t about holding her own in a corporate environment as an entrepreneur in her early 20s. “Worldwide domination is not off the cards and if I could open a store on the moon, I would. We see ourselves continuing to expand nationally,” Ellis, told Inside Retail. Securing the tenancy for the Westfield Bondi Junction store was a much bigger challenge than the brand’s previous two leases. “I’m so glad I didn’t listen to the noise, our Bondi store is so special,” Ellis said. “All signs were saying this was too big of a risk, I knew in my gut that that was my store and I just had to trust myself and my brand,” she added. Bringing the vision of the brand to life Ellis created the brand’s e-commerce site in 2018 after years of selling out of her bedroom. Three months after the website was launched Ellis locked in her first bricks-and-mortar store in the Sydney suburb of Freshwater. This was soon followed by a second store in Byron Bay and the third Bondi Junction flagship in October 2022 – where her creations sit alongside Australia’s largest retailers. The store features a custom-designed light fixture to resemble a pearl necklace, a marble feature wall and countertops imported from Italy. “We left no stone unturned” in bringing the vision of the brand to life, Ellis said. “If you could take a look inside my mind, you would see our Bondi store,” she said. The introduction of AMJ Forever is the brand’s unique take on the popular trend of permanent jewelry. As a feature on the shop floor, it also “gives customers a glimpse at our production practices as our jewelers assemble the customer’s bespoke design before their eyes,” Ellis said. Another recent introduction is in-store engraving. It’s an interactive experience that enables customers to have a drawing, picture, symbol, date or initials engraved onto a pendant that they can then have attached to a necklace or bracelet. The brand has gone global with Los Angeles pop-ups and a billboard in New York City’s Times Square. Looking to the future, Ellis is determined to propel the brand to even higher heights and to continue creating jewelry that embodies sentiment and luxury alongside a growing team of 50 employees. A different kind of gold Much like fashion, jewelry trends come and go, and while Alana Maria tailors its product offering to these consumer trends, “ultimately we make decisions based on what our customers want from us,” Ellis said. Gold prices rose 15 per cent in 2023 to reach $2078/oz and continue to reach new heights, driven by a multitude of factors including heightened geopolitical risks. The price of gold is projected to average $2500/oz in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to JP Morgan commodities research. Alana Maria is known for its gold-filled styles, which infuse 14-karat gold into a base metal. Unlike plating, gold-filled jewelry has similar properties to solid gold, giving customers the lasting quality of solid gold but for the same price as gold plated.  “This means that our jewelry lasts and is affordable,” Ellis said. Quality jewelry is no longer reserved for those who can afford it, and Ellis believes the jewelry industry will continue to modernise with the innovation of materials and technology. “Our manufacturing is what truly sets us apart from others on the market,” Ellis said. A team of 16 jewellers manufacture all Alana Maria creations in-house, as the brand has done from the very beginning.  “Having our assembly line at our fingertips gives us so much control over our timelines, quality, and demand, this gives us the ability to adapt to the changing needs of our customers and trends,” Ellis said. The brand controls its wastage by making everything to order. Every morning, the team of jewellers receives a list of what was ordered overnight, which they then start crafting. Ellis said that sustainability is not a new trend to jump on, but rather a foundational tenet of the business. “We pledge to continue evolving in a sustainable, slow and circular way,” Ellis said. Sydney launchpad The brand remains tapped into its community by hosting consumer events in its stores and interacting with customers across its social channels. “Our community is at the heart of everything we do. Without them, Alana Maria Jewellery is nothing and [it] will always be a priority to nurture and grow our audience,” Ellis said. “Customer experience is something we place a big focus on both in-store and online, and in prioritising that, we’re able to build trust and loyalty. “I’ll never forget cutting the ribbon to our Bondi store to over 200 customers – the first group in line got there at 4 am.”