Valerie is a fine jewelry designer and CEO LilyEmme Jewelry. This rare black woman in the jewelry industry has carved a niche for herself. Looking at her designs, one would think that she had always wanted to be a jewelry designer but this is far from the truth.
Valerie’s interest in creating jewelry was sparked when she took a metal-smithing class at a local art center. She absolutely loved using flame to create jewelry. It was like she had heard a voice that told her it was time; time to do something fun for herself and she has never looked back since then.
However, things have not always been rosy. This creative entrepreneur has had a fair share of rough times in the business. There was a time she accidentally melted all of the gold that she had painstaking formed into a beautiful pendant. That experience taught her to practice more to be good at gold-smithing, just like anyone else.
Valerie loves that she gets to design eco-friendly bridal jewelry that the couple can admire for the rest of their lives and she hopes that her work and determination can help pave the way for more women of colour to enter the industry.
Her advice to aspiring jewelry designers is this, “Believe in yourself and bring something unique to the table when it comes to your jewelry designs so that your work can stand out from the rest.”
