Beatriz Vergara is the founder and creative mind behind Hissia. We reached out to her to find what made her launch her brand and what lies behind her designs. 

Hissia was born 6 years ago. How has this journey of launching and growing your own brand been?

To me, it’s been a very slow process.  It was very hard at the beginning. I knew what I wanted but I did not know how to do it.  Through self-exploration, I've been able to define my style. I think that in order to be successful today, you have to be honest and very demanding. We have made mistakes but, all in all, I’m very happy about what we have achieved. I think we have created a recognizable style, which is not easy, and at the same time we have consolidated our points of sale and expanded to new ones. We have also decided to promote our online shop.

What was it that made you choose jewelry?

I feel comfortable with the jewelry language and letting my jewelry speak for me. I wanted to create objects that make us happy, as being surrounded by beauty is a basic human need since the beginning of time. I think my designs are subtle yet strong at the same time, just like me. 
 

What about your work brings you the most happiness?

What I enjoy the most is getting to know inspiring people, from customers to suppliers or wonderful colleagues that just make my life richer. I learn a lot from them and they help me grow both personally and professionally. 

My brand encourages me to grow, challenge myself in new ways, and go the extra mile. After working for 15 years in different companies, becoming an entrepreneur was more demanding and definitely more risky. Now I work much more, but I feel happier and more responsible about my own life. It’s not easy to start a business from scratch with no experience, but I’ve gained confidence along the way. Now I know my profession and Hissia customers better.

What requirements do you have in mind when designing a jewel?

The most important thing to me is that our jewels are desirable, comfortable and different, in that order. They must have an appealing design that draws you to their beauty, their shape or their color, in case they are crafted with gemstones or enamel. Jewelry has an ornamental component, so their main purpose is to enhance the beauty of the person wearing it. Each jewel is carefully considered to shed a flattering light to the face, or that it styles the wearer face or body in a graceful manner with its shape and proportions. It might also elevate their outfit with a special twist. A jewel can add sensuality, naturality, sophistication...

The flattering component is more important to me than innovation. Sometimes, I will consider an innovative design, but once I realize it is not flattering, I discard it. Our jewels must also be comfortable to wear, which is something I value very much in fashion in general. If something doesn’t have an organic shape that  fits the body, or it’s heavy weighted or it snags with your clothes when you wear it, also gets discarded.  It must be easy to wear. I think it's important to invest in high quality accessories, and I like to make sure that our jewels are a good investment for those who decide to buy it.

Finally, I seek innovation through clean, modern lines, designed to stand the test of time.  

What do your jewels say about you?

My jewels instill my values, because Hissia is an honest project. I wanted to produce in Spain, since I love my country and the quality of our professionals. 

We want Hissia to be a long term project, and we take our decisions according to that. The brand grows organically, based on our values and not focused on earning quick money.

Our image is also very important to us. Our goal is to create our own visual language, that help us transmit the magic of the brand. 

There is an endless offer of jewelry brands in the market. What is it that makes Hissia different? 

Creating a brand that instills my personal style was my main goal. I think that’s the key to create something different from other brands. I design out of intuition, since I don’t come from a design background. I think this fact likely gives me a fresh and unprejudiced point of view. I am very curious about what happens around me and that influences my designs. I am inspired by things that I like, and also by art and nature, at the risk of sounding cliché. They are really a never-ending source of beauty to me. What I try to do is to filter all those influences and give them my own twist.

También recurro mucho al arte y la naturaleza, aunque suene a tópico, pero para mí son una fuente inagotable de belleza. Lo que intento es pasar todas esas influencias por mi filtro y darles mi propio toque.

I try to offer options to a wide range of ages and customers, but I never design anything I wouldn’t wear.

What makes you most proud?

I feel really happy that my jewels have travelled to places that I had never imagined, like Australia, California, Emirates or Eslovenia. They’ve been ordered from customers thatobviously don’t know me, but they have been attracted by our designs and their excellent quality-value relationship, which I think it’s our greatest strength. I also feel very proud about working with great professionals  who help us grow.

How has Hissia evolved over time since you created the brand? How do you see it evolving  in the future? 

We are now starting to give a greater decision role to our customers, who will now be more active in creating their own jewels. I want our jewels to instill freedom and fun. I like that you can mix and match them as you wish and play with them. We are giving them tools to personalize their jewelry through our engraving service. They will also be able to design their own necklaces or earrings by combining different charms. We have also created a service to help them create their own bespoke jewelry. 

Stylish: Amuhaici Luis

Clothing: Espacio A