Soar High: Yara Tlass' Fine Jewelry Startup uSfuur Wants To Create Social Impact Fine jewelry concept uSfuur, which means "bird" in Arabic, offers minimalist winged-motif jewelry.
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Launched in December 2015 by Yara Tlass, the fine jewelry concept uSfuur, which means "bird" in Arabic, offers minimalist winged-motif jewelry, and represents concepts of freedom, hope, strength, and inner peace. Crafted from pure gold, the brand offers pieces ranging from necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings in 18K solid gold and in colored beads, crystal, brass and silver.
Giving back is a large part of the self-funded startup's identity- with every piece they sell, 10% is donated to Watanili, a grassroots charitable organization operating a learning center in Turkey which supports displaced Syrian children and communities with access to education, arts and crafts programs, and recreational activities.
With stores in UAE and KSA, as well as pop-up stalls in Dubai Design Week, Paris Fashion Week and a workshop with Sharjah Art Foundation and L'Ecole Van Cleef & Arpels in D3, the startup is also expanding their clientele to Paris and London. The brand is looking to expand their product line with more collaborations and utilize new materials, and on the long run, Tlass aims to expand their social projects on the humanitarian front. For now, orders can be made through email and Instagram, but the young startup are launching a website soon. Keep an eye out!
'TREP TALK ME
Yara Tlass, designer and founder, uSfuur
What are your top three tips to entrepreneurs who wants to start a luxury brand in the UAE?
"To believe in your work and enjoy the ride - great things take time, don't give up when things seem hard and messy at the beginning. To constantly thrive to improve and innovate, [and] to ask for help from experts in the field."
What has been the biggest struggle in launching and managing the business? How did you overcome it?
"One of our biggest struggles has been to scale the business; the more we grow the more we see potential the more we want to leverage the opportunity and make sure to maximize it. Finding sustainable funding has been very challenging specially for a startup business but right now we feel we are at the right stage to seek proper investment."
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