Artemis Designs is the collaboration of husband and wife team Kimberly and Ibrahim.

 

Kimberly is originally from a small town in Michigan, one hour north of Detroit.  She grew up in the countryside, on a dirt road surrounded by apple trees and corn fields.  From a young age it was obvious that Kimberly had both an interest, and natural talent with art.  After high school, Kimberly decided to further her education in art/design, and studied at one of the nation’s best design colleges, receiving her four year degree in Illustration and Design.  College gave Kimberly the opportunity to explore new design mediums, and trained her to think of her talents and passions as a business.  After graduating, Kimberly worked a number of freelance jobs including designing furniture made from reclaimed aircraft parts, managed a photo studio co-op, worked on blog contributions for three of the Miami Housewives, and product photography for fine jewelry companies.

 

Ibrahim was born in the Marmara region of Turkey, where the historic silk road passes, and the Agean Sea connects with the Black Sea.  Ibrahim’s family had an extensive food and beverage business, and in his early years, he was helping his family run the operations, and carefully watching around him, always eager to learn the details of running a business.  Later, his family expanded their business to another city in Turkey; Izmir.  While living in Izmir, Ibrahim met with a friend, who’s family was in the silver jewelry business. They had a small design studio where Ibrahim started spending more and more time, learning the basics of jewelry making, all the while discovering the creative passion within.  In 1999, Ibrahim moved from Turkey to New York City to further his education, where he later began working for jewelry companies in the famous Diamond District on 47th street in Manhattan.  He then joined forces with his brother-in-law’s company in San Diego, CA, designing and making fine jewelry, running a 4,000 square foot. ocean-view gallery, and traveling to wholesale tradeshows.

 

Kimberly and Ibrahim met in the fast-paced city of Miami.  Through all the hustle and bustle of the city, meeting each other was destiny.  The couple had a whirlwind romance, and soon after meeting each other, they were sharing everything together.  Eight years later, and the pair are still together, running their small business with each other side-by-side.  

 

Launching Artemis Designs and realizing the dream of a successful jewelry company was not going to be easy.  The young couple had no outside financing and very few resources of their own.  They had a plan and a dream, and with just a few thousand dollars, they opened for business in 2013 with only one six foot table, a small selection of items, under a pop-up tent in an outdoor mall in South Beach, Miami.  Since then, the couple has taken their small family company from a little table on the street to a custom designed retail space and three full collections of accessories that are all designed and made in the USA.