We recently caught up with talented young designer Hilary Marino of Hilary Caroline Jewelry. Bored with seeing the same over-priced, mass-manufactured jewelry everywhere, she decided to begin creating her own, and luckily she also decided to share her creations with the rest of us!

Tell us a little about yourself and your work. I am currently a senior in college working towards a major in Finance. I have always been very creative and entrepreneurial, and have run several small retail fashion related online businesses on and off since high school. My newest endeavor is selling handmade jewelry, and it has definitely been my most enjoyable entrepreneurial venture thus far. The feeling of having someone else appreciate and buy something you made with your own hands is incredibly rewarding.

I describe my jewelry selection as young, fashionable and fun. My pieces range from casual pieces, such as charm and crystal necklaces, for daily wear up to fancier pieces for evening wear or special occasions that use fine gemstones, pearls, and fine metals. I love having this wide variety all in one shop because I believe it reflects my personality as I am very casual and laid back in style during the day but when I go out at night I love fancy, sparkling pieces.

How did you get started as a designer? I spent the summer of 2008 interning in New York City for a well known retail giant. As I was learning the ins and outs of the industry, I was also exploring all the city had to offer in regards to shopping, one of my favorite activities. In regards to jewelry shopping, it seemed as though every piece of jewelry worthy of desire came with a very undesirable price tag. Oppositely, every reasonably priced piece I could find was unimaginative and completely ordinary. I realized I could make jewelry that would be at least as good looking and not nearly as expensive. So, with a few prior years of experience in random spurts of jewelry creation, I start scoping out materials to make the jewelry I was dreaming about. Of course, being from an entrepreneurial family and having this selling spirit within me, casual creation of jewelry for just my own self lead to the need to share my vision with the world.

What inspires your work? Mostly colors, in nature or really anywhere. I love using unique color combinations to give my pieces a real pop. I'm constantly thinking of what new color combinations I can put together for my pieces. Also, sometimes just seeing a certain bead or gemstone cut can inspire a whole piece for me.

Who are your favorite designers? I have so, so many I can't even list them all! And they are constantly changing.

What are your top fashion & beauty must-haves? My most recent fashion obsessions are my black skinny jeans, my several cute winter coats, silky blouses, my tall grey suede boots and my new bright blue suede round toe high heels for going out. For beauty products I never leave the house without mascara, and lately I've been wearing a new perfume I got from Anthropologie daily as I just adore the scent. And of course, you can never have too many shiny lipglosses.

Any advice you would give to aspiring designers? Advertise, advertise, advertise! Don't be afraid to spread the word to everyone and anyone you know, it will lead to success in the long run, and you never know who may have a connection to help further your venture. This was hard for me at first, and I didn't even share my jewelry with my close friends for several months. I finally smartened up and started a group on Facebook, which lead to many customers for me and many many sales. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there! Also, as tempting as it may be, be careful not to overspend on supplies in the beginning, because it may be a while before you have built up the clientele to sell things quickly and you could really get in a rut if you spend too much money upfront. But most importantly, stay true to yourself and your vision! Don't just make things because they sell, you have to love what you do and stand behind your designs otherwise it will not last.

Where can people find your work? I have an Etsy shop (hilarycaroline.etsy.com), and also have a shopping cart set up through my website (www.hilarycaroline.com).


We love all of the amazing independent designers out there and we wanted to find out more about what makes these creative types tick. If you do too, check out more of our Indie Designer Interviews.