How a jewellery start up navigated a down market
An Interview with The Post
We recently sat down with Aimee Shaw from The Post to share the story behind BY TONIN.
It was an opportunity to look back at our journey since launching in July 2025 and discuss how we are managing the realities of today's retail landscape from our Auckland home.
Here is a look at the core themes from our conversation, including some direct reflections from our co-founder, Carlo Tonin.
A Focused Approach
The brand originally started as a personal project and a canvas for Mia’s artwork. From the beginning, our goal has been to offer an intentional alternative to crowded online storefronts.
"Websites feel very crowded with hundreds of designs to the extent it makes the experience feel a bit transactional, and we wanted to do the opposite to that."
As Carlo shares, we choose to focus on a small range of products, selecting designs that use a base of sterling silver finished with a thick layer of 18K gold. For us, jewellery is tied closely to milestones and daily rituals. We wanted to capture that specific feeling of putting on a favourite piece and finding a sense of confidence for the day ahead.
"Early on we had this very clear image in our mind of someone getting ready for their day and then putting on their favourite piece and having that wonderful feeling of 'OK, I'm ready now' - and that's the confidence and ritual we want to bring."
Navigating a Challenging Market
Operating a small business right now means confronting a cost-of-living crisis alongside sharp increases in raw materials. In the last 12 months alone, gold went up 36% and silver rose around 129%.
"This whole economic environment that we are in right now forces us to to build a resilient strategy from day one rather than relying on an easy market, so we're doubling down on the things that we can control..."
By focusing strictly on what we can control, like maintaining a curated collection of between 25 to 30 total pieces, we are building structural discipline directly into our business model.
A Long-Term Mindset
One of the most valuable pieces of advice we received early on was to establish ourselves as a company rather than testing the waters as sole traders. While it felt like a major step at the time, it shifted our entire outlook.
"At the time it felt like a big leap, but I have to say that it completely changed our mindset towards the business, and forced us to look at BY TONIN as a serious, scalable brand, instead of just a hobby that we were doing on the side..."
As we look toward our first anniversary next month, that long-term view shapes everything next for us. We are currently preparing a new collection featuring solid gold and lab-grown diamonds to tap into the heirloom space. Over the next three years, we plan to expand into physical environments, introducing curated pop-ups and eventually a flagship store to bring a tactile, real-world experience to the brand.
You can read the full feature on The Post website or via The Press.
