Monica Rich Kosann: Founder & Chief Creative Officer of Monica Rich Kosann

Episode 707

On this episode of The Kara Goldin Show, I sit down with Monica Rich Kosann, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of her namesake jewelry brand, Monica Rich Kosann—a luxury brand known for creating jewelry that empowers women to tell their stories. What began with vintage lockets and antique cigarette cases has grown into a collection carried in over 150 stores across the country, including Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, and beloved by celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, and Taylor Swift.
In our conversation, Monica shares her journey from being a sought-after portrait photographer to building one of the first luxury jewelry brands to achieve B Corp certification. We dive into the inspiration behind her iconic modern lockets, how she scaled a purpose-driven company, and why sustainability, craftsmanship, and storytelling are at the core of her business. Monica also shares what it’s like working alongside her husband, building a legacy brand, and empowering customers through meaningful design.
If you’re interested in creative entrepreneurship, sustainable luxury, or how one woman turned her passion into a purpose-filled business, this episode is one you won’t want to miss. Now on The Kara Goldin Show.

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Transcript

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. I want to be you. Just want to make sure you will get knocked down. But just make sure you don’t get knocked out, knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control. Control. Control. Hi everyone, and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and really, some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Kara Goldin show. Super excited to have our next guest here. Today’s guest is someone that I’ve admired. Her company for a while. I didn’t really think about that she was actually the name behind the actual company name, but Monica Rich Kosann is here with us. She is the founder and chief creative officer of, you guessed it, Monica Rich Kosann And she has built a legacy brand with meaning, memory and mission at its core, she, as I mentioned, is the founder and chief creative officer of her namesake jewelry company, and a former portrait photographer to many celebrities, small people like Jennifer Lopez or Usher Monica ticker storytelling instincts from behind the lens and transformed them into a luxury jewelry brand that empowers women to carry their stories close. Literally. What started with antique lockets and cigarette cases that she gifted to clients evolved into this breakthrough idea, and then company modernizing the locket and building on that collection from here now, you can purchase it online, on her site, plus over 150 stores, places like Neiman Marcus Bergdorf, just to name a few, she’s also the first, or one of the first, luxury jewelry brands to become a B Corp certified. So so cool. So I cannot wait to jump into Monica’s journey and hear a lot more about how she’s done it. So Monica, welcome to the show.

Monica Rich Kosann 2:30
Thank you so much. Oh my goodness, Kara, that was amazing. Can I borrow you? Can I take you in my pocket and take you everywhere I go? Unbelievable. Oh my goodness, I’m kind of like overwhelmed. Thank you.

Kara Goldin 2:42
I’m, of course, I’m so impressed, and I have to tell you that the intro is probably one of my favorite things to develop well, as I’m as I’m looking at interviewing so many amazing, amazing people, but yours in particular, I think it’s fascinating. So let’s start with the origin story from photography to jewelry. What led you to take this leap to starting this company?

