Kristin & Kofi Essel in Love, Creativity & Third Crown
Photography: Erica Génécé
Creative Direction & Styling: Kindra Moné
Meet Kristin and Kofi Essel, the co-creators of the jewelry house Third Crown. You might have seen their work on Season 3 of HBO’s Insecure or being worn by Solange or Beyoncé. When it comes to partnership in life and in hustle, this couple is #goals. I figured we could all learn from their journey through love, career, and creation. I caught up with them at a cafe in our shared home of Harlem to learn what makes them tick as individuals and the glue that holds them together.
Kofi: Jacket - Obi’s New York, Sweater - Family First Milano, Jewelry - Third Crown, Pants & Shoe’s - Kofi’s own
Kristin: Blazer - Kristin’s own, Jacket - Vincetta Studio, Jewelry - Third Crown, Shoes - Kristin’s own
THE ENCOUNTER…
Kristin and Kofi met through a chance encounter while Kristin was in New York City for vacation and studying Apparel Design at Florida State University. Kofi, who grew up in Ghana, was studying Men’s Design at FIT. They were at a mutual friend’s birthday dinner and afterwards, shared a cab to a night club to join the rest of the partygoers. To put things plainly, it was a bit of a wild night.
Kristin: “We were drinking and I ended up passing out at the club…like I got escorted out by security and everything.”
Kofi: “I helped her get in the cab and carried her upstairs… and luckily I got her number before there were too many drinks so I was able to check up on her the next day.”
Though Kristin was thoroughly embarrassed, the two aspiring designers kept in touch for the rest of the semester until Kristin moved up to NYC for an internship and their journey began right away. 2 years later, they were married at the courthouse and 4 years into their marriage, Third Crown was born.
GETTING STARTED
Today’s popular culture makes being a full-time entrepreneur sound attractive, but as Kristin and Kofi note, entrepreneurship isn’t easy. Kofi and Kristin still work 9 to 5s and they don’t recommend that hopeful designers take the plunge without a plan. Kristin freelances in a luxury fashion house while Kofi is a menswear designer. Their inspiration comes together to create unique, bold and architectural jewelry pieces made of 18k gold, silver, and gunmetal.
Kristin: "People see us and think, they can do it, so I can do it, but you don’t know how long and hard someone has been working to fulfill their dreams. If you haven’t worked within a fashion brand before, then I really don’t recommend starting your own right away. I learned so much from working for others — I learned what worked and I also learned what didn’t. I learned how to run companies of different scales and I have brought that experience to Third Crown.”
Kristin and Kofi entered into Third Crown prepared with years of experience and helpful industry connections. Kristin had worked in production for David Yurman, Reed Krakoff jewelry and Eddie Borgo while Kofi studied at art schools most of his life and worked at various menswear brands with his start at Kenneth Cole and Sean John.
FINDING THE BALANCE:
With full time jobs, a beautiful son and a growing brand, the Essel’s have a crazy schedule:
Kofi: “It’s a 24hr schedule. We go to work during the day, and then we get home and we have to give our family and relationship time to thrive. After the baby has been put to sleep, we typically work into the night.”
Kristin finds time to make it happen, even if that means picking up samples during her lunch break. “Third Crown is my priority and I put that before anything, but I have to make sure that I don’t jeopardize my job.”
SELF CARE:
Kofi: “For me, self care is family time. For example, we had to get product shots done yesterday but afterwards we hung out at the park and played with our son. That is what rechargers me.”
Kristin: “I set apart time to take care of myself. I still get massages and I definitely still get my toes done.”
The couple also still makes sure they have the time to date each other — Kofi gets Kristin flowers, and dinner dates are a regular occurrence. Kristin also frequents concerts with her friends, so their life is far from all work and no play.
EQUITY
The jewelry business isn’t an easy one to break into, and there aren’t very many black jewelry designers making major waves in the industry. I asked Kristen and Kofi if equity is something that they are constantly conscious of:
Kofi: “We think about it every now and then…mainly when we realize that the difference between where we are and where want to be is often due to connections and resources. We want to be the ones to break that ground. That is a reason for us to keep pushing so that we can hire other people of color and make room for them to be in this space with us.”
THE FUTURE OF THIRD CROWN
Kofi: “I really dream big. We’ve talked about fine jewelry, we’ve talked about interior design, we’ve talked about clothing, shoes and hand bags. I want us to be a lifestyle brand…it’s in the pipeline. I won’t put a timeline on it, but we want to broaden the spectrum on what we are.”
Jewelry is only the beginning.
CREATING A LEGACY
Kristin: “We just want people to really love the brand and see us as two people that followed their dreams and made it happen.”
Kofi: “That is essentially the DNA of the brand. It’s just us two coming together to design together and enjoy the product together. That’s what we want for people wearing the brand too. Wear it with your partner, your best friends, your family. Me and Kristin are always together, so the brand is all about togetherness. We hope to evoke that from others. That is our legacy.”
Kristin: “We want the unisex pieces to be a big part of our brand as well. They aren’t starkly designed to be male or female. We try to balance it. I wanted to start Third Crown because I didn’t always like how different a women’s collections and a men’s collections from the same brand could look so different. I wanted it to be a cohesive collection. A man could choose a Third Crown “Women’s” piece and it will still look good.
Kofi: “Masculinity and femininity are fused for us. Third Crown is bold, so if you are a person that likes bold things, you can find something you love regardless of gender. If it fits, rock that joint!”
FAITH:
I asked the couple how they keep going when things get tough in entrepreneurship:
Kofi: “I look back at passed successes. We were less than 2 years old when Beyoncé wore our jewelry all over Paris and recently, we landed some looks on HBO’s Insecure. If we did it before we can do it again. This is not the time to stop.”
Kristin: We celebrate all of our wins no matter how small. Even if you only have one sale a week, then good, that’s a customer! We also confide in each other because we’re going through the same things so we’re able to build each other up. Even if we can’t pick each other up, we can be down together for a little bit.
ADVICE TO YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS:
Kofi: “Don’t use your own money. There are venture capitalists that will give you money for your brand, even before you have product. Don’t take it lightly and make sure that you approach them with a business plan and pitch deck and really understand how you can make revenue. If you do it correctly, you’re bound to land an investor.
Kristin: “Have a mentor. Find someone to guide you because I really don’t believe that you should go into a market blind. You can learn from someone else’s failures.”
Kofi: “Don’t be afraid of failure, because failure builds you up. We’ve learned from our mistakes and fear of failure should never be the reason you stop.”
Featured clothing designers: Obi’s NY, Vincetta Studios, Family First Milano, Bellfield