Charmco Celebrates 25 Years of Meaningful Jewelry and Mother-Daughter Magic

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As we head into the holiday season, we love discovering brands with a story to tell. Charmco checks all the boxes, from its 25-year history to the mother-daughter duo behind its meaningful jewelry.

Here, co-founder and the daughter in the dynamic duo, Lisa Feldkamp, reflects on the brand’s journey and what’s next.

Tell us the story of Charmco. How did it get started?

Charmco began with a bracelet my mother made for me, combining charms she found at antique markets with pieces from both of my grandmothers’ charm bracelets. I fell madly in love with it and wore it everywhere. It felt especially meaningful to wear something that connected three generations of our family.

One day on the subway, a stranger asked me to walk them through every single charm and explain what each one meant. I almost missed my stop! There was an elephant with its trunk up for luck, a martini shaker with a little devil inside because I love a good martini, a plane for my love of travel, and the Empire State Building for New York City. Each charm told a little piece of my story.

That conversation planted the seed for Charmco. My mother and I wanted to help others create that same connection, choosing charms that mean something to them. That’s the magic of charm bracelets and necklaces. They carry our stories and celebrate the little and big things that make us who we are.

What a special origin story. Everyone loves a dynamic mother-daughter duo! Surely a lot of people want to know: what’s that dynamic like? And how has it changed since its early days of working together?

It’s been 25 years of a deeply loving partnership. We haven’t always agreed on everything, but there’s a lot of mutual respect, and we’ve learned to listen to each other. 

For the first eight years, we worked out of my mother’s apartment, so the business was very much part of our family life. I honestly think moving into an office took us to a new level of professionalism. It helped us grow as a business and find our own roles within it.

I think she would say I am the more serious one while she is the creative “genius,” but we agree to disagree! 

That’s so sweet. Now, going back a few decades, tell us about the 2005 “design your own charm bar” and book collaboration. How did that help put you on the map?

We’d been featured in Travel + Leisure in a piece called “Trip of the Wrist” that was about creating charm bracelets inspired by your travels, when the book’s author reached out. We’d spent the previous year collecting vintage charms and had quite an inventory. Many of our charms were photographed for the book, which also featured an image of us wearing our charm bracelets. 

The launch at Bergdorf Goodman included a “design your own” charm bar that ran for two weeks. It gave people a chance to explore the collection and put together something personal. Afterward, Bergdorf’s carried some of our customized bracelets on its jewelry floor. The book and that partnership introduced Charmco to a much wider audience. But one of our biggest pinch-me moments was when Miuccia Prada bought a few bracelets, and Bergdorf called to see if we had more. We were so excited!

Incredible! Talk about a pinch-me moment, But, you’ve always been savvy business owners. You even made the jump to e-commerce in 2008. What was that like, and how else have you stayed ahead of trends?

Our experience at Bergdorf Goodman taught us that we had too many styles to sell through stores. Going directly to the customer gave us room to offer the full collection, keep prices fair, and create something personal. In the early days, customers could download a questionnaire from our website and fax it back to us. Yes, fax! We would then build a charm bracelet based on their answers. 

By the time we launched e-commerce in 2008, we already had a website and experience working directly with customers. I’d like to think it was savvy business sense, but there was probably a little luck involved, too!

We stay aware of trends, but we’ve always taken the long view. Today’s charm bars have brought a new audience to charms, yes, but precious charms have been worn for centuries to bring good luck, celebrate loved ones, and commemorate life’s milestones. Our focus is on creating meaningful gold jewelry that holds its value and can be passed down as an heirloom. That lasting connection is what keeps charms relevant, whatever happens to be in style.

Along those same lines, how has the business changed since you launched it?

One of the most rewarding changes has been growing alongside our customers. A bracelet might begin with one charm, then evolve over the years as someone gets married, has children, travels, or celebrates a milestone. We have many of the same husbands calling year after year for birthdays or for Christmas gifts. We’ve always believed in that way of collecting; building something personal over time.

That’s incredibly meaningful. Now, vintage is having a huge resurgence right now and you have something called the “Vintage Vault.” Tell us about that.

Collecting vintage charms has been at the heart of Charmco since the beginning. Our Vintage Vault brings together the special vintage and antique pieces we find along the way, each with its own history, character, and wonderful little details. That same love of vintage continues to inspire our Collection, which now includes more than 1,000 charms designed with a vintage sensibility and thoughtful heritage details.

It’s nice to see a new generation embrace vintage clothing and jewelry, and the timeless design language it inspires.

Speaking of being personal and distinctive, you launched your own in-house collection due to the demand for specific motifs. What are some of the most unique motifs you’ve seen requested/have created?

We are constantly asking our followers and clients to let us know what charm we are missing in the collection. Dog lovers are very passionate about breeds and we try to keep up! We also try to add more niche travel locations. Of course, I had to make a devil in the martini shaker to honor my original one. We love a charm challenge! 

What’s up next for Charmco?

We add new styles to the collection every week! The one I am most excited about right now is a little love rooster with red enamel hearts. Charms are our specialty, and we’re very happy to keep our focus there. After 25 years, we still have so many ideas! There’s always another story to tell and another charm to bring to life.