Just like its long-favored symbol the butterfly, Anne Koplik Jewelry is flying high, as founder Koplik guides younger generations of the family-owned business in spreading the word about the brand and finding new customers.
The Anne Koplik Jewelry team has grown to include lead designer Koplik’s daughters Kara Koplik-Garecht and Jill Koplik-Tellerman, along with granddaughter Jenna Garecht, who brings her Gen Z talents and trendspotting to the Brewster, N.Y., company.
Koplik-Garecht jokes that Jenna is helping Anne Koplik Jewelry enter its Taylor Swift age, celebrating its many eras and transitions. You can see this through the brand’s jewelry and its outreach to new retailers and charity partners.
Earlier this fall, Anne Koplik Jewelry debuted a collection to benefit Monarch Joint Venture (MJV), a nonprofit devoted to raising awareness and funds to protect the world’s monarch butterfly population. The Monarch Butterfly collection includes a pin, a bracelet, four necklaces, and a pair of earrings in vibrant orange, black, and white enamel.
Anne Koplik Jewelry is donating 10% of the profits from these pieces to MJV. The collection’s release was timed to the monarch migration from the United States and Canada to Mexico for winter, Koplik-Garecht says.
Symbolizing hope, resilience, and transformation, the butterfly has been an important image for Anne Koplik Jewelry since its founding in 1981. Koplik-Garecht says the brand has used butterflies for their beauty and to represent the idea that jewelry can transform the wearer.
“My mom started the company after our parents got divorced. She made some jewelry to put in a store and it sold well, so she made more. It was in the basement of our house, and then got so big we had to move to one location and then another,” says Koplik-Garecht.
“We’ve had to reinvent ourselves again and again to stay relevant. We know the meaning of the word pivot,” she adds. “You have to change to become new again for a new generation, and we’re always trying to think of ways to reach younger audiences.”
Jenna Garecht’s first move after joining the family company was to create mood boards (which she brought to staff meetings) incorporating colors and themes found in Swift’s music and album covers.
Now, three generations come together to discuss design, the business, and how they can bring Anne Koplik Jewelry to the next level.
“We’re the little engine that could,” Koplik-Garecht says. “We make mistakes, but we try not to make too many. We learn every day, and we want to grow our business for the next 40-plus years.”
Top: Anne Koplik began her eponymous jewelry brand in 1981 and is growing it with her daughters and granddaughter. (Photos courtesy of Anne Koplik Jewelry)
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
