Filed under: Dr. Boyce Money
Many of us are all too familiar with the image of the blinged-out rapper wearing 20 pounds of jewelry in order to make a statement about what hood he's claiming or how many records he sold last year. For some reason, some have concluded that this form of buffoonish behavior reflects what it means to be black in America. Well, I have another theory. Perhaps we can wear our jewelry in a way that empowers ourselves and our children to pursue educational excellence. Perhaps their jewelry can reconnect them with their roots, tell them who they are and build their self-esteem. Well, that's what Gina Blalock Ramcharan does, and it's exciting black folks everywhere. It is for her commitment to showing us how to wear jewelry the right way that Gina is today's Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight on AOL Black Voices.
What is your full name and what do you do?My name is Gina Blalock Ramcharan and I'm a luxury consumer goods executive. Although I have experience in a wide variety of consumer goods, it is fine jewelry that fires up my passion when it comes to the world of retail.
Tell us about your company, how you started it and how people can buy your products.
GSquaredNewYork.com is just the beginning of my love letter to express my fondness of history, art and culture with a deep bow to the African Diaspora. The concept started in 2001 when I opened a small boutique in Harlem that offered a selection of unique items in not only fine jewelry, but high end gift items within an atmosphere that transported 57th Street to 125th Street. In 2002, the HarlemCharmed collection debuted and was a hit. The collection was the first step in creating an exclusive in-house product. Unfortunately, a number of factors contributed to shutting the doors in 2004 and I stepped away from entrepreneurship all together.
A few years later friend of mine said, "you might want to let the HarlemCharmed collection die a natural death, but people keep asking about it so let me sell it in my shop." First I resurrected the collection as an exclusive for The Brownstone on 125th street in Harlem, NY; fueled by their success with the collection, I decided to put it online and GSquaredNewYork.com was born.
I didn't want to just make jewelry for the sake of making jewelry, but also to use the medium to highlight our history and culture. SimplyGifted was triggered by an encounter with some young people in the neighborhood (Harlem) who are often regarded as a menace to society, but it just takes one conversation to see there is a lot of untapped potential. This was compounded by constant negative press regarding children of color and poor test scores, children of color and crime, children of color and single mothers etc., etc. If someone tells you you are worthless long enough, you might start to believe it.
Every time I saw one of these so called "statistics," I just wanted to hang a sign around them as a reminder they are Young, Gifted and Black. Eventually I followed through on the thought and created the SimplyGifted collection in sterling silver with a permanent engraving that reads, "Young, Gifted & Black." By no means does a piece of jewelry substitute for the hands on encouragement young people need, but this serves as a reminder of what is expected. This is a Superman-like crest that declares your intellectual strength.
You mentioned that this year represents a special holiday as it pertains to people of color. Can you describe that and why it is important?
As chaotic and unpredictable as the world seems, it is a great time to be alive and a time to renew. Great things are born out of the need to correct and eliminate chaos. This is a time to CREATE.
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 The International Year for People of African Descent. As per UNESCO, the year aims at strengthening national actions, and regional and international cooperation, for the benefit of people of African descent in relation to their full enjoyment of economic, cultural, social, civil and political rights, their participation and integration in all political, economic, social and cultural aspects of society, and the promotion of a greater knowledge of, and respect for, their diverse heritage and culture.
The reach is global and may bring opportunities to strengthen ties between people of the African Diaspora across borders. We need to be open to receive these opportunities and thrive. Our people are known for being resilient and this is the time to use those talents to teach, build and strengthen our communities. Make this year the beginning of the renewal process. While the spotlight is on let's take this opportunity to shine.
Tell us about your educational and professional background and how you got to where you are today.
I'm a proud product of the Catholic education system which commenced with kindergarten. After attending Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, I went on to Syracuse University to graduate with a bachelor's in Public Relations. I knew I wanted a career in retail and I had my eye on the apparel industry. After a series of coincidences, I landed my first buying position at Tiffany & Company. At the time I had no idea I was about to start an odyssey in a much unexpected industry. My training at T & Co. in jewelry production, precious metals and gemstones then led to attaining certifications from the Gemological Institute of America. At GIA one of the first lessons includes history of the Diamond Exchange in Israel; years later I would find myself standing in the middle of it. While most of my career has been spent in fine jewelry, I did take a detour into luxury ready to wear, handbags, shoes and accessories, but found my way back home to fine jewelry. Along my successful journey I have held various positions in buying and merchandising, sales and merchandise planning, business development and marketing. Most recently I embarked on a unique experience working on a celebrity jewelry project. Now I share my time between my corporate and entrepreneurial ambitions.
Do you have any advice for young people who aspire to do what you're doing right now?
I have three key points for young people who aspire to have careers in retail and other industries:
1) Drill down to understand how your desired industry works below what you see on the surface: If you desire a career in buying, find out how that connects to all the other veins of the company. It is through that research that you might find an interest in an area you did not know existed. I had a colleague that specialized in buying paper for catalogue production, for instance.
2). Always search for the entrepreneur in you: If you are working in corporate America make yourself an intraprenuer and show how you can contribute to and build the segment of business for which you are responsible. This lesson started early for me when my first direct report told me I was solely responsible for precious metal wedding bands so that the rest of the team could focus on the larger business of the department. While my senior teammates grew the gold business, I grew the precious metal wedding band business alongside them. The high double digit growth I contributed to the pie was quickly rewarded with a promotion and additional responsibility for another segment of business that needed special attention.
3) Find out if the company you wish to work for offers a cross-functional experience: It is important to get inter-department/divisional exposure and understand how one fragment of business affects another. This is imperative for budding entrepreneurs. If you have spent time designing shoes and want to step out on your own, it helps to understand the overall process from development to finance to marketing and so on.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with our AOL Black Voices audience?
Follow your dreams and turn lemons into lemonade. Always honor your ancestry and remember you are a testament to the will of the human spirit. Every year is important, but 2011 is extra special as it is ours; own it and make it the beginning of a successful interval in the history of the African Diaspora. Lastly, don't forget to inspire or reward someone with an item from SimplyGifted at GSquaredNewYork.com.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the bookBlack American Money To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. To suggest a subject for a Dr. Boyce Watkins Spotlight, please click here.