After her sister died in a car accident, Monique Péan started making jewelry as a form of therapy. The former investment analyst spent $30,000 of her savings to buy a piece of fossilized woolly mammoth tusk from the Arctic Circle as material. Eventually she quit her job to start her own jewelry company.
Thanks to two industry awards – and buzz following Michelle Obama’s decision to wear a Péan necklace to a state dinner—the business has grown 136% in the past year.
Péan’s Haitian father worked for the UN so she travelled frequently. Growing up in Washington D.C. she was drawn by the art and cultures of the many countries she’s visited like Haiti, Egypt, Bali, Malawi and Russia.
In addition to making her mark in the fashion world, Péan strives to be socially responsible by keeping her line eco-friendly in addition to being innovative and stylish.
Just last year she was awarded with two prestigious awards. Péan was a winner of the Eco Domani Fashion Foundation and a runner-up at the CDFDA Vogue Fashion Fund.
