A professor and his wife launched a jewelry company after winning the Be Your Own Boss Bowl.
Jewelry is usually designed to shine, sparkle and dazzle. But when James Moustafellos, assistant Management Information Systems professor at Fox, and his wife Karen started their jewelry line in 2006, they set out to create jewelry that followed none of the typical standards.
Their designs are all metal-pieces made primarily of sterling silver and 18 karat gold. The minimal jewelry does not contain stones and isn’t decorative.
The growing interest in his pieces made James realize he had a potentially lucrative business on his hands, so he and his wife laid out their first business plan and entered it into Fox’s annual Be Your Own Boss Bowl – a business plan competition that awards its winners with significant amounts of cash and prizes.
Their designs are minimal – all-metal pieces are made primarily of sterling silver and 18-karat gold. The jewelry does not contain stones and isn’t decorative.
Now, several years later, some of these individual pieces are selling for several thousands of dollars.
“We’ve really catapulted into the arena of the Tiffany and Cartier market,” Moustafellos said.
The idea for the business began when Moustafellos, who at the time was a design instructor at the Tyler School of Art, started making jewelry for his wife.
“Thinking as an architect, I made pieces of jewelry that my wife wore, and all these people kept asking where they could buy them,” he said.
Women, however, aren’t the only people interested in Moustafellos’ jewelry.
“What was most interesting was the enthusiastic response we received from men,” Karen said. “We figured that if men took notice and complimented us on the pieces, then we had something unique.”
The growing interest in his pieces made James realize he had a potentially lucrative business on his hands, so he and his wife laid out their first business plan and entered it into Fox’s annual Be Your Own Boss Bowl – a business plan competition that awards its winners with significant amounts of cash and prizes.
“Participating in the competition gives you a structured approach,” Moustafellos said. “When we entered, we didn’t even know what a business plan was.”
But it ended up their plan was better than they thought. Elements and Alloys – their team name – impressed the judges, and the couple won the grand prize in the faculty category. They were awarded $25,000 in cash, prizes and services.
With their winnings in hand, Moustafellos and his wife kicked the idea for their business into full gear. They improved their business plan and further developed the Elements and Alloys brand. They based their business in Philadelphia and began working with a factory in Rhode Island, as well as with a network of independent artisans.
“It was important to build a comprehensive collection of designs in order to be able to work with the top retailers and galleries,” Moustafellos said.
Although they had no formal training as jewelers, they both have degrees in architecture from Princeton University, which they said inspired the flair of their pieces and set their designs apart from other jewelers.
“The jewelry is building on our architectural training,” Moustafellos said. “We do things as an architect would do them, not the way a jeweler would, and that’s what differentiates us [from other jewelers].”
As the company started to grow, the couple started selling their pieces in boutiques and galleries across the country.
“What is most significant in our growth is not the increase in the number of pieces sold in a year, but the significant growth in the amount someone will spend on an individual piece,” Moustafellos said.
“When we started, our highest sale for a single piece was around $7,500,” he added. “Now it is $25,000, which represents a real growth in brand awareness and appreciation for the quality of the products and the unique design.”
Karen said their unconventional approach to the jewelry business has been a key to their accomplishments.
“We attribute our success to not having grown up in the jewelry industry,” she said. “Coming from a different industry has given us a unique perspective and allows us to do things in unorthodox ways, which often leads to positive results.”
Moustafellos said they won’t stop until they reach their goal of becoming a major design house known worldwide.
“We vision ourselves in global domination,” Moustafellos said. “That’s what we’re going for.”
Matt Finn can be reached at matt.finn@temple.edu.
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