Monica Rich Kosann 3:09
That’s how I pivoted, right? So I was doing my photography for many, many years of portrait photography, and I was photographing people, as you mentioned, a lot of celebrities, high profile people, and a lot of them I would do, sometimes twice a year, sometimes yearly, and I wanted to gift them something and that I felt was special, you know, what do you what do you give to these people, you know? And I was photographing their families. I really looked at myself as a storyteller. So I was spending time with them and observing them. I wasn’t saying, Hey, can you sit there and smile? I was just kind of following them around. So I was in their in their life, in their scope. And I thought, you know, I became their like family, and what do I give them as a wonderful gift? And I love to vintage shop. I was a big vintage flea market, no matter where I traveled in the world. I went to every flea market, every antique show, every antique shop. And I started collecting vintage cigarette cases and powder compacts and lockets. And I started to take these one of a kind, vintage, beautiful I used to call them little tokens of love, because they were sort of heirlooms. They were from someone else’s life and someone else’s history, and carried all these stories. So I took my clients photos, and I thought, Well, why don’t I continue their stories in these pieces? And I used to cut out the photos, I would velcro them into the old cigarette cases, Velcro them into like the old vintage lockets, and give it to them as gifts. And my clients were the ones who were would say to me, Oh, my God, Monica, I love this. Can I get more of these? Can I get another one? And I’d be like, No, this was a one of a kind that I you know, and they’re all dinged up and scratched, but they were vintage, and they had soul, you know. They came with a story I put my client. Story in them and and that’s kind of how it started. And my clients were the ones when they were asking for more. That’s kind of when I had this moment where I thought, You know what, maybe I could sell them these pieces. You know, I kind of had both sides of my brain working. I’m more of a creative person, but I do have a little bit of that business side, too. And I started to collect more of them, and I started to sell them, but again, they were vintage and one of a kind pieces. And I thought, well, I don’t know, you know, lockets are so cool. They’re the sexiest piece of jewelry a woman can wear. Why isn’t anyone, you know, designing lockets, you know? And that’s kind of how it started. It started with a little Italian I went to Italy, and I found the old cigarette cases and powder compacts, and I had them, you know, make them new for me from the old molds. And they thought I was crazy. They said to me, Oh, nobody smokes in America. Why are you making these again? And I said, oh, please make them for me. Just I want to put photos in them and and that’s how it how it started. It was just, you know, just how I, how I pivoted, but the philosophy stayed the same. It was just another way for us to tell our stories, for women to tell their stories, and celebrate meaningful things in our lives.

Kara Goldin 6:18
So What year was this that you first had the idea

Monica Rich Kosann 6:21
20 years ago. We just celebrated our 20 year anniversary. We started 20 years ago for 2024 was our 20th year.

Kara Goldin 6:30
Oh, that’s incredible. And so how long from the moment when you said, maybe I can actually create a business out of this to actually having your first product. How long did that take?

Monica Rich Kosann 6:43
It took quite a while. Because what we did is we first went to Italy and we found the we had the artisans make the old mold. We started with these cases. I used to call them image cases. And Bergdorf Goodman was the first store that I approached. And I remember going and seeing the buyer with the I had no Kara, I had no ignorance is bliss. Can I just, I have to say that to you, to anyone listening, ignorance is total bliss, because I didn’t know what I was doing. I just knew that it spoke to people, and I knew that there was meaning here, and I felt that, you know, it was just another way to tell a story. So I went to Bergdorf Goodman, I don’t know what I was thinking. Went to the buyer, and I said, You need to have these. And he was like, Oh, I don’t know. And I wouldn’t take no for an answer. I don’t I don’t like the word no. So one thing led to another. So finally, I was on a little shelf. I was in a little like eight by 10 shelf with the cases, and that really spoke to people. And that started, you know, I always said that Bergdorf was my little garden. That’s how I started there, and I kind of tended to it. And that’s when I said, You know what? You know? Why aren’t we doing lockets? I think that no one does locketts that are cool and that are sexy is it’s lockets are the sexiest piece of jewelry a woman can wear, because it holds her secrets. So no one was doing this 20 years ago, and then it kind of snowballed from there. And then I started to get into the meaningful medallions and charms. And I wanted everything to, you know, have meaning.

Kara Goldin 8:18
They’re incredible. So how many SKUs. Did you actually launch with? Then, when you launched at Bergdorf,

Monica Rich Kosann 8:24
oh my gosh, when I started with the image cases, probably maybe five.

Kara Goldin 8:31
That’s incredible. No one’s

Monica Rich Kosann 8:33
ever asked me that. I think we started, yeah, I think maybe I maybe six. I don’t remember I was on a little shelf this big. And I remember thinking, when I was sitting there, thinking, oh my gosh, if I could get to two shelves, if I could get to a case. I mean, now it’s a 400 square foot space, but when I started, I had no idea. And, you know, I just, I don’t know. I think of myself sometimes as, you know, when the horses have the those, those blind, I don’t one of those things called what? So the horses don’t see too right or like, they just go straight ahead. You know, I just, I just move forward. I just move forward. I don’t think too much about I don’t over analyze. Maybe that’s the best way to say it. I

Kara Goldin 9:18
love it. So, so you were a photographer before you decided to get into the jewelry business. How do you think that background helped you or shaped your approach, I should say, to not only jewelry design, but also to the actual story. Because I think so often you get it on the shelf, right? Or you get it in a store, or you put up a website, but then you’ve got to really tell the story, and you’ve got to bring people in to your why. So how do you think that maybe your background or your experience helped you to get there?

