THE BRAND
Shahla Karimi jewelry captures the deep-seated longing human beings have to embrace and express their memories. The work distills beauty from the ordinary, featuring duality and a sense of nostalgia. Each form is inspired by the art and architecture from a time past.
While collections are broadly evocative, the concept behind each becomes uniquely personal. We take our customer’s most intimate life journeys, physical and emotional, and curate them into future heirlooms. We shorten the long distance between lovers to the span of a ring, transpose a heart-felt message onto the ears, and celebrate life’s milestones with precious gemstones, from birthstones to bridal.
Whether purchased from the seasonal collections or the personalized designs, each piece holds a special meaning to our wearer. By making their stories everlasting, we ensure the timelessness of our jewelry, a form of alchemy by which we transform moments into memories.Memories fade. Jewelry doesn’t.
THE TEAM
Photo by Chloe Pitterson
Shahla Karimi
Founder + Designer
Shahla's daily routine is a delightful (bourbon) cocktail of business development hustle, nurturing the burgeoning wholesale venture, designing in 3D (her hand-drawn creations could pass for abstract art...of the bad kind), and engaging in intense staring contests with spreadsheets, desperately trying to recall how on earth to make VLookup do its thing. Recently dubbed "the First Lady" among the seven fabulous female gems showcased on Instagram, Shahla has been diligently striving not to let the title inflate her ego.
Shahla has worked in product strategy and merchandising for some of the world’s most esteemed brands and campaigns. She produced multiple apparel collections for Vogue and the CFDA, working with over 50 leading designers including Celine, Versace, Prada and Stella McCartney. She also served as Director of Merchandising for President Obama’s re-election campaign. She is Kentucky bred and Manhattan based.
Likes: Dark comedies, scooters, scrolling Zillow
Dislikes: Urban raccoons, chipped nails (my own), & my turn at Karaoke
Photo Courtesy of Christina
Christina Biaggi
COO
Christina’s love for all things fashion & jewelry began at a very young age, when she could be found playing in her mom’s closet or with her grandmother’s jewelry box. Her passion manifested as she studied fashion & business at NYU and pursued a career in fashion marketing for 10+ years, working with brands Christian Louboutin, Stuart Weitzman & Schutz. Her experience also extends beyond fashion, having contributed to political campaigns.
Her daily tasks include optimizing business processes, developing short-term & long-term goals for the company and supporting the implementation of various growth strategies including but not limited to marketing, operations, wholesale and ecommerce.
Likes: Cats, Candy, French Fries, Real Housewives
Dislikes: Cold Weather, Cold Food, Loud Chewer
Photo by Mary O'Byrne
Emma Scaramozzino
Director of Sales + Creative Design
Emma Jane is the beauty and brains behind one-of-a-kind designs at Shahla Karimi. Her days are filled with personalized consultations, where she collaborates closely with clients to transform their visions into tangible works of art. When she is not meeting with clients, you will find her digitally sketching her newest creations or meticulously seeking out the perfect stones to bring her designs to life.
A graduate from the FIT's fashion merchandising and product dev program, Emma worked in bridal and fine jewelry before aligning her two passions at Shahla Karimi.
Likes: Workout classes at Session Greenpoint, singing in the shower, & chilled red wine.
Dislikes: Chuegy things, wet socks, & indecisiveness.
Photo Courtesy of Coya
Coya Campbell
Head of Production
Coya typically spends her day overseeing the production of every SK jewelry piece. She spends ample time communicating with vendors to ensure each piece is perfectly executed on time and without flaw. When she is not overseeing production, she spends time investigating innovative ways to streamline the production process, sketching an occasional design, or coming up with out-of-the-box solutions for any issue that may arise.
As a Parsons BFA Fashion Design & MPS Fashion Management alumna, Coya uses her experience in demi-fine jewelry, fashion design, customer service, and life as her arsenal for creative problem-solving. Lovingly coined 'Oh Did You Know' by the SK Team, Coya's unofficial guide to solving random everyday conundrums has gained much local attention within the four walls of our office!
Likes: Ice Cream, Babies, Red Lipstick, Genealogy, Planning, and All Things Fine Art, Design, & Fashion
Dislikes: Rude & Mean People, Unwillingness to Compromise, & Loud Unnecessary Noises
Photo Courtesy of Rin
Bela Nacaj
Finance Manager
Bela is the Quickbooks Queen at Shahla Karimi. She spends most of her days sifting through vendor invoices, analyzing financial reports, and making sure everyone gets paid on time.
Likes: Beaches, chocolate, wearing all black, and drinking Vodka Cranberries
Dislikes: Seafood, being late, and taking pictures
Photo Courtesy of Aaliyah
Aaliyah Clacken
Production Assistant
Aaliyah spends her days assisting in content creation, shipment, and data analysis. She is constantly following and tracking the analytics of the company and keeping track of returning clients. She is currently working on a client dossier for the company’s most valuable clients.
Likes: Vintage fashion, scary movies, & quality time with friends
Dislikes: Spiders, loud people, nyc rent prices
Photo Courtesy of Ohema
Ohema Boone
Production Assistant
Ohema is our product management intern. She supports the production team in meeting with vendors at the diamond district, updating vendors' contact lists, and monitoring the productions' platform.
Likes: Watching Disney Pixar movies, going out to eat, coffee
Dislikes: Alarm clocks, jump scares, spiders
Photo Courtesy of Hannah
Hannah Chinsky
Sales Assistant
Likes: Quality time with family and friends, cuddling with my dog, gemology, traveling, romantic movies
Dislikes: Peanut Butter, loud chewers, my mom's cooking, sweating
Photo Courtesy of Tara
Tara Meade
Designer
Likes: Fine Art, Travel, Tapas, Vintage furniture, Jewelry
Dislikes: Small talk, A closed mind, Winter
Photo Courtesy of Hinge
Tim MacGougan
Managing Partner
Tim has recently joined us as a managing partner and advisor. For the last 8 years he played an integral part in the runaway success of the dating app Hinge, as Chief Design Officer and Chief Product Officer, where he was responsible for its industry leading efficacy at creating relationships. It should also be mentioned that although he is Shahla's husband, there is no nepotism and he still makes her morning coffee.
Likes: New headphones, his hair, non-professional frisbee, ESPN the Ocho, his turn at Karaoke.
Dislikes: Old Headphones, conflict, professional frisbee, talking.