MEET FILOSOPHY

Filosophy is a woman of color owned and operated jewelry brand based in Brooklyn, New York. We’re a one woman show (for now) that creates both handmade jewelry and ethically sourced gold filled jewelry to compliment one's lifestyle. Ofelia, the founder speaking, you'll see/hear me refer to Filosophy as "we" or "us" meaning Ofelia + Filosophy, we're a unit. Filosophy has formed a community of "Filosophers" that curate beautiful layered and stacked jewelry sets with Filosophy jewelry. Filosophy's pieces have become a "must have" with how we stack our rings and create a Filosophy lifestyle - gold filled and layered all ways, always. 

Filosophy is a brand for all. Supporting Filosophy is supporting a brand that provides quality, affordable jewelry to everyone. We want our Filosophers to feel luxurious without going over budget. You're supporting a brand that has an organic growth and is ready to scale. We ship worldwide and our community extends from New York with roots in Tulsa and a Filosopher community that is truly worldwide. We made our NYFW debut in a fashion show for designer Timothy Westbrook September 24, 2022, we are and have filled spaces in a few boutiques including one currently in Japan, once in Germany a few in Brooklyn and Tulsa, and a successful pop up event history that we'd like to take from coast to coast https://www.instagram.com/reel/CglDsuQDMUR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

Filosophy boomed in late 2020 and grew extremely fast in 2021 hitting six figures our FIRST calendar year full time in 2021... but now that our Filosophers have shown us what they love and don't like, it's time to grow and scale. 

Pledge

We want to show the world our way of stacking and layering with beautiful affordable gold jewelry, the Filosophy way. Help us reach the world and expand our presence both online and in real life. We appreciate all contributions and support. 

Where We Were and Where We’re Going

Filosophy became an official brand in 2016 selling on Etsy, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ofelia the founder was working full time in the science field, part time in retail, and Filosophy as much as she could. It was a slow process of growth due to balancing a work schedule but Filosophy was able to grow a small Etsy clientele, landed shelf space at a few local boutiques, and participated in a number of seasonal markets as a vendor. Ofelia moved to New York in mid September 2019 in hopes of focusing on Filosophy eventually and making it a booming brand. When pandemic hit, there was nothing but time to focus on the brand and Filosophy seemed to bloom overnight with the help of the Black Lives Matter movements, supportive black owned business pledges, and the support women movement. 

Filosophy now is in a position that deserves to be more present in more places in order to grow our Filosopher community and scale our sales, one jewelry set or stack at a time. Filosophy has managed to land shelf space in a few Brooklyn boutiques, host a few pop ups, and do large scale events like Sip Shop Eat 2022. Filosophy is known for golden goodness but more so lately in the ring stacking styles curated by Ofelia. Filosophers are always commenting “make my hands look like yours” and “STACK ME UP!” so we intend to keep growing and stacking.

Here’s Where You Come In!

Running and growing a business from scratch is difficult, especially being a one woman show. Outside of regular challenges experienced in entrepreneurship, we also face growth challenges in being a Black-Owned business. Being part Filipino, I’ve also encountered a bit of kickback for being a “blasian (Black and Asian)” ran business. Along with those challenges and discriminatory road blocks, is access to capital. Ofelia has started and supplied funding via bootstrapping  - a combo of income and savings, help from family and friends, and one grant of $1,000 form Caress via IFundWomen. Now running Filosophy full time, what the company makes essentially is invested back into the company in order to grow. With growth, a need for working capital is essential as well as a small team while Filosophy is evolving. And this is where backers and funders are needed, which is why Filosophy has launched this campaign to help grow and scale the Filosophy brand. 

I'm seeking funding to scale Filosophy with working capital to help fund expenses including:

• Filosophy's show/event fees 
• Keep best sellers in stock for a home based inventory, show/event inventory, and wholesale inventory for supplying boutiques and shops
• Marketing | Advertising | Branding
• Product Photography & Videography - proper equipment, shout out to iPhonography but I need pro shots for the website and social media
• New + Updated Packaging (Retail Standard & Sustainable) 
• Pivot overseas manufacturing to local manufacturing for quicker turnaround time and ethical manufacturing
• Hiring Part-Time Employees to outsource for social media and website maintenance
• Studio rental costs
• Class costs for metal working to make one of a kind rings

From reading my pitch, you're already an honorary Filosopher. Thank you so much for your time and support.

From my heart to your eyes and ears,

Ofelia