The Story Behind our Hashtag Earrings
Following the Golden Globes red carpet blackout, I saw so many articles covering the gorgeous gowns and stunning diamond and emerald jewelry the stars wore to the event. And for good reason, there were some truly out of this world amazing pieces to cover, but especially among jewelry publications, I saw nothing covering the reason for the blackout or its underlying message that time’s up. However, Friday morning I came across an article by Barbara Palumbo for InStore Magazine (a jewelry trade publication) saying that time’s up for the jewelry industry. (Read the article here: http://instoremag.com/know-how/159-column/24638-time-s-up-but-is-it-really )
As a woman in the jewelry industry, I too have my fair share of stories and can definitely say sexism is alive and well in the trade. I absolutely love jewelry and the industry I work in that is so full of inspired and passionate individuals, but I’m still shocked at the level of sexist behavior I’ve seen, heard, and experienced. I’ve encountered everything from casual sexism to sexual harassment at a professional networking event. And I was so glad that someone finally decided to speak up in an industry that is very private and largely sweeps issues like sexual harassment under the rug.
I shared the article after I read it to show how much I agree that we need to have this conversation as an industry, especially at a time like now where these issues are really at the forefront in the media. Others in a large closed industry Facebook group also shared the article and I was really disappointed in many of the responses I was seeing. Instead of using her article to start a dialogue, some chose to attack the journalist who wrote the piece, the magazine that published it, and people (mainly millennials, women, and snowflakes) who obviously “can’t take a joke” or “can’t take a compliment.” I was stunned at the level of casual and blatant sexism that I was seeing in the Facebook comments. Some went as far as to say that the author only wrote the article to get back at him for unmatching her on Tinder! Am I the only one who thinks that’s ridiculous? Yes, it’s a private Facebook group...with 20,000+ members from all over the jewelry industry, how is that an appropriate thing to say?
So, I decided to add my voice to the conversation and do something. So, I designed these earrings to say Time’s Up! In jewelry. Using the hashtag symbol that preceded those words all over social media, I created simple stud earrings in 14k yellow and rose recycled gold (and maybe in sterling silver in the very near future too) to send that message. 25% of each sale will be donated to Time’s Up! So, we can help other women. Because when women come together and support each other, amazing things can happen, and real change can be made.