Camille Davis-Yetming Custom Pieces are a Girl’s Best Friend

Often working either solo or with a very small team, these smallscale designers combine artistry and marketing to create lucrative small businesses with loyal clients.

Ellimac Handmade Jewellery and Designs is one such local company. Founded just over a year ago, the small business—which has already been picking up quite a bit of traction both locally and abroad—offers custom pieces fashioned with a wide range of precious metals and stones, the choices of which are highly customisable.

The lady at the helm of the one-woman show is self-taught jeweller Camille Davis-Yetming, who confessed to WMN that it was out of a desire for the perfect wedding and happy in-laws — with encouragement from her then-fianc? — that Ellimac was born.

Tryin’ ah ting “[It was] so strange; I have to thank my husband for that,” she explained. “When we settled on a [wedding] date, I decided that I would gift each family member with a rosary.” But her playing around with baubles and beads began when her husband, Andrew, suggested that she make the rosaries instead of buying them.

Yetming’s personalised rosaries were a hit but her wedding inspiration didn’t stop there — it was her fruitless hunt for personalised items for her fianc?’s sisters and bridesmaids that led her once again to tap into her own creative side to get what she was looking for. “I didn’t want everyone...looking the same; I wanted them to look like Camille, a celebration of my artistic spirit.” As is the case with most artists, Yetming was resolute about what she wanted.

“At the time, my daughter was very ill,” she explained. “I wasn’t getting enough sleep since I was always up with her to make sure that she was okay.” During these all-night vigils, Yetming began tuning into online jewellery-making tutorials and the rest was history. She credits her husband as being the “catalyst” for her company. “Fast-forward to today,” she told WMN, my husband has supported me since day one. If I need a tool, he orders it.”

“It should be affordable to look nice” When asked who her target market was, Yetming replied, “Everybody,” telling WMN that she believes that her products “must be accessible.” She explained her strategy is inspired by client satisfaction, which is, in turn based on her satisfaction knowing that her pieces in are in a comfortable price range for her client.

“There is no one who can come to me and say that they cannot afford something,” Yetming boasts, telling WMN that payment plans are also available to clients. The businesswoman offers full creative control to her clients where the design is concerned, after which, she breaks down the cost of the imagined piece, every metal and every stone, offering a high level of customisation. “If you explain what you want, I’ll tell you how much it costs,” she told WMN. “It should be affordable to look nice.” Yetming affirms that good pieces “can be made both expensively and inexpensively” and that it’s very simple to “use a different medium to achieve the same look. They may have to take care of it a little more, but it achieves the same effect.” Yetming explained, “Rubies can be substituted by red quartz or blood quartz; in place of diamonds, there are curcuma diamonds, white sapphires, zircon and diamond X, the latter two of which are man-made.”

Four strikes, you’re out! With the creative freedom that she offers to her clients, many of her pieces are one-of-a-kind.

Some clients even make the request that she not duplicate the piece, a request that she always fulfils. But even generally, Yetming told WMN that she never makes more than four of the same pattern.

“I might make the same pattern in different colours, but I’ll never make the exact piece again.” She continued, “I’m not trying to be exclusive but at the same time, I’m definitely not about mass production.”

Ellimac to the world The Ellimac brand has extended itself to having an international presence with Yetming being able to boast of loyal clients in Italy, Germany and Sweden. Ellimac jewellery has also been worn by models sporting Trinbagonian designer Rhian Ramkissoon’s Honamic Designs on the runway in Europe.

The Ellimac Woman Yetming describes her clientele as women, though lying on a spectrum, all embodying elegance. “When I think who Ellimac is, she’s a woman in her 30s, one who has had a little struggle — am I talking about myself?” she chuckled — “and is finding herself as a woman. The Ellimac woman is also someone with potential, someone who has now found her footing, knows who she is and is going somewhere,” she added, referencing the young professionals among her clientele.

Rounding off the spectrum, Yetming told WMN that Ellimac also defines the woman in her forties and beyond, with an even more delicate taste still. “Their statement pieces will be different, from those of a 20- or 30-year old, reflecting an even more refined taste.” When asked about appealing to the teenaged crowd, Yetming described that although she found teenagers “finnicky” and commented that “they don’t know themselves yet”, often preferring to follow the crowd, Ellimac’s wrapped-animal birthstone pieces ended up becoming quite popular with that demographic. “You find that parents come to buy things for their teens when [the teens] wouldn’t come themselves,” she told WMN, explaining that women’s tastes in jewellery become more elegant with the passage of time.

Looking toward the future “Jewellery is now creeping up onto my clothing,” Yetming gushed about her newest endeavour.

“I’m building jewellery that can be incorporated into clothing.” Ellimac’s website is currently under construction, but in the meantime, her pieces have quite a presence on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram. A soft launch will be held next year.