Monica Rich Kosann 9:56
That’s a great question. Kara, I think being a photographer. For, as I said, my approach is always storytelling. And I really just continued that philosophy with my jewelry. You know, when I sit down and design with my team, if something is just beautiful, I might step back and say, You know what? The world doesn’t need Mrk necessarily, for just beautiful. It has to start from a place of meaning, and it has to start with something that empowers a woman, that inspires her to tell and celebrate her milestones, her stories. And I think by I did that with my eye as a photographer, and now it’s, like I said before, it’s the same philosophy. It’s just a different art. It’s a different craft, but it’s just, again, a different way that I can be authentic and have a woman be authentic and wear pieces that make her feel good,

Kara Goldin 10:58
yeah, definitely. I know you have a collection called the diamonds reborn collection, which is really pretty, like incredible. How are you using antique stones in a modern way?

Monica Rich Kosann 11:11
Well, there are two things we use, the diamonds reborn as a B certified company. We felt that that’s actually very a small, very small collection of the diamonds reborn. And really what it does is it re we use repurposed diamonds, okay, which is a great, a great thing to do. But in in my jewelry, what I do love is finding vintage diamonds. You find these beautiful antique pieces, and you, well, I should say pieces that really are not that beautiful in style, but the stones are incredible. But what I love about the vintage diamonds is they come with a history already, they come with a story. I always say, were they at a historical dinner? Were they on the were they on the high seas, on the Queen Mary? Who knows where they came from? Because they’re usually over 75 to 100 years old. And then you take these diamonds and you use them, and you design new pieces with the vintage diamonds. And it’s just continuing the story, continuing their story, you know, modernizing them. And then the story goes on.

Kara Goldin 12:16
I love that. So B Corp, you mentioned the B Corp side of this business. What was your or how did you make that decision that you wanted to get B Corp

Monica Rich Kosann 12:27
certified? Yeah, have to be that was that took years. That’s we were one of the first in the luxury space to become to get a B Corp certified. And it was really my team. My team is incredible. I’m very blessed to have this wonderful team who really worked hard at it, and after a couple of years, we were able to get it, and we even renewed it. And it’s, it’s really about, almost like a 365 degree rule. It’s not just about the stones you use, but it’s about how you treat your people, the factories, where you get your stone, where you source the paper towels, in my kitchen, everything. So it’s three. I always say it’s a 365, degree rule, and it’s honestly it’s an honor to have that. It really is an honor.

Kara Goldin 13:19
We’ve had so many people on that have talked about the B Corp process, and it takes a long time, and I’m sure there’s many people that aren’t able to get it. What did that journey teach you about your business that maybe really hadn’t fully grasped or appreciated?

Monica Rich Kosann 13:38
You know, we’re trying to build a brand. Or, I think we, I shouldn’t say we’re trying to, we are building a brand, or have, we’re building a brand that endures. We’re trying to, you know, there’s a reason for us being, you know, and I think that’s really important to us. You know, when we started, we were wholesale, and then we felt that we weren’t really able to tell our story. As you can imagine, it’s hard when you’re in a store and your brand is with all these other brands and you’re, you know, bits and pieces. And, you know, I really feel that we have a story to tell. You know, why we’re here, what differentiates us? We are authentic brand, how we started, and I think that it it’s the journey. It’s really all about the journey, and it continues. I’m not stopping. We’re not stopping. We’re continuing our journey of of creating beautiful fine jewelry for women and allowing them to not only have something that’s beautiful, but also have something that will bring meaning to her life. I mean, everyone wants meaning. You know, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, where you’re from, what you’re about, what your story is, but everyone has a story. Everyone wants meaning in their life. And that I really feel strongly that. That’s always been sort of the broth, the bone broth of our company, you know, it’s and it’s very important, you know,

