14
Caribbean Life, March 24-30, 2022
By Tangerine Clarke
Growing up in Guyana, surrounded
by women in her family stylishly
dressed and bedecked in elegant
handmade bright yellow gold jewelry
that is passed down from generation
to generation, Cloyette Harris-
Stoute, told Caribbean Life, she was
inspired to design a line of jewelry.
As such, with hard work and
determination, start-up Twin Elegance,
a New York-based jewelry
brand that creates meaningful experiences
for women who are seeking
bold, unique keepsake pieces that
celebrates them, was launched in
2020.
She said, “with versatility in
mind, each piece of jewelry is expertly
handcrafted to evoke feelings of
confidence and encourage bold selfexpression.”
“My dissatisfaction with the quality
of many of the pieces that were
being sold by wholesalers, led me
to pursue the jewelry-making craft.
I enrolled in design and metalsmith
classes at the Jewelry Arts Inc.
in New York City, and later at the
Art League of Long Island where I
learned how to work with precious
metals, gemstones, and different
design techniques,” said Stoute, a
prominent socialite.
The business woman said her
goal was to launch her line of fine
jewelry but due to a lack of funding
and a dedicated workspace, coupled
with her family obligations, she had
to put her designing dreams on hold
for a few years.
However, her desire to start her
jewelry brand, that started in 2011,
never wavered, and during a hiatus
she kept on sketching new designs.
Today, the online jewelry store
www.twinelegance is a flourishing
business, thanks to Stoute’s strength
of will.
An inspiring leader, who started
the women’s empowerment blog,
Guyanese Girls Rock, and later nonprofit
Guyanese Girls Rock Foundation,
that runs a leadership development
and scholarships program for
high school girls of Guyanese heritage
in Queens,
Stoute used the downtime during
the pandemic to revisit the nagging
feeling of not fulfilling her dream
and was successful in launching the
brand.
Instead of molding and developing
the pieces myself, however, she
engaged a manufacturer to help her
bring her designs to life. “I merged
my twin passions; women empowerment
with jewelry designing, and
launched Twin Elegance with my
first collection, Zodiac Queens,” she
explained, adding, “I sell demi-fine
jewelry, which includes earrings,
bracelets, rings, and necklaces made
of gold vermeil (18k gold over sterling
silver).
The brand’s design concept is centered
around elements of strength
and self-love, while the collections
are thoughtfully designed with heart
and pear-shaped features and infused
with natural gemstones and symbols
that are rich in healing energy and
timeless history, shared the jeweler.
Her interchangeable pieces also
create added value and offer multiple
styling options. The collections
are created with women in mind,
Cloyette Harris-Stoute, owner of Twin Elegance. Cloyette
Harris-Stoute
including fashion-forward women;
from upwardly mobile young professionals
to c-suite executives and
entrepreneurs who have a flair for
affordable luxury.
The pieces range in price from
$160 – $800. The collections are
being sold at www.twinelegance.
com, as well as luxury retail platform
1stdibs.com.
Stoute, shared that her goal is to
continue building relationships with
retail partners such as department
stores and boutique owners to create
awareness for the beautiful Twin
Elegance brand.
Cloyette Harris-Stoute launches
Twin Elegance online jewelry store
/www.twinelegance
/www.twinelegance
/www.twinelegance
/www.twinelegance
/1stdibs.com
