Meet Charlotte LaRue Mazey | Goldsmith & Owner of LARUE & CO.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Charlotte LaRue Mazey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Charlotte LaRue, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk taking is so important in business and in life. Its all being an entrepreneur is in a lot of ways. You have to be a risk taker in order to succeed. Getting the balls to start your own business, risk. Knowing what inventory to select/design/create that will be profitable or humans will respond to, total risk. But thats also how you learn. Trial by error is just a cute way of talking about risk taking. If you are guided by fear don’t get into business but on the flip side if something makes you nervous or scares you a little than walk straight for it and jump. I find that if something scares me thats my inner self telling me to just do it. You never know where life is going to take you. Just enjoy the ride and stay in the adventure and you’ll be just fine lol.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am the owner and founder of LARUE & CO. Fine Jewelry for Humans. Its a size inclusive gender inclusive and sustainable jewelry brand. We also make apothecary/home goods like candles, bath milks, and bath bombs. We create handcrafted fine jewelry for humans. We strive to make people feel safe and informed while shopping with us unlike big box stores. The brand itself is born in New York, raised in San Fransisco and based out of Tucson, Arizona. I got the name LARUE from it being my middle name. I am a certified Goldsmith who has been practicing since 2014. I studied under Master Goldsmith, Alan Revere at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Fransisco, California among many other wonderful professors. I believe that each piece should be crafted with the highest quality, care, and love for total customer satisfaction. And if we can help reduce our carbon foot print at the same time why not?! Because of this all of our goldsmiths check each handcrafted piece to make sure it is always at the LARUE standard.

I think what sets us apart it the inside scoop into trade secrets and spreading knowledge and awareness for sustainable practices in the jewelry industry. I try my best to inform consumers where their stuff is being made/how. I think its important especially with jewelry for humans to know where their stones come from, tips and tricks on how to know if a certain type of stone is real or fake, how to properly care for their pieces etc. Stock brokers do their research in different stocks before investing and I think humans should do the same with jewelry especially if its an investment piece or going to possibly be an heirloom. Smart shoppers are happy shoppers. Many would disagree with these philosophies but I want humans to feel safe, informed and educated whether they shop with me or another shop.

I am most excited about… well watching LARUE & CO. grow lol she’s only three so she’s just a baby lol. Its been cool to watch her manifest into this little powerhouse. And you never know what the future holds so it’ll be cool to hang on for the ride. Also, my sustainability initiative. Its hard to be fully sustainable in this industry. Everything is wrapped and bubble wrapped and boxed and blah blah hahaha. Everything is to keep our tools or stones safe and what not but it feels good to be working with some really cool companies to help reduce our carbon footprint. For example Hero Packaging makes compostable mailers and bubble wrap that we use since we are technically an e-commerce brand. With the candles I use 100% natural soy wax which is better for us and our pets health wise along with using natural essential oils. All of our candles are made from recycled containers. We also have a refilling service where you can send in old LARUE candle jars and or one of your choosing to be refilled with your fave LARUE scents. All of my jewelry boxes are recyclable. I use a lot of recycled precious metals. Also, another great sustainability practice which I teach whomever will listen hahaha is to get things straight from the source even if it costs a tad bit extra. For example, buying aquamarine from India because thats where it is abundant and native too, Australia for pink diamonds, pearls or opal as well as Ethiopia for opal. Columbia for emeralds. UHMM pearls are also abundant in Japan, the Philippines and Hawaii. Stuff like that. Thats just to name a few. There are many places all over the world where certain stones are abundant and by doing your research its better for all of our different economies and the environment because the suppliers where said stones are from don’t have to go out of their way to hunt for these gems. I live in Tucson, AZ and prickly pear fruit and cactus are in all of our backyards. So why would I order prickly pear from say Minnesota or Canada lol ya know what I mean? Not to get super political but its like how we eat fruits and veggies. we have come so far away from whats best for the environment we forget to eat with the seasons. We aren’t supposed to be able to eat strawberries and pineapple all year round. Its nuts! Eat fall things in the fall, eat summer things in the summer etc. So I try to follow those practices and bring them into my business the best way I can. That being said I too am still learning about better sustainability practices and I think with most things in life if we are not growing and learning and evolving then we are dead hahahaha.

Things I have learned along the way… So so much. I think being a business owner in general it teaches you many things about yourself, like how far you can push yourself, whats the message you want humans to receive from you and what do you want to leave behind. A life and business lesson, would be to allow your self to be in the moment, every moment. As the business grows time gets more structured where you have to really designate time in different ways. Like having social media days or admin days or design days and so on. Outside of business allowing yourself to make time for your friends and your family and to be present with them during that time and not feel guilty that you aren’t doing enough work wise. Put your phone down and engage with those around you. Take a moment to look up at a tree or the stars as corny as that sounds. With entrepreneurship we really have so many hats on all the time that I think recognizing we are only human and thats totally ok is really important. Success is defined in many different ways and going through those processes I think its important to stay humble so you don’t loose yourself in that but also to allow yourself to be in the moment and accept the moment. Take a second to acknowledge your accomplishments and feel proud for all the hard work you put into your day to day. And then keep on keeping on lol.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well Im originally from NYC and now I live in Tucson so I know some cool spots in Phoenix but not all that many.. and the ones I would speak of most people would think I am so boring hahaha. Like going to IKEA or CB2. In Tucson still going to sound boring lol but I love Mesquite Valley Growers on Speedway. Their tropical house is legit. The bookstore on 4th ave which I always forget its real name but its very cool and cozy. They have a great selection of vintage books along with new and some collectable books which is always cool to see. Restaurants…Zayna Mediterranean, Contigo, North Italia, Coronet or Five Points. Shopping at La Encantada or driving up to Mt. Lemmon for a change of scenery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Hahaha this is so cute I feel like I’m winning an award lol. Id like to thank the academy for all that you do.. lol Just kidding. This is cool though a lot of people think entrepreneurship is a one man game but it really does take a village. Shoutout to my late grandfather for instilling business as a second language. Shoutout to my mama bear for always being my biggest mentor and cheerleader in this adventure we call life. Shoutout to my hubby. Jama you really are my rock dude, thank you for letting me live my true authentic self.

Website: Shoplarueandco.com

Instagram: @larue.and.co

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