Duarte launches jewelry venture
Pandemic turns hobby into business
Photo by Kyani Bateman
Caitlyn Duarte shows off one of the necklaces she made during our interview. Her company, Naleiko Jewelry, is the fulfillment of one of her dreams.
Senior Caitlyn Duarte is pursuing her dream of having her own jewelry business. In late July, she created Naleiko Jewelry.
During the pandemic, Duarte bought jewelry for herself, particularly bangles, from many other local companies. Bangles usually cost around $45-$80.
“I thought it was very expensive,” Duarte said, so she decided to make her own jewelry business that has good quality items and is affordable for locals and possibly people on the mainland.
Although she is enrolled as a high school student at Kamehameha Maui, Duarte is a part of the Arizona State University full distance-learning program, so she is at home doing schoolwork, which she can do at any time.
She has found that this approach to learning allows the time and the right environment to pursue this business even while being a full-time student.
Her business, Naleiko Jewelry, was created in late July, and as of right now, her business page has 1300 followers on Instagram.
She created the name Naleiko because she wanted something unique that incorporated both of her grandmothers. Nalani comes from her grandmother on her father’s side.
“She passed that middle name down to me,” Duarte said.
Leiko comes from her grandmother on her mother’s side, which was also passed down to Duarte.
She wanted to create a business, but particularly a jewelry business. Duarte thought about Naleiko Jewelry from a young age, “even pre-COVID,” she said.
“I chose to make a jewelry business because my grandmother runs a jewelry business, and she actually owned one before. She ended up gifting me a bunch of pearls, and I had a bunch of shells that I found throughout the years,” Duarte said. “…and with that, it made the most sense to make a jewelry business.”
Although still new, she hopes to continue this business when she goes off to college–depending on the time and if she can afford to keep the business open being a full-time student at Grand Canyon University. She wants to see her business grow. The goal is to see more people using her products, and not only in Hawaiʻi.
“I know that pearls and shells aren’t really popular in the mainland, but I would love to see the people in the mainland wearing that kind of jewelry too,” she said.
When Duarte first started her business, she proposed the idea to her family first. They thought it was a good idea, so they supported her by buying her a few supplies, helping her find a few shells on the beach and giving her the support she needed to grow her business.
“I ended up teaching myself how to solder, and then I showed my family. They were really interested in my jewelry, so I made an Instagram account,” she said.
In the beginning, she only had 2-5 orders a week; however, throughout the months of growing her business, she is now at 15-20 orders a week. Most of those orders are custom.
“I am about 13 orders shy of hitting 500 orders since I started!” she said.
Being a student at Kamehameha Schools Maui, she has a few customers who are her classmates, underclassmen or even graduates.
The small business Naleiko Jewelry just started, but Duarte aspires to be in many locations with the support of her friends, family and customers.
