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Meet Yakira Cartledge of Dijáe Co. in Metro Atlanta

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Yakira Cartledge.

DijáeCo. was founded by Yakira Dijáe Cartledge. Yakira started her company around the age of 14 just for fun. Tie dye, customized apparel and ripped jeans is how it all started off. It was not until early 2019 when jewelry become an official line to her business. Jewelry making became a passion and she saw the positive outcome it had on her customers. DijáeCo. suddenly started being looked at as a way for individuals to express themselves. Each item is handmade with love.

While being a full-time student at Kennesaw State, working part-time and being an entrepreneur, Yakira definitely encountered challenges. She overcame them and pushed to become the role model she is today. DijáeCo. wants you to start each day with a positive mindset and just be you. It is now July 2020 and DijáeCo. is averaging 100 orders a month!! Never thought to expand so quickly with both returning and new customers. Clothing will added to the business in August 2020.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a creative in general is not easy. You always have ideas processing in your head especially at night when trying to sleep. To say the least, being an entrepreneur and a jewelry is amazing. When doing anything, you will have challenges. My biggest challenges I’ve had was shopping with unknown vendors (for supplies) and receiving something totally different or shipping with USPS. Omg USPS is the absolute worst for small business owners. They are constantly misplacing packages, having delays on top of delays, never notifying the shipper of what’s going on and so much more. That has been a HUGE issue for me. My biggest struggling with my business is when an abundance of orders were coming in and I became overwhelmed and ignored the signs. At one point, I couldn’t even fulfill orders because it was just too much.

Dijáe Co. – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
DijáeCo. is the name of my business. When starting this, I wanted my business/ brand to mean something to me. Something I could carry on until I am no longer existing. Dijáe is my middle name. I added Co. because it seemed exquisite so it just stuck. At DijáeCo. we specialize in jewelry making. Handmade jewelry, jewelry repairs, custom orders, and anything tie dye. We are most known for our custom pieces. Individuals come to us with an idea and we bring it to life! On average custom orders and items on our site are about the same in sales. Our business stands out from others because of the originality. All items are designed by Yakira. When you see an individual with a piece of jewelry on, you know it’s from DijáeCo. I am most proud of the positivity that comes from the business. The feedback received legit makes me cry. Seeing customers that have been around from the beginning that continue to shop till this day… It is an amazing feeling to have that much support

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment of my career has to be when we made it to our first 1k in sales in just one month! That was a huge moment for me. Having that many people wanting to wear something handcrafted by DijáeCo. had me speechless.

Pricing:

  • Everything on website under $60
  • Payment plans available for order $150+

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
All images were taken by the CEO, Yakira Cartledge. Underwater shoot was taken by Destini Bulter

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