My name is Sif Jakobs and I’m the founder and creative director of Sif Jakobs Jewellery. I founded my Copenhagen-based brand in 2009 and we have developed quite rapidly ever since.
I was born in Iceland but moved to Copenhagen many years ago, knowing that was the place that I wanted to start and build my jewellery brand. I was drawn by its amazing city – not too big and not too small. It’s vibrant, cool and sophisticated environment suited me very well and fitted perfectly to the brand I was dreaming of. I started as a one-man-band in my apartment; soon came my first employee and ever since the company has grown month by month. We’re now sold in 20 countries and several department stores with shop-in-shops.
I’m often involved in all aspects of the company, from supply chain, to production and marketing as well as customer care. Since it’s my name that’s connected to the brand it’s very important to me that I know what’s going on in all departments. My favourite role in the company, however, is directing the creative and visual identity in all aspects, and also of course, designing the new collections.
I’m married and have a son.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
No, I never had an actual plan, but I had a dream for many years and went for that dream when I was ready, and the market was ready.
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
Tons of challenges. I face new challenges every day. I’m not sure I really understood how challenging it actually was and is to run and grow your own business, but it’s just as much fun as it is hard work, so it’s totally worthwhile.
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
From a business perspective, it was when I won the award for ‘best fashion jewellery brand’, in the UK. That proved to me that we were doing something right; it was a huge milestone and felt like such a big accomplishment. It was the first time I felt like we were an international brand.
From a personal perspective, it was of course giving birth to my son and raising him as an individual and loving human being.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?
From the very start I was keen on crossing borders and taking my brand further than Copenhagen. Looking back, I think this was one of the major things that taught the company so many lessons. We had to be agile and have the ability to act accordingly with regards to the different markets we were targeting; it made us stronger.
Also, we were lucky to have huge celebrities wear our characteristic statement pieces, just as the company launched in the UK … Before we even knew the value of this.
How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?
I truly believe that this is a great idea and it can be super valuable. I would have loved to have a mentor when I first started out, but I have never gotten around to actually initiating a mentoring programme or mentoring others. I would love to at some point, though!
If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Equality, what would it be?
Gender equality is one of the 17 UN Global Goals and I do believe that this is such an important issue to address. The one thing I would change would be to have all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spaces eliminated, including human trafficking and sexual and other forms of exploitation.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?
Remember to take a break once in a while and breathe. Time off clears your mind.
Hard work pays off but working too hard is sometimes too hard! 😉
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
Our next challenge is to find our position in the new post-Corona world. New buying patterns, new regulations etc. We’ve become very close to our customers and I’m looking forward to getting to know them even better in the future. I wont exactly call it a challenge, but an opportunity and something exciting that lies ahead.
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