Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction

Hoboken sisters create a business and give back to the community

By Tara Ryazansky

Photos courtesy of the Calliope Sisters

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andie DeMar noticed a growing trend in Hoboken. “This spring it felt like every kid ended up coming up with some kind of business,” she says. Her daughters, Joia, 12, and Carys, 9, wanted to get in on the action. DeMar vetoed slime and tie-dye, deeming them overly popular. “Let’s come up with something that’s really useful,” she said. They brainstormed about it, and one of them mentioned beaded bracelets. “Then we thought, everyone is going to be wearing masks.” They settled on the idea of making a new type of accessory to go along with the new normal: mask chains. After watching many YouTube video tutorials and experimenting with various materials, the trio created their product. They named their company Calliope Sisters, which means “beautiful voice.”

Jurisprudence to Jewelry

DeMar says she doesn’t consider herself the creative type. “I never imagined we would have a jewelry business,” she says. “I mean, I’m a lawyer.” But her creative daughters pulled her over to the artsy side. “They are definitely creative,” DeMar says. “Joia probably wants to be an artist. She’s actually working on getting a portfolio together. Carys is more of a performer. They’re both dancers.” Running Calliope Sisters is about more than just creative fulfillment. “It’s really given them confidence to try something new,” DeMar says. “It’s given them a sense of ownership and responsibility. It’s a great lesson.” She also wanted their venture to help the community.

Carys & Joia

Photo courtesy of The Calliope Sisters

“We knew that we wanted there to be a charitable bend to this. This isn’t really about turning a profit. It was about giving the kids something fun to do, and we just wanted to give back. So far, we’ve made two monetary donations to Hoboken Shelter. Right now it’s really hard to do in-person volunteering.” But the Calliope Sisters came up with a solution. They, along with some friends, made lunch and delivered it to the shelter.

“We made 100 sandwiches,” Joia says. “That was a great day and more fun than I thought it would be!” “We delivered sandwiches and are doing that again this weekend,” Carys says. “In this hard time with the pandemic, it’s good to like make people smile and help others when you can. Also, it’s really fun because it keeps me busy during this pandemic; it can be boring because we can’t go out as much.”

Inside Job

The girls don’t mind staying in and making mask chains. “The chains are fun to make and to give to my friends,” Joia says. “I also get to watch TV while I’m doing it!” “I like the colorful kids’ ones that have cool designs, and they have a lot of pretty colors and are just really cute,” Carys says. “The most challenging part is when there is like tons and tons of orders, and it’s just really hard sometimes to keep up with everything. And also try to get all the chains as perfect as possible.” “Some of the chains are hard to work with, the metals are sometimes hard for me to bend,” Joia says. “It’s also difficult when we have a lot of orders, on a day when I have lots of dance and also lots of schoolwork. This is why I’m so glad that we are all doing this together.”

Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Calliope Sisters have been selling their wares on Instagram, but they also have some items at Dune and Salt on Washington Street. Last Halloween, the DeMar family stopped by the store while they were trick-or-treating. “It was fun to see our stuff there,” Joia says, and it was exciting to watch customers try on the merchandise. “People were thinking that they were really nice.” “We were dressed for Halloween,” Carys says. “I was Dustin from Stranger Things. I was really happy because I saw everything in the window, and it looked so cool when it was displayed there, and everyone was walking by looking at it.” “There was actually a woman in the store trying on one of our necklaces,” DeMar says. “There was one person that was trying everything on and saying she loved it, which made me really happy,” Carys says. Says DeMar, “Really, this was just a way to get them off Tik Tok, but it’s been so fun. and it’s becoming a little bit of a business.”—BLP