Today we’d like to introduce you to Krishna Chavda.
Krishna, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My journey started when I was in high school. I would help out my dad and uncle in their fine jewelry business back home in India merely for the sake of pocket money. Back then my goals were different. But, jewelry has always been an essential part of my life. I was brought up in a culture where jewelry was passed on from generation to generation. After I migrated to the United States, I quickly realized the insane markups and inconsistencies in price and quality of jewelry. It was like spending my entire pay-cheque on one single high-quality piece of fine jewelry.
After working in Houston’s corporate sector for several years, I decided to stay at home when my daughter was born. That’s when the major shift in interest happened; I found myself making necklaces for my friends and family, taking silversmithing class and blogging on the side. It wasn’t until my husband recognized my potential and pushed me to create a business that I was passionate about and I wished had existed all along! With his strong support and business expertise, combined with my creative ability, we launched Veatge: a new direct to consumer concept in fine jewelry that provides a single platform for unique high-grade designs from around the world at fair prices.
Veatge; pronounced as way-aaa-je, means “journey” in Catalan, a language spoken in parts of France & Spain. It is my journey of connecting back to my roots and a passion that I never even knew I had.
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?
Starting a new business from scratch was not a smooth ride. It was very challenging to navigate in an industry ruled by big brand names. For a small home-based startup, getting designs manufactured, with limited capital, was next to impossible. It required a lot of hard work, perseverance and not taking a no for an answer. We have now developed long-term relationships with these manufacturers.
Our very first collection, Modern Sculpture, was born, with the same manufacturing techniques used by the same skilled artisans with decades of experience but without the luxury markups and overheads that come with retail space.
Veatge Fine Jewelry – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are known for fine jewelry that is minimal, modern and made to last. We are very proud of the quality of designs that we offer, and the quality of work produced by our skilled artisans. We work directly with trusted manufacturers who share our values and have been in business for many years.
All our jewelry is made using only precious metals (sterling silver, 14kt gold, 18kt gold vermeil). We have combined this high-quality fine jewelry brand experience, with price points that are affordable and easily accessible through our website – this is what sets us apart from our competition.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
After months of self-doubt and questioning the entire business model we knew we were on the right path when some of our designs such as Two Dome Ring and Abstract Wire Hoops (https://veatge.com/collections/modern-sculpture) became so popular during Christmas last year that it sold out twice and people started asking us to put them on a waitlist. That was a happy dance moment for me!
Our three core values excellent quality, fair prices and exploration are the foundation of pretty much everything we do. We also believe in transparency and providing enough knowledge to our customers around the product and materials we use. And because of this, we have been able to grow organically and authentically through word of mouth in such a short time. I am proud to see our customers are our most significant spokespersons.
Pricing:
- All our products range from $25 to $500.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.veatge.com
- Phone: 832-469-7553
- Email: hello@veatge.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/veatge
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/shopveatge
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/veatge
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.