Kara Goldin 15:10
I love that. So you started selling wholesale into stores, obviously, now you have

Monica Rich Kosann 15:18
continued that thought. Sorry. Oh yes, sorry. So yes, we started doing wholesale, and then we realized we weren’t able to tell the story, you know, so then we worked really hard to do the DTC, which is direct to cons, for those who don’t know, for direct to consumer. That really was a very pivotal point for us, because that really grew the business, and then I was able to really tell the story. So, you know, it’s and it’s a win win for all. Because we, you know, I always say all boats rise, because when people go on the website, oh, this is what she’s about, or this is what the brand is about, and then they’ll walk into a store and touch it and buy it, or vice versa. They’ll be in a store, and then they’ll go, oh, I want to find out more about this brand. And then they can go on the website and really learn more about the background, learn more about our history and what we stand for.

Kara Goldin 16:13
Yeah, definitely. And social media, your social media is beautiful. How important has social media been to growing your brand, and like, I think, especially for brands that are 20 years old, that’s that changed significantly, right? Since

Monica Rich Kosann 16:32
we’re constantly working, we’re constantly reinventing, we’re constantly have a really young team, so they keep me cool, and I have a thick skin, and I’m always like, Oh my God, just tell me if this stinks so you don’t like it, just I can take it. You know, being a designer is all about, you know, you fail, you take a step back, you move forward. You know, when you do design, some are great. Some do well, some not, but that’s part of the job. And if, with social media, we’re just constantly pushing and pushing the boundaries. And, you know, I’m not, I’m not afraid of when we do things, and if it doesn’t do well, it doesn’t do well. Okay, so move on. You know, I have two daughters, and that was sort of my philosophy with them. I always said to them, you know, persevere. You know, I have, I have a charm. Actually, it’s a fish, and the fishes, I always say it’s not moving forward. No, shoulda, coulda, woulda. There’ll be another boyfriend, there’ll be another varsity team, there’ll be another test. We just have to move forward. Yeah, I

Kara Goldin 17:37
love that. I was gonna ask you that I rarely ask about, I feel like women so often are asked about being a mother. So I’ll say I like focusing on the fact that you’re a parent. When you think about, you know, the next generation, as you just mentioned, how do you think that being a parent has really influenced how you work.

Monica Rich Kosann 18:02
Oh, my goodness, my daughters, they’re amazing. They’re my best friends, and they, you know, and I’m not just saying this. I know a lot of people say that, Oh, my daughter’s my best friends, but they really are. They were very close. We’re very close family. And, you know, family always comes first, and they inspire me every day, because they’re two amazing women themselves, and are quite successful in what they do as well. So I think we inspire each other, and I hope that, in a sense, I was also a role model, because I always did what I you know, I always had a career, I always worked and and they saw that I was able to be there for them and be a mom, and also, you know, do what I love to do, and I see them doing it now too. So it makes me, it makes me really proud, and it, you know, it never stops you being a mom. Just that never, never stops.

Kara Goldin 18:58
It doesn’t it never stops. You are,

Monica Rich Kosann 19:02
yeah, they are. It doesn’t matter. It never stops.

Kara Goldin 19:05
Yeah. What I find now is that the stories that maybe, maybe I didn’t share with my kids back then, but as I you know, start to bring a story up, and I’ll say, I know I told you about this, and they’re like, no, no, I want to hear it, because they really, and especially as it relates to business, because they really do want to learn now. And maybe they were too young as you were building this company to really understand things that happened to you. Maybe it was a failure, or, you know, all of these things that maybe you didn’t think that they were listening or didn’t think that they needed to know. But I’m finding more and more that so many of the lessons that I’ve learned in my journey that they want to hear those now

Monica Rich Kosann 19:56
and Kara, they’re watching. Yeah, they are. You know, you don’t think they are, but they are absolutely,

Kara Goldin 20:03
absolutely so you’ve created a range of price points from sterling silver to 18 karat gold. How do you How did you think about that in terms of what you were creating? Because there are many, many luxury designers that maybe wouldn’t give that variety in their line.

