Written By: Lorenzo Delfin
In our first volume of Style Visionary by Stylish Magazine, a series of cover story specials meant to put the spotlight on lifestyle visionaries, or people who elevate our lifestyle through fashion, beauty, wellness, travel and any facet of the way we live, we are offering you the story of young, vibrant jewelry designer Justinne Natividad just in time for International Women’s Month.
”Each trinket is designed to build confidence and to accentuate every woman’s identity because it deserves the sparkle. You deserve the sparkle,” this is how Justinne, founder and designer of Trinkets Jewelry, opened our conversation during our cover shoot as she described her jewelry line. Needless to say, this young girl boss is all about offering sparkles and magic to the world!
The 27-year-old jewelry designer has always envisioned her brainchild Trinkets to make a lasting impact on women– be it on their self-esteem, fashion sense or investment.
From sparkling, lustrous bracelets to glamorous, playful earrings, Justinne has been creating lovely jewelry pieces that have been worn by celebrities as well as everyday fashionistas, and have been featured in major fashion glossies.
With a philosophy that connects the gap between the modern and the classic, Trinkets Jewelry‘s ethos is about encouraging women to embrace their distinct fashion sense with modern elegance and timeless investment through wearable jewelry. Justinne aims to offer the market a fresher take on classic jewelry through youthful, modern designs.
This designer has been inspired by fashionable, strong and sensible women like herself all her life. ”My grandmother was the first one to inspire me to appreciate jewelry when I was a young girl. So, it all started with my lola. She and my mother have shown me how much jewelry could help build my confidence, and how it could totally give a strong statement with my outfit.”
With her love for jewelry and education in business management, the young visionary built her line with a strong style ethos.
”I started designing jewelry back in 2019. Back then, I revisited my love for pearls, and I thought that the jewelry designs with pearls are often known as sophisticated, yet perceived as old fashioned. So I decided to design pearl jewelry that could fit and be worn by modern women of today,” she shared
”I’ve always wanted to connect modern and classic, and so I started designing my own jewelry line so that women could change their perspective towards pearl jewelry and start loving them, too.”
”I graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship and I wanted to create my own business that I could be very passionate about. I actually tried to build a clothing brand, but it was very difficult and was very hectic, and that fashion business scene is very saturated. So, I decided to put focus on a kind of business where I can combine my innate passion and my business know-how: a jewelry business.”
Staying true to her style vision, Justinne indeed has been offering modernized jewelry designs that exude a fun, youthful, modern vibe into jewelry trinkets.
”Trinkets is a brand that gives utmost importance to luxury, confidence and individuality,” she said. ”As you can see, our jewelry pieces are very elegant yet they still exude a vibe that is more modern than the usual jewelry, as well as more wearable with a more personal touch that truly goes with the daily lifestyle of our clients. I want our clientele to express their personality and creativity through our jewelry pieces.”
”Most of my designs are timeless, classic yet innovative so it can be worn any day and anywhere. I create jewelry designs that fit the modern woman’s lifestyle and personality today. “My vision is to change the perspective of the people about investment jewelry.””
”I also make personalize jewelry which accentuates the wearer’s individuality more, and so they can embrace their own uniqueness too.”
Backed by its strong cult following, Trinkets has been known for incorporating a new kind perspective about pearls. One of the famous collections of Justinne is her authentic pearl line in unconventional colors, and lusters.
”Trinkets go beyond unconventional designs for pearls. People easily notice that our bracelets and necklaces have different lusters of shine, and various colors. People usually see white pearls only. There are two kinds of pearls: Freshwater and South Sea Pearls. We usually use Freshwater pearls. They are more affordable and could be accessible to anyone. And for the freshwater pearls, they come in different colors, different lusters, which are away from the usual white.”
”We have white, peach, pink, as well as mauve or purple colors for our pearl pieces. And these are all natural. So, you’ll see that in our collection: natural pearl pieces are modernized. Pearls from nature authentically, and they are colorful and fun. So, it’s pretty nice that you get to wear a new take in pearls.”
