DANO Goldsmith

Own Business

2018 - Interior and Jewelry Design

First female in the city of Sulaymaniyah (Kurdistan/Iraq) to build, own and run a jewelry store.

Looking for a change while still working as banker one day I decided I wanted to run a jewelry shop.

It would give me an outlet to be creative, I could run my own business and eventually, one day leave banking for good.

Said and done, I collected all my savings, arranged funds, negotiated with gold wholesalers in Iraq and the UAE and ventured out to find a store to establish my business. 

The Store as we found it...

Renovation Process

I re-designed the store from floor to ceiling, selected the materials and worked together with the craftsmen to create an inviting and luxurious ambiance that stood out from the surroundings. While working on a limited budget, the experience and outcome was invaluable to me.

The Renovated Store 

Jewelry Design and Purchase

After developing the logo of the brand 'DANO' I set out to find semi-precious stones, raw material and finished products from wholesalers. We (kindly many family members supported me as improvised staff) photographed the material and I started to prepare the visual representation for social media and promotion. I further sketched the first designs for our own production.

Jewelry Collections

The product range was designed to appeal the modern Kurdish woman - educated, confident, chic and graceful - with an appreciation for her cultural background. Hence the collection consisted of traditional, rich and ornamented Kurdish jewelry which is rooted deeply into social life, as well as western state of the art fashion jewelry and daily wearable items . 

Social Media and Online Shop

Considering the target audience, DANO Goldsmith was promoted mostly via Social Media. The online appearance and engagement was of utmost importance to acquire new customers and generate sales. One year into the business, with the crisis around ISIS at its peak in Iraq followed by an economic crisis, I decided to turn the store in a fully online operated store with delivery service. That allowed me to manage the store remotely and save on overhead costs. 

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I put the store on hold when starting my Industrial Design studies, but establishing and managing the store single-handedly was one my greatest achievements and learning experiences to date.