A little introduction to yourself?

My name is Payal Shah and I am from Hong Kong born and raised. I went to University in London where I studied architecture. I currently have a jewellery brand which is eight years old and I have a bunch of businesses on the side. Growing up in Hong Kong, my childhood was very exciting and very interesting growing up in an international city.

I was immersed in so many different cultures and that made it so special as we were all trying to learn from each other.

Another incredible thing about Hong Kong was I felt we were doing incredible things at lot earlier stages compared to friends from other countries and I grew up believing that we could achieve whatever we wanted to as long as we put our heart and soul into it.

Who inspires you as a person?

A lot of people have inspired me . I want to be incredibly entreprenial, and there are so many doing incredible people doing incredible things- both men and women.

Can you tell us more about Oly +Pie and how it was built?

Oly and Pie is one of my three brands. Oly and Pie is my second brand. My first brand is more high end but I wanted to cater to the young generation as well at a lower pricepoint. This was centred around the theme of friendship and memories The idea was to have a choker and braclet which you could take links on and off (letters). It has been very popular amongst millennials , young women and gift items as well .

What inspired you to start L ‘ dezen and what was the best advice you recieved when you grew your business?

 

I was always very creative so while I was studying architecture, I was also designing furniture and jewellery for myself which everyone really enjoyed. Then I had a customer who wanted me to design jewelry for them and it did relly well so I thought I should do it on my own! I started off as just making designs and and sooner or later my jewelry had a common aesethetic and it turned into a brand and business.

 

 

It is now a worldwide noticeable brand and it has grown in so many cities and bought by so many different women and men who buy for their women.

And it all started with the idea of making a really great design- light weight, beautiful and delicate and very feminine but edgy at the same time. A lot of the same personalities I  see in myself.

The best advice I ever received was that  I should never assume everything especially if someone is giving advice even though they may not need it , just listen and  nod and try to take it  as everyone comes from a different and they experience things differently.

 

Education is power, knowledge is key , so never be  miss know it all.

 

Could you tell us what was the favourite milestone for your business and why?

 

I think there are so many milestones I have had and one has informed the other. There are so many beautiful milestones ; I got to travel the world because I am exhibiting in so many different new cities and I think a really amazing milestone was when Michelle Obama wore my earings when she did her interview with oprah for her new book.

 

That was pretty massive because celebrities were one thing , but the fist Lady wearing your jewellery is a whole other thing!

Sometimes it was the little moments-

for instance I was once invited to an event which was hosted by a friend only to realise the it was the host where Meryl Streep lived in Devil Wears Prada, small milestones like that might not necessarily be great for business are still fun because it is almost whimsical how your dreams can come to life.

Could you tell us more about the APEfund?

The Apefund is something I started two years ago with my brother which stands for Anik- Payal enterprise the APE being one of the biggest evolutionary animals of our time. The idea s that we at investing at angel round busiensses that I feel like when I hear I think “damn I should have thought of that or damn I want to be a part of that” .

We do not really invest in the monetary value- I bring a lot of my contacts and whatever I can  my assets from my surrondings.

 

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced to run multiple businesses? Any tips to others on how to stay organized when managing different things

 

A lot of the business I invest in are also in the luxury and fashion sphere so I often see ovrlaps between all of them and the audience which we are catering to. I like to manage my businesses by ensuring I only take on work which I am sure I am able to do. When your businesses are in similar spaces you are able to be in a lot of the same conversations/ similar conversations.

 

Especially as you travel for your job, how do you balance a personal /professional life or do you prioritize your work.

I try to make sure both interlink . When  I travel away I try to make sure I take a few personal  days  and as the years go by I am trying to delegate as much as possible .

 

You have to work smart because you have to make sure you arrange time. Fitness is also a  big key as it keeps you energetic which I think is realy important.

 

 

Could you tell us more about jewelry exhibitions and why they are important for the business?

My hope for the future is getting more business in and maybe even a consultant company . It may not sound related to jewelry but  I feel like I have been consultating a lot of businesses so it might be a step forward for me.

 

Where can readers check out your jewelry ( website link/ instagram page)

You can check out my instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/payalia/?hl=en

and my website would be https://www.ldezen.com/ where you can shop the jewellery directly.