Couture by Aurea Vinluan Designs
”The funnest part is you get to incorporate into your modernized wardrobe. Any dresses, or any favorite coordinates, or even just a plain shirt with jeans, you can easily incorporate these pearls into yourdaily fashion sense and lifestyle.”
Aside from empowering ger mostly female clientele through her stunning creations, what Justinne loves about her enterprise is that she gets to empower local jewelry artisans, too. Justinne works with local suppliers and creators to bring her designs to life. With their expert craftsmanship, Justinne was able to actualize her jewelry style concepts.
The pearl collection also highlights the Philippine culture and identity as an archipelago abundant in pearls. Through this collection, Justinne attempts to remove the notion of pearls as a look only worn by sophisticated women of older generations and introduces it to the youth, modernizing the collection piece-by-piece.
Providing variety and personality, the style visionary shares another collection that she loves: The Trinkets Charm Bangle collection. “I think that it best represents our brand’s ethos. Because you get to express yourself more. You get to show your personality with the charms and pendants that we have.”
The pieces offered in this collection offer a variety of trinkets that could be customized to your heart’s content. With trinkets like hearts, names, keys, or the Eiffel Tower, a bangle bracelet from this collection could be a diary you can wear.
Another one of their more popular collections is the solid gold collection. Initially starting off with gold-plated designs, the brand decided to expand into solid gold jewelry. Justinne reasoned that the customers wanted the designs in solid gold jewelry. Responding to her market, they then started the collection.
“When we started that, we saw that our customers opted for that because these are considered investments too. Eventually solid gold jewelry will increase in value over time and pass it on to different generations such as your children. And since the value increases, you can wear it every day without worrying if it’ll tarnish or it’ll fade. On top of that, Trinkets also provides customizability for its solid gold jewelry. From karat, stone, size, and other such details, Trinkets can personalize fine jewelry for their clients.
On creativity and individuality
“I think creativity is very personal, we may have different perspectives with creativity. But I think I can speak from a perspective of an entrepreneur and a jewelry designer. Creativity is a process and is very relevant today. A business without creativity and innovation won’t be able to connect with its target market. It’s an ability to produce or create new and unique ideas that one can offer to their customers.“
“For example, most of my designs came from experiences that eventually evolve into something innovative like our reversible hoop earrings. I believe women are always on-the-go so they tend to change their look from one event to another. And with our reversible hoops they can easily change their jewelry.“
“Trinkets is all about individuality. And most of the time, we get to express our individuality through our personal creativity, be it in our personal style, in our business, or how we relate to people.“
On empowering women
“Women are beautiful, nurturing and strong, and they are even more stunning when they embrace their individuality, and sometimes we can truly express that through fashion– in what dress, shoes and jewelry we wear. I am happy I get to be part of the dressing up process of girls as they buy Trinkets, because in my own way, I give an inside push to their confidence and style. It feels great to know that something that I love doing can actually contribute to empowering women.“
On embracing your sense of style
When asked what her message is to the everyday fashionistas, Justinne responded positively. “Don’t be afraid. Experiment what you layer, what you put on, even with jewelry and accessories. A lot of people are afraid to put on too [many] jewelry and I think you shouldn’t be scared of it because it’s one way you could express yourself and show your personality to people. Add a little sparkle into your life with stunning, fun jewelry! Own your sparkle, own your light!“
Indeed, it takes a sparkling woman like Justinne to inspire other women to also shine!
Trinkets Jewelry is available online. You can contact them on Instagram at @wear.trinkets and on their website at weartrinkets.com. They are also available on Shopee and Beauty Manila under the search name Trinkets and Wear.Trinkets.
Words: Lorenzo Delfin
Styling, Concept & Creative Direction: Marane Plaza
Art Direction: Maks Popov
Photography: Advan Ramirez
Photo Editors: Roderick “Jhung” Mendoza and Advan Ramirez
Makeup: Ricsol Montilla
Hair: Tracy Jones Campo & Avel Alejandro
Model: Pamela of Main Models
Couture worn by the model: Aurea Vinluan Designs
Pantsuit worn by Justinne: Nolan Atelier
Jewelry: Trinkets Jewelry by Justinne Natividad
Special thanks to Saralee Abesamis & Manila Coworking and Maq Agapito & iLLo’s Party Trays