Follow Your Dreams. Give Back. Celebrate Life.
I have always dreamed of...
turning my hobby of fine jewelry design into a business. I studied Architecture, Urban Planning, and Design back in my native country of Brazil and enrolled in a jewelry-making class and MBA Program after moving to Toronto in 2016.
Wearing statement and meaningful jewelry makes me feel more empowered. Through TO YOU Jewelry, I aim to empower women to define their own destiny, curate their passions, and adorn themselves with jewelry that has personal meaning and style.
Planting The Seeds
Childhood. Family. Womanhood.
From an early age, back in Brazil, I dreamed about designing jewelry and making beautiful and meaningful art pieces. By the time I was reaching my teens, I had eagerly designed a jewelry and clothing collection. It was an outlet to express myself, build my confidence, and offer something to the world.
As one of four daughters, my family is supported by a long lineage of strong, confident women who all loved to dress up and wear jewelry. We’d inspire each other with our unique style; a trait passed down from my grandmothers, mother, to me and my sisters.
Nurturing the dream
Learning. Travelling. Giving Back.
In São Paulo, Brazil, I honed my artistic passion through watercolour painting, graphic design, illustration, indoor historic murals/frescoes restoration, and heritage building gold leaf restoration. My time studying architecture, design, and interning at a graphic design firm and historic restoration company, crafted my love for all these passions.
I followed a calling to travel, exploring the United States, Canada, and Europe – including Spain, Italy, Ireland, and France. The experience gave me purpose; a strong desire to make the world a better place through the beauty of jewelry design and craftsmanship. I found myself in coffee shops, journaling, and sketching cities, buildings, and nature. And here, my love of coffee, and me time, was born.
Entering my corporate phase in life, I continued pursuing my love of art. I attended jewelry design and goldsmith classes at Atelier Marcia Pompei, in São Paulo, after work. It was the best hobby as I could express myself freely by designing and making my own statement pieces of jewelry. I started to design and make jewelry pieces for my family and friends, and the desire to give back through gifting something meaningful, made by me, started to flourish!
watch it grow
Inspiration. Connection. Empowerment.
One of the proudest moments I’ve had was to create meaningful jewelry designs for the older female generations of my family, through gifting jewelry I could thank them for their inspiration to follow my dreams. This empowerment flowed down to my sisters and I, and now I’m grateful I get to pay this forward to my own daughter and every TO YOU Jewelry customer.
The connections I had with fellow designers while taking jewelry making classes at The Harbourfront Centre in Toronto inspired me once again to not only follow my dream, but to turn it into a reality.
As destiny would have it, my daughter was born in 2019, and I decided I wanted to create a positive impact for my family and the world. TO YOU Jewelry was born during the 2021 Global Pandemic, at a time when many of us reconnected with what truly makes us happy.
By sharing my story and designing each TO YOU Jewelry piece, I hope to inspire and empower women to give back to themselves by following their dreams.
With Love,
Thais