Monica Rich Kosann 20:23
Um, accessibility. We really want it to be accessible for everyone. So you in, I’m I stay true to being a fine jewelry brand. Sterling Silver is fine jewelry. So you can buy a ring for 70 $80 and you can buy one of a kind piece or a special edition piece for $20,000 or $25,000 you know, and everything in between. So I wanted, I wanted every generation to be able to participate, you know. And we’re very lucky, because every generation does, we have the, you know, 14 year old to 25 year old, 25 to 50 and 50 and up and they, I mean, when I my daughters were asking to borrow. Borrow. I say this, those of you can’t see me, I’m doing my little air quote, borrow. Then I never saw them again. They asked to borrow my jewelry. I knew I was on to something that that generation also wanted to wear what I was wearing of a different generation. And I love mixing metals. I always encourage people mix your your silver and gold. There are no rules. Everyone thinks there are rules. There really aren’t any rules. It’s what makes you feel good. If you feel good, you will look good. You know, it’s, it’s, it sounds so silly, but it’s so true. You know, as women, if you feel good about yourself, if you feel inspired, you’re going to look good. And I wanted someone to be able to I wanted a bride to be able to buy her bridesmaids gifts her five silver lockets if she wants to, and then, you know, her mom to buy her a gold locket, or, you know, I just wanted, I wanted to be accessible.

Kara Goldin 22:05
I love it. So I bet many people have asked you, what’s it like working with your husband? I started the company that I founded, hint, with my husband as well. So he’s your co founder and the company’s CEO. What’s it? What is it like working with your husband? And I guess, what’s the secret? And I think that this applies to so many people, whether you’re working with a your husband, another family member, your best friend, but what do you think the secret is to being able to not only create something, but also scale it and stay married.

Monica Rich Kosann 22:46
Question, Kara, I think that a couple of things in my head I’m like, as you’re asking the question of so many ways to answer that. First of all, it is not easy to be in business with your spouse, because when you’re an entrepreneur, it’s 24/7 right? When you when you’re with your spouse, it’s 24/7 on steroids, right? It’s very hard to turn it off and to move it aside. On the one hand, that has been our strength, because we’re very much aligned, and very much, you know, we talk about it constantly. It’s our baby, you know, we do. But I think the one thing about rod and I is that we know to stay in our lanes. So I kind of stay in my creative lane. He stays more in the business and the operational part of it, and then, therefore, sometimes we do merge Kara, and that’s when it gets a little more interesting. But I think if I were if someone asked me that question, I’d probably say a lot of patience, and my glass is always half full, and my husband’s glass is more on the emptier side, but that’s good for us. That works, because if we were both half full or both half empty, that wouldn’t be good, you know. So I think somehow we’re able to make it work, you know. And we’ve been married a long time and and being in the business for 20 years, you know. And I think we both look up to each other, you know, we both admire each other. Both respect each other. Respect is very important, you know, and that’s not to say that I don’t sometimes want to go like, drive me crazy. Reality,

Kara Goldin 24:38
exactly. So you’ve been building the brand for 20 years. When you think back, what’s changed the most and what stayed exactly the same?

Monica Rich Kosann 24:51
What I can tell you top of my head, and I don’t mean to sound cheesy, but what has stayed exactly the same is that I wake up every morning. Kara, honest to God, and. Am so excited to do what I do. I feel very blessed in that regard. I love what I do. I love my team. I can’t wait to get to the office and to work with people. I love love my customers. I love meeting with my customers. I have never stopped doing that. I still go to stores. That’s something I did in the beginning. I still do today. And I think that, you know, I think that would it’s just, you know, continuing. I think we built something authentic, and we’re building a legacy brand, and it will continue.

Kara Goldin 25:35
I love that answer. So looking back again, what’s one moment, maybe, over the course of building the brand, where you’ve said, wow, we’ve really built something meaningful. I would imagine it was with customers. Is there any story in particular that really stands out where somebody they just said, I’m sure, because, like you said, the locket holds stories, right, and holds meaning for people. But I’m curious if there’s one in particular.

