What started in a basement as a hobby grew into a company with female jewelry designers in 46 states.
In 2003, Jennifer Bonacorsi had three little girls (now they have four daughters) at home and her husband, Bret, traveled a lot on business. “Bret noticed how much my friends loved my jewelry--mostly using block letters with my daughter’s names on them--and how people were offering to buy some from me just like it. He suggested I do home parties where I teach women to design their own jewelry. So, in 2004, we started doing that, calling it U Design Jewelry.”
She says women loved the concept and wanted to join her in the business, so they studied several successful direct sales companies and developed their own model. “Our goal that first year was to have 10 women doing jewelry parties, but we had 30. When we ran out of space for supplies in the basement, we moved to the Economic Development Center in St. Charles in 2006.”
In 2013, they relaunched the company as jBloom and moved to Cave Springs in St Peters.
“Personalized jewelry was very popular but not everyone who wanted to be involved in the business wanted to make the jewelry themselves, so we changed concepts. I still design all the jewelry, but we now do the personalizing in-house. That’s really when we started to grow," says Jennifer.
As they continued to expand, they moved the business to 5230 Highway 94 in St. Peters (which previously was Gold’s Gym). Their January launch of the PermaLinx by jBloom jewelry line brought another growth spurt. “We created a system where the bracelets/anklets can be attached using no clasp, fitting them exactly to your size wrist. Charms are available for them as well. We’ve already sold over 30,000 in our first quarter," Jennifer adds.
Besides this new trend in “permanent” jewelry (it can be removed by cutting it off), Jennifer says the hottest spring color trends are hot pink and orange combined, and bright green. Cuff bracelets are trending, pearls are back, and layering necklaces are a continuing trend.
“As the business grows, our main goal is to continue our company culture and the sense of community we have. We never want to lose that,” says Bret, who has been co-leading the company since 2006. “We have to continue to be available to our designers and teams, to give recognition and appreciation to them, and then they give that to their team members."
"Our favorite quote is ‘A flower doesn’t compete with a flower next to it; it just blooms.’ So that is what we instill in our team leaders to try and pass on that same mindset of helping each other so we all grow together,” Jennifer says.
The company’s other core concept centers around Wearing Your Story. Whether it's your child’s drawing, a loved one's signature, a note from a friend, or your very own design – jBloom creates beautiful pieces that help tell individual stories. And customers have a large part in designing that because there are so many options to choose from in personalizing/designing the pieces to order, including handwriting and photos.
“What I love most about jBloom is that it’s not just a catalog company because we could have on the same jewelry but the way we wear it is different, and our personalization is different. Each person has their own story,” says Jennifer. “People want to share their stories, to talk about their loved ones, grandchildren, hobbies or about things they’ve overcome or accomplished.”
PermaLinx usually has a story behind it as well, they explain. “Engaged couples, sorority sisters, best friends, and bridesmaids are getting them. Our oldest daughter, who is our graphic designer, saw this trend early on and encouraged us to add it.”
In addition to their commitment to helping women grow successful businesses and become inspiring leaders, the company also supports Basket of Hope, a charity that brightens hospital stays by delivering gift baskets to kids diagnosed with cancer and other serious illnesses. Ten dollars from each jBloom Hope Necklace sold goes to Basket of Hope.
“Our Hope necklace goes into a Hope Tote, along with a Bible and a journal, and that gets delivered to the mom. We’ve donated over 15,000 necklaces so far,” Jennifer says.
The Bonacorsis live in Weldon Spring with their four daughters, who have all been involved in the company over the years. In addition to the business, they keep busy traveling with their daughter’s sports teams and say they look forward to their oldest daughter getting married in June.
