26
Youth
September 21 – October 4, 2013
www.SanTanSun.com
Origami Owl: Teen’s company is growing by leaps and bounds BY LYNETTE CARRINGTON
Isabella “Bella” Weems of Chandler is one enterprising young lady. As the creator and founder of the jewelry company Origami Owl, she has encountered tremendous growth with her company and recently just held her first company conference. Since founding the company in 2010, the Chandler-headquartered Origami Owl has grown to serve customers in all 50 states through a group of more than 25,000 designers nationwide. Its signature items are called “Living Lockets” and each piece of jewelry is as unique as the person who creates it. But, to understand the Origami Owl phenomenon one must visit the company’s beginnings. “When I was 14 years old, my dream was to buy a car when I turned 16,” explains Weems. “I always believed you can do anything you set your mind to, so I decided to sell beautiful custom lockets. Instead of hanging out with my friends, I spent many hours on the weekends hosting jewelry parties. I knew we had something special when I rented a kiosk at Chandler mall on Black Friday three years ago and had great success. I was in shock!” Original Owl now boasts thousands of independent designers who host fun jewelry parties called “Jewelry Bars.” The company uses a direct-selling business model, however, the “Jewelry Bars” are easy to set up and can literally
ORIGAMI OWL: The “Living Lockets” are the company’s signature jewelry item. Submitted photo
go anywhere. “Women are able to build their custom lockets with charms and tags that mean something special to them,” says Weems. “My goal with the Jewelry Bars was to help women fall in love with fashion, feel good about themselves, meet new friends and most of all, be a force for good.” Weems recently decided to give back to the community in her ongoing efforts to be a force for good. “For my birthday I wanted to spread a little love, so I visited Childhelp—a charity helping abused kids—and
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delivered gifts to their advocacy center, hung out with the kids. There was some singing since I love to sing,” Weems says. “I love the Ahwatukee Children’s Theater because I see myself in a lot of these kids, so I donated money to the theater and committed to helping these kids reach their dreams by continuing to donate every month for the six months.” She also found an independent designer in Phoenix who shared her same birthdate. She surprised the woman with a special gift and delivered it in-person. Origami Owl just celebrated
DRESSED FOR SUCCESS: Isabella “Bella” Weems takes the stage at the “O2 Experience,” Origami Owl’s first national conference, held in Phoenix in August. Submitted photo
its growth with a conference held in Phoenix. “We had over 2,300 designers attend and it was one big celebration,” Weems notes. “The ‘O2 Experience’ conference was all about making connections, sharing designer experiences and growing the Original Owl family. We also used the conference to share important company announcements and exclusive product previews which really excited our designers.”
SEE ORIGAMI PAGE 28
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