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(SPOT.ph) When she was young, Justinne Natividad always saw her lola wearing jewelry even if she was just at home. “She told me it boosts her confidence.” Now at 27, Natividad has founded a jewelry brand of her own—Trinkets—with the goal of making her customers feel the same.

After one year working in retail as a fresh grad, Natividad set out to start something that was hers. “I was supposed to start a clothing brand, but then upon checking suppliers, medyo mabigat and difficult to start. Then, I asked myself, ‘What else is related to fashion and my passion?’” The answer: Jewelry.

And so she launched the Trinkets website in 2019, started selling on Shopee Mall in 2022 to be more accessible to customers, and then finally opened an official flagship store on Lazada in early 2023.

Natividad started curating jewelry, but saw that a lot of competitors had the same designs. “That’s when I started designing our own for Trinkets.” Their first release were rattan and acrylic earrings that were meant to be worn at the beach. “But then I saw that it was just a trend or it was just a fad and then eventually, my vision for the brand also evolved.”

Designing classic jewelry for all occasions

Natividad started creating more timeless styles. “I wanted something classic that you can incorporate with any outfit, even when you’re working out or for formal events. When conceptualizing the designs, I always make sure they’re wearable and you’re comfortable wearing them.”

With just one look at the Trinkets catalog, you can already tell that the designs were made to be dainty. Natividad explains that she rarely comes out with statement pieces because she’d rather create unique pieces for everyday use that anyone can pull off.  “It’s more sustainable in a sense that you don’t need to purchase and purchase again kasi it’s classic and timeless,” she says.

While Trinkets pieces are generally minimalist, Natividad still makes it a point to make them distinct by adding details like textured beads and add-on charms. She explains, “I want something unique and one-of-a-kind. I also apply that concept with different personalities of women since not all women have the same taste when it comes to jewelry.”

Using hypoallergenic stainless steel and zirconia stones to add a bit more sparkle to the pieces, she kept coming out with collections until she started releasing up to three designs every few months. Sometimes, though, she’d keep some ideas to herself until the time is right.

One of those designs is something that she sketched in early 2022 in her handy little notebook: the Trinkets Personalized Friendship Bracelet. A bracelet made with colorful nylon rope, it’s intertwined with gold-plated stainless steel that can be personalized with an initial (P499 on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets) or a name written in script (P799 on Trinkets).

But she held onto her idea and didn’t release it as a product until the holiday season, knowing that 1) it would make a great, sentimental gift for loved ones and 2) other brands would inevitably take inspiration from her design—to put it lightly.

It was a hit. It still is a hit. As it turns out, it doesn’t have to be Christmas for personalized accessories to be bestsellers. After all, people celebrate their own special holidays—birthdays, graduations, weddings, and anniversaries—throughout the year.

Introducing old-school pearls to a younger crowd

Natividad has also been experimenting with Palawan freshwater pearls in newer collections. While pearls are traditionally associated with an older demographic, she says that younger customers are actually interested in more modern and unique iterations that use baroque pearls in different lusters a.k.a. naturally shaped pearls in colors like peachy pink instead of the usual white.

She works the pearls into 18K gold-plated stainless steel in designs like the understated Serene Pearl Dangling Earrings (P1,399 on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets), the chic Amber Pearl Earrings (P1,499 on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets), and the eye-catching Jules Pearl Baroque Necklace (P1,799 on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets). All, of course, stay true to the central idea of timeless elegance.

As for arm candy, the Millie Pearl Bracelet (P895 on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets) and Reese Pearl Bracelet (P895 on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets) are designed with more classic—albeit oval-shaped—pearls and gold-filled beads.

The success of her stainless steel designs was followed by customers asking, “Does this come in real gold?” Seeing the demand for it, she’s since started taking orders for personalized necklaces, bracelets, and even engagement rings made with solid gold and real diamonds. The production time takes around seven days since they’re painstakingly handcrafted by a trusted artisan. While Trinkets’ focus is still on their on-hand products, it seems that their market for authentic jewelry is only bound to get bigger.

Innovating jewelry care products

Natividad isn’t letting herself be chained (pun intended) to just necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings. “I want to innovate since I graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship. That’s why we also have trinket boxes and jewelry cleaners. I want [Trinkets] to be not only jewelry—but anything related to jewelry, so we innovate and also offer [those products] to our customers.”

The trinket boxes are a natural extension for a jewelry brand already named Trinkets. Made with Italian velvet, the Trinket Box (P799 on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets) comes in shades like Nude Pink, Mauve, Ash Gray, and Sky. A bestseller on their Lazada and Shopee stores, it feels like a plush version of the typical jewelry organizers made of stiff and usually dark-colored leather.

It also comes in a smaller size in the form of the Teeny Trinket Box (P550 on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets), which is available in Nude Pink, Plum, Rust, Maroon, Powder, Olive, and more. Aside from making IG-friendly additions to your own dresser, they also make for practical giveaways at events or for matching gifts for big groups.

Not only does Natividad go through all the cloth swatches, but she also personalizes the boxes with customers’ names herself, which is available for an additional fee of P100. She shares that she customizes at least six to seven boxes on a regular day—and she understandably loses count during the holidays.

For those always on the go, Trinkets also offers a travel-friendly Jewelry Pouch (P99 on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets)  in Rose Gold and Golden Nude. The pocketable pouch, Natividad shares, is a crowd-favorite during pop-up events. It makes sense—when you see the versatility of Trinkets pieces in person, you’d want to keep them safe as they take you from day to night. You can even use them for your small knickknacks, too.

As jewelry sustainability and innovation are a priority for Trinkets, Natividad also looks into how to properly take care of pieces and make sure they keep their shine. Product listings come with guidelines like avoiding exposure to chemicals and liquids like perfume, saltwater, and alcohol. After all, they are an investment no matter the price point. Each order—not item—also comes with a Trinkets Polishing Cloth that can remove stains and restore the shine of gold-plated accessories.

She also came across super ionized water and saw how effective it was for her own everyday watch, somuch so that she had to share it with her customers. Made with all-natural ingredients (i.e. no chemicals), the Trinkets Spritz Jewelry Cleaner (P349 for 100 mL on Lazada, Shopee, and Trinkets) can easily clean submerged gold-plated jewelry in under a minute and real gold accessories in three.

A physical outpost for Trinkets

From curating jewelry, to designing original pieces, to innovating accessories and selling them online, the logical next step for Natividad and Trinkets is to set up shop—a permanent and physical one, this time. It would be the jewel in the crown in their journey so far.

While nothing’s been set in stone, she reveals that she’s looking into opening a kiosk in late 2023 or early 2024. She’s considering somewhere in BGC or more preferably, in a Sunday-favorite mall in Makati, since her customers have consistently visited Trinkets pop-up events in those areas.

After collaborations with international brands like Uniqlo, Maybelline, and Creamsilk, Trinkets seems to have the Midas touch with its products. These pieces, in turn, were all conceptualized in Natividad’s bedroom-turned-home office—in the same house where her lola walks around wearing the jewelry that inspired it all. So while not all that glitters is gold, Trinkets’ future might just be.

Trinkets is available on Lazada, Shopee, and their website.

Links are updated regularly and as much as possible but note that products can run out of stock, discounts can expire and listed prices can change without prior notice.