Naimah Venezia has always been fascinated with jewelry. As a kid, Venezia could be found rummaging through her mother’s jewelry box, looking through the various pieces and getting in trouble for doing so.
At the age of seven, Venezia turned this fascination into a passion. She began taking her mother’s broken jewelry to rework them into various other pieces that could be repurposed. For instance, Venezia said she would use a broken pair of earrings to create a bracelet.
“I would basically do that all day because I enjoyed it so much,” Venezia said to Her Campus in an interview.
Venezia quickly turned this hobby into a mini hustle as she began selling her repurposed jewelry to her neighbours and “employing” her friends to help her out. While some kids sold lemonade at a stand, Venezia sold re-made jewelry instead under the name “Snakalets.”
“We would all go together, and whatever they made, I’d let them sell, and they would keep their profits,” she said.
Fast forward 11 years later to 2021, when Venezia launched her jewelry brand, Iyna Vein, focusing on selling demi-fine, minimalistic pieces.
Iyna Vein focuses on making “affordable, high-quality jewelry accessible to everyone,” said Venezia. When Venezia was younger, she noticed how affordable retail jewelry would often be tarnished and ruined quickly. As she started wearing solid gold, she said she realized it was more expensive and impractical for everyone. Venezia said this is why creating high-quality jewelry is so important to her.
The name “Iyna Vein” comes from Venezia’s idea of having a company named after something meaningful to her but not named after herself. As someone who always had a list of baby names on her phone, Venezia decided to name the company after one of her favourite names, Iyana. Feeling as if this name on its own was too plain for a company, she added “vein” after scouring the Internet for a solid pairing name.
As the founder and designer of Iyna Vein, Venezia is in complete control of the creative process. Venezia starts with drawing out what she would like a piece to look like. She then chooses the specific material and details pertaining to the piece.
After this, she forwards her vision to her manufacturing team, where 3D models are created to resemble her ideas. The models are then sent back to Venezia for approval or adjustments. When satisfied with the prototype, Venezia has the final say on when it can be produced.
Alongside designing for and managing Iyna Vein, Venezia is also a third-year student at the University of Waterloo.
Despite the demands of pursuing a bachelor’s degree, Venezia said balancing her business while being a full-time student isn’t too difficult for her.
“A lot of the time that other people use to go outside and party, I am usually doing my business, so I do a lot of time management and prioritizing.”
As a small business owner, Venezia stresses the importance of connecting with her customers. She hand-packages all of her orders and includes a handwritten note expressing her gratitude for their purchases.
“To me, having a connection with my customers is really important, so I want to make sure that they are not just getting their jewelry, and that’s it,” she said.
While Venezia says starting a business from the ground up isn’t easy, she says owning a business can be rewarding if you are chasing a certain dream.
“You need to fall in love with the journey because if you are just starting something for the money, especially business, which is hard, the destination is gonna come quicker than you expect it to,” she said.
As a young female entrepreneur, Venezia says something she had to overcome was to stop caring about what everyone thought about her. She says everyone goes through the “embarrassing beginning phase” before becoming something “bigger and better.”
“People are always going to judge you for starting something new; they are always going to laugh and make fun of you even if you are successful at what you do,” Venezia said. “So, [might] as well do what you’re gonna do.”
For other women looking to start their own businesses, Venezia advises to “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.”
When Venezia first came up with the idea to start Iyna Vein, she thought the business would focus on selling handmade jewelry. However, she paused this idea to explore getting involved in clothing design. Shortly after, Venezia returned to selling jewelry, this time manufactured jewelry, ultimately deciding it was best for her, as seen with Iyna Vein today.
“You need to see what sticks for you,” she said.
While Venezia is operating a fairly new business, she strongly values the principles of giving back to the community.
In late October 2023, Venezia donated 100% of the profits made during one week from Iyna Vein’s best-selling hoop earring to the Palestine Emergency Appeal by Islamic Relief Canada.
“With any success that comes, you should always give back,” she said.
One of the most rewarding parts of owning her own business is seeing customers wearing her jewelry on social media.
“When I was scrolling on TikTok and saw someone wearing my hoops, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s mine!’” Venezia said.
In the future, Venezia hopes to continue growing her business by designing new collections and introducing some custom jewelry pieces. She also hopes to hold a pop-up shop to expand her reach to new customers.