Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** This piece explores how Ariane Ernst built a love brand by blending craftsmanship, attitude, and Instagram savvy.
Deluxe & Destinations
April 15, 2025
How Ariane Ernst Built a Love Brand Through Craftsmanship, Attitude, and Instagram
Author: Business Punk Redaktion
She is a designer, founder, and retailer of beautiful things. Her trademarks: a love for fine craftsmanship, minimalist design, and the firm belief that you can build a love brand with social media even without a huge starting capital. In the Business Punk podcast “How to Marketing,” host Phillip Böndel speaks with Ariane Ernst, jewelry designer, entrepreneur, and CEO of Ariane Ernst Jewelry.
Phillip: Ariane, welcome to the podcast studio. Before we talk about your brand, how does one become a jewelry designer?
“In retrospect, everything makes sense: I did my school internship in a goldsmith’s workshop, and my second one in marketing. Today, my job combines both. I was fascinated that I could create something with my hands that you can actually touch and wear. After stints in Brussels, Vienna, New York, and Stockholm, I finally ended up in Düsseldorf and founded my label in 2013.”
Phillip: You never had a business plan, but always believed in yourself. Was there any resistance?
“Fortunately, no. My mother supported me as long as there was no stagnation. My resume is seamless: high school diploma, goldsmith training in Vienna, design studies in Düsseldorf, H&M design internship in Stockholm, master’s degree, and then founding the company immediately.”
Phillip: New York sounds glamorous, but it was also hardcore hustle. What did you learn there about entrepreneurship?
“That creativity without business is useless. In New York, I worked seven days a week in a jewelry gallery. You see how much jewelry people actually buy, how important pricing and storytelling are, and that you have to fight for every square meter of rent.”
Phillip: You financed your first collections entirely yourself, with side jobs and night shifts. When did you realize, ‘Okay, this is going to be bigger than a one-woman show’?
“2016 was the ‘crazy year.’ Influencers posted my jewelry for free, and the online shop exploded. I literally packed packages day and night. That’s when I knew: I need a team, and later a GmbH as well.”
Phillip: You talk a lot about packaging. Why is the box almost as important to you as the ring?
“Packaging is appreciation. Our shipping boxes are made from Gemünd paper, the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of papers. Customers collect the boxes because they are so beautiful. That’s pure branding: a marketing lever that works every day.”
Phillip: Social media was your turbo. Would Ariane Ernst Jewelry be conceivable without Instagram?
“Honestly? No. I didn’t have a trade fair budget, so I contacted influencers and produced content. Today, social media accounts for about 70 percent of sales, but pop-ups are just as important because people want to experience the jewelry.”
Phillip: You are a designer, CEO, and mother. Where do you get new ideas?
“Inspiration is my island. Yesterday I was at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Furniture design meets fashion and art there, which is exactly my thing. I come back with 100 sketches in my head.”
Phillip: Craftsmanship is experiencing a comeback. Do you feel that too?
“Absolutely. We manufacture locally, work with recycled gold, and create unique pieces from melted down old gold. The more digital the world, the more precious real craftsmanship becomes.”
Phillip: Imagine someone gives you a million euros. What would you do with it?
“Build the most beautiful store in the world, an experience space where packaging, interior, and jewelry become a total work of art. And of course, even more community events where people can feel the story behind each piece.”
To learn more about Ariane’s journey, her pop-up concept, and the power of Gemünd paper, listen to the full episode of “How to Marketing” here.
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