Conversations with Oren & Yarden Katz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Oren & Yarden Katz

Hi Oren Oren & Yarden, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Growing up as third generation jewelers, we always had a love for jewelry in our bones. Both of us were creative growing up – we always took art classes and loved fashion. So naturally, we loved coming to our father’s jewelry shop as little girls to design pieces for ourselves, play with all the curiosities in his shop, and watch the artisans at work. Even as babies, my mother used to design custom jewelry pieces in my dads shop, so as we got older we loved being a part of the process. I remember our friends always asking us to recreate pieces for them that our mom designed, which she loved to adorn us in. So without really knowing it, we had been selling jewelry almost our entire lives. I remember our friends coming to us every birthday, graduation, or celebration eager to get one of the jewelry pieces on their list.

Just to give you a bit of our family history in jewelry – it began with our grandfather, who was a diamond dealer in Israel. My father grew up working with him, learning the ins and outs of the diamond and jewelry business. He eventually opened up his own jewelry manufacturing facility in Downtown, Los Angeles, which has been specializing in bridal & engagement jewelry for over 40 years. After college we both worked in the fashion industry in New York for a couple years, and that hussle really gave us the drive to start our own business. When we moved back to Los Angeles, we decided to design a small collection of 25 pieces, and launched with a viewing party in the Hamptons. While we believed it would be a moment to share our creations with our friends, we ended up having tons of orders and coming back to Los Angeles to fulfill them. We then took the line to all the best jewelry stores in Los Angeles – including Broken English, Jaimie Geller Jewelry, and Roseark – and everyone wanted to carry the line. So this is how we began – with a small line that unexpectedly everyone fell in love with!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing about running your own business is ever smooth. You run into speedbumps everyday. Everything you’re doing in your business is essentially something you are doing for the first time – coming up with a name, creating a logo, getting a business license, getting a sellers permit, creating linesheets, designing and ordering packaging, taking new store meetings, building a website, and learning how to sell yourself and your product. Every one of these things started as a struggle that we needed to navigate. I think these “start up” struggles are the biggest lesson in being a small business owner. If you are able to solve problems all day and never give up – you’ll realize very quickly if you are cut out for this or not.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Carbon & Hyde has become specialized in everyday wearable fine jewelry. I think what sets us apart from the rest is our quality. Since we are a family-run business and especially since we specialize in bridal and engagement jewelry, we pride ourselves on quality and craftsmanship. Everything is made in our own shop, so we have the capability to rework styles multiples times until they are the perfect fit. This personalization also allows us to be able to custom make pieces for our clients, and make small tweaks to any of our jewelry for our clients. Jewelry isn’t always a one size fits all model, and purchasing a piece of jewelry can be very personal, so we work closely with clients when needed to tailor any of our pieces to them.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Our parents. Our mother taught us the language of designing jewelry, and our father taught us all about diamonds and the jewelry business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carbonandhyde.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carbonandhyde