Ban.do founder and chief creative officer Jen Gotch has never been one to shy away from sharing the details of her life with followers. It’s that transparency that’s helped the quirky giftables company she started in 2008 as a flower-crown business grow and her latest move is in keeping with that.
Gotch worked with Iconery for the first time on two necklaces, with the words “Anxiety” and “Depression” in script, as means of sparking greater discussion around mental health. The project is personal for Gotch, who said she’s struggled with her own mental health issues on and off since she was a child.
“The last two years I’ve been really open about that, not by design. There’s very little strategy to my personal Instagram account, but it just came front of mind for me,” Gotch said, mentioning her recent divorce. “What I found was just this overwhelming response of people wanting to talk about it and getting clarity for themselves about what they’re struggling with.”
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Between Gotch and Ban.do, the two are working off a very large platform: Gotch counts 189,000 followers on Instagram, while Ban.do has some 554,000.
Gotch is the latest influencer to link with the fine-jewelry company on a collaboration, citing the speedier production time to get the necklaces, launching Thursday, to market.
Iconcery uses 3-D printing in certain parts of its development process, helping ramp up speed to market. The company has also built a business model partnering with influencers, such as Rashida Jones and Michelle Branch, on new collections.
The Ban.do pieces sell for $48, which is more price-sensitive than much of the fine jewelry typically sold through Iconery, but more in line with what the Ban.do customer is accustomed to, Gotch explained.
She went on to say the necklaces in some ways help normalize things that are typically stigmatized. It’s a bit of a departure for the Ban.do brand, Gotch said, seeing as how “we’re all about fun, happiness and sunshine, so I wanted to round out the story.”
Gotch said it’s possible additional releases through Iconery could happen, but nothing has yet been confirmed.
The necklaces will be sold on Band.do’s web site, with proceeds going to the non-profit Bring Change to Mind.