought up my problem. I was told that I just needed to work on it and that's how you push through those barriers. To me I'm like, “Listen, if my voice sounds like this, and I'm laughing through it, but I'm making all the money and the news, I promise I'm doing something right.” I mean, I've definitely had some other people come to me and say, “You don't know what you're talking about.” “You don't know what you're doing, you're too young.” And I'm like, “Okay, I think I'm doing something right if you're threatened.”
Describe your SLAY.
I really think just getting it done, you know, it's not going to be perfect. Nothing's perfect. I think a lot of people don't go for their dreams, because it's not perfect. They might wait on that idea they have because it needs to be “perfected.” No, you need to go for it, you need to jump on the opportunity. No one's gonna care that it needs to be perfect. It just needs to be good. You know, as long as the idea is good and the products are good. You'll get it but you just got to keep going. Then my other favorite thing is when something doesn’t go according to plan I always have to remember to take a deep breath. Remind myself I really love the line and that I'll deal with it tomorrow. You gotta know when to step back. I'm not gonna deal with it right now, like a hot headed impulse. I’ll wake up tomorrow and deal with it then.
Follow Stoned at:
Instagram: @stonedfinejewelry
Website: Stoned Fine Jewelry