Monica Rich Kosann 26:10
Well, I’ll, I’ll tell you two stories, one story, which is short, because this was sort of for my husband and I. We were both sort of, this was a moment we were we were both blown away. We were in a restaurant, and my husband was sitting across from me, and just to break nothing special, regular local restaurant, we’re sitting there, and this woman sits down, this couple sits down behind us, and my husband says, Oh, my God, she’s wearing our gate locket. So I’m like, I mean, it was, you know, the fairly beginning, so she had bought it without and it wasn’t someone we knew. It wasn’t family. It was a stranger who was wearing our locket, our piece, who had bought it at we have no idea where, and I think that that was that was pivotal. I will never forget that. And I the whole dinner, I couldn’t get my husband to stop looking at this woman. He kept looking at her, and I kept saying, Would you stop looking at her? But that was that was a pivotal moment for us. Another was when Katie Holmes, we started our business right in the beginning, and all of a sudden she was in every in those days, it was people, magazine, entertainment, et everything, all that stuff. And she was wearing our locket in silver and in gold. This goes back when she was married to Tom Cruise and had Surrey. And we have no idea where she got this locket. And that was, that was also, I mean, you’re talking to someone. We went to our first couture show, which is the big jewelry show, knowing nobody. I would stand in the coffee line, and I would read people’s badges, and I would say to that, you know, Oh, Hi, Mary, or whatever. Would you like to come over to booth number two? Oh, whatever, two over three. And would you like, can I talk to you about my brand? We need nobody you know when we started. So, so I think it’s, it’s exciting when you see someone else wearing your pieces and enjoying them and celebrating it and wearing them for the right reasons, you know.

Kara Goldin 28:19
So you’ve built an incredible legacy brand. Congratulations. I mean, it’s just, it’s really terrific. What’s the one thing you want people to walk away remembering about Monica rich, cossan, the brand, and maybe that the supplies to you personally, too, but, but definitely the brand. I

Monica Rich Kosann 28:42
think our brain is all about emotional connections. I think we connect people, and I want and I want people to wear our pieces, and I want it to be sort of timeless symbols of love, sentiment, your stories. We always say it’s your story, not ours. You know, it is like a personal photograph. It’s sort of like, it’s sort of like you have to curate your own story. It’s your personal portrait. It’s not mine. I Yes, It’s Monica Rich Kosann I’m the designer, and this is our brand, and yes, you’re you’re purchasing this product from us, but I want it to be your personal product, your your your personal portrait, that you buy it and you wear it your way. You fill it. If it’s a locket, you fill it with your stories. If you’re wearing a fish, is perseverance. You’re persevering on your journey, on your life. If it’s a compass, it’s about your path, you know that you’re wearing it for for you, for your story. And I think that’s what I want our legacy to be. And I want that’s what the brand really is. It’s your story. It’s not mine.

Kara Goldin 29:57
I love that response, so my. Thank you so much for joining us today. Your journey from photographer to fine jewelry founder and is is really, really powerful, incredible. It’s great example of how creativity and storytelling and purpose builds the brand and obviously truly resonates with so many people, and you’ve really redefined not only the modern locket and what it can be, but also created a movement around wearing our stories. So I it’s really, really incredible. So for everyone listening, if you haven’t had a chance to see Monica’s beautiful pieces, yet, please go to her website, or Bergdorf Goodman in New York, or many, many other fine retailers. True, trust me, you’ll be so inspired. And as always, if you love this episode, share it with a friend, leave a review, and don’t forget to hit subscribe to this podcast. So thank you all, and we’ll see you next time on the Kara Goldin show. Thank you so much, Monica,

Monica Rich Kosann 31:08
thank you Kara. So much. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Kara Goldin 31:11
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit and of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms. At Kara Goldin, I would love to hear from you too. So feel free to DM me, and if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal, best selling book, undaunted, where I share more about my journey, including founding and building. Hint we are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Thanks for listening, and goodbye for now. You.