Lines We Love | Sequin: Inside A Jewelry Wonderland

The showroom at Sequin.

We love to support female entrepreneurs and women-run businesses (especially when accessories and jewelry are involved). Enter Sequin, a thriving jewelry studio started and currently run by a few powerful badass business-women, who are as kind as they are talented, making them an obvious choice for a #LinesWeLove. Sequin produces well-priced luxurious jewelry with a focus on trend-driven pieces, and is sold in stores like Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales, as well as in their own boutiques in vacation destinations across the U.S. Sequin is a go-to when it comes to adding fun and creative costume jewelry to growing jewelry collections.

We admire how the company is fully committed to fostering and saving animals (including bunnies, a signature of the brand), and how it continues to give back to the communities where they own and operate business.

Today, Sequin has evolved significantly. “With every day, there’s another giant shift in the ground. The evolution has been to keep moving, and keep doing what we do best, which is phenomenal product combined with market intelligence, put into a blender with fabulous creative direction by Tara Malkovich,” Kim says.

C0-Founder Kim renk

After working for two decades in product development and design for various fashion companies, Kim Renk and her sister Linda came up with the idea to start their own jewelry business. Sequin was sparked out of a desire to fight back against gender discrimination in the workplace. Kim recalls her boss telling her that another colleague at her same level deserved to make more money than her because he had a family to support. “They really said those things back then,” she says. When Linda spoke up about disparity in compensation between her and her male colleague, “my boss just said, ‘well, that’s the way it is,’” she says.

In 2000, as the retail landscape shifted from brick and mortar businesses to larger stores selling the same brands (“every few blocks there was another store with the same product,” says Kim), the sisters realized their business would offer a special, more customized approach to jewelry making and selling. Their first customers were Henri Bendel, Harrod’s and they collaborated with different brands.

Today, Sequin has evolved significantly. “With every day, there’s another giant shift in the ground. The evolution has been to keep moving, and keep doing what we do best, which is phenomenal product combined with market intelligence, put into a blender with a fabulous creative director (Tara Malkovich),” Kim says.

Their retail stores are located in vacation destinations like Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Newport, Naples and Vero Beach. Having boutiques in these areas gives the company first hand knowledge of who their customers are, and what they’re looking for. “You can drop a product in a test tube and immediately know what’s going on. It gives us so much information,” Kim says.

THE LINE

The brand has become known for “whimsical, magical, crazy, authentic, creative, passionate, menagerie of people, of work, of everything,” Kim says. “We try to create magic in the environment,” she says. Never knowing what’s next keeps customers coming back. “It’s kind of like Narnia. I think people love that element of surprise.”

Because of how fast products need to move in the digital age (“people want newness on a regular basis,” Kim explains), Sequin has managed to create tight turnarounds from conception to production, while remaining authentic. “ Tara sketches every day, keeps a creative journal, and is influenced by everything from nature to fine art, and music. For her, inspiration can come from anywhere, whether it's cherry blossoms in Queens, to handmade brass lanterns in Morocco.