Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Roane and Melanie Fitzpatrick.
Jennifer and Melanie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We both worked throughout college at Charde Jewelry on Kirby where we fell in love with all things jewelry! After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin, we both moved to LA (where Melanie still lives). Melanie took at jewelry class in 2010 at Otis School of Design and then taught Jennifer how to make jewelry… and the rest is history! Jennifer returned to Houston to be the manager at Charde and then started her family and continued to grow leMel. leMel’s headquarters is in Houston but Melanie still lives on the west coast, so leMel is semi bi-coastal.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Working in seperate cities, made us realize early on we need to define our roles in the company, which took a few years to figure out! Now, we have a great system in place and with the help of Facetime, you would never know we live across the country from each other!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the leMel story. Tell us more about the business.
Our jewelry is easy to wear, stylish and made to layer. We have a fashion and fine line, so there’s something for everyone. What sets us apart, is how we combine the fashion with the fine! You can wear your fanciest diamond studs with a long beaded necklace and call it a day! We are most known for our simple 14k gold initial necklaces. They are really special because they are custom made and you can add an initial at anytime. We are most proud of starting from scratch and still going 8 years later. We have also managed to grow the company while growing our families, which is no easy task. leMel is currently for sale in 10 states and growing!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We feel really lucky that we our close friends and family trusted us to make their wedding rings. We can custom make everything from a engagement ring, to an eternity band or men’s ring.
Pricing:
- our fashion line runs from $30 – $115 using semi precious stones and 14k gold fill
- our 14k gold and diamond fine line starts at $120 and goes up 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shoplemel.com
- Phone: 7133061472
- Email: hello@shoplemel.com
- Instagram: @shoplemel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoplemel/
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston 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.
