One thing to know about Ece Şirin is she doesn’t take anything lightly— whether it is a career decision, her research into the world of symbols, or her jewelry brand.
That likely comes from a life of always being on the move. Whether it was as a child with the constant moves of her military family to her own work across international borders to today, when Bee Goddess has stores across continents, Şirin approaches it all with a passion for details and a desire for connectivity.
Şirin’s transition from corporate executive to the queen bee behind Bee Goddess started in 2004. Şirin was working for Microsoft at that time and started looking into how ancient symbols have more relevance on the world of today than we might think.
“I worked for multinational companies—Coke and Microsoft—and I was a businesswoman. But when I developed this spiritual quest, I became a seeker. I was seeking fulfillment,” Şirin says.
This month, Bee Goddess is launching a new bridal collection at Couture in Las Vegas, where you also can find her other collections, including Honey and Star Light. Star Light recently added new colored Sirius stars, which bring another layer of color and sparkle to the brand.
Şirin’s path was international from the start. Şirin attended Bogazici University in Istanbul, where she graduated with a degree in international relations in 1991. She worked in marketing and branding, eventually going to the Coca-Cola Co. in 1995, where she served as a group brand manager for four years.
In 2001, Şirin worked for Microsoft, where she was a marketing manager for the mega software and computer company in the Middle East and Africa. It was during this time that she started searching for a higher truth, studying Reiki, Sufism, alchemy, goddess philosophy, and mythology, Şirin says.
For four years, Şirin studied ancient civilizations from around the world, hoping to find not only some commonality but also some meaning. An astrologer led her to her own archetype, the moon goddess Diana, and Şirin started making talismans in her honor. A full jewelry practice began, and the result was Bee Goddess, a brand named after “the mother of all goddesses,” Şirin says.
Coincidentally, her own first name, Ece, means “queen bee” in Turkish, and the Turks were ruled by Amazonian women who were called Ece, Şirin says.
Around this time the #MeToo movement took off, changing the way Şirin felt about her work and the workplace.
“I didn’t enjoy the patriarchal world. I was a misfit in that sense,” Şirin says. “My fate and my destiny were taking me into the world of symbolism…and it empowered me. Symbols fascinated me because [they make up] the eternal language that does change.”
Launched in 2008, Şirin’s initial jewelry line used 12 symbols, which Şirin says are intended to take her clients closer to their own inner goddess and into a greater sense of spirituality. For Şirin, the bee symbolizes feminine authority, which gives the people who wear her jewelry a reminder of their own inner beauty and power.
“I feel like my purpose is to enlighten luxury and luxury brands,” Şirin says. “The world needs a brand that tells the truth, and that’s the truth that there’s only one of you and only one of me. That’s why we make limited-edition pieces. The brand doesn’t add value to you or me—it’s about transferring my values and taking you on an inner journey that connects you to your inner style.”
Since its launch, Bee Goddess has won multiple awards, from Turkish Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011 and the Visionary Jewellery Design of the Year by Telegraph Luxury in 2015. She also has had commercial success—for example, she was the jeweler on the Cinderella movie with Amazon Prime, and celebrities she admires, including Minnie Driver and Kate Winslet, wear her creations.
Şirin seeks to do the same in her retail stores, blending the old and the new, the ancient with the modern, she says. That’s why she approaches each store opening with an open mind, designing the space to fit the jewelry she will display there as well as the aura of the geographic location. Today, she has more than a dozen locations in her homeland of Turkey, Mykonos, and Monaco.
“I’m challenging all the rules like I did when I first launched the brand,” Şirin says. “It is the opposite of McDonald’s. I want every one to be different.”
Top: Ece Şirin used to work for big brands including Coke and Microsoft until she began a spiritual journey that led her to jewelry and her unique brand, Bee Goddess (photos courtesy of Bee Goddess).
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