Our Story
Hi! My name is Diana and I am the founder of Gemilia.
Growing up, my parents always instilled in my sister and I the importance of always looking our best, and thus my love for fashion, style and makeup was born. Jewelry has always been my favorite part of getting ready. That moment when you’re finally done and you just need to pop on the perfect pair of earrings, and a mix of some rings to feel like you’re complete to go.
In more recent years I began to notice a lack of accessibility when it came to trendy jewelry. Whenever I needed to shop for an outfit, I knew exactly what shops to go to. But for jewelry, I was always stuck googling new sites or searching on Instagram for shops. This combined with a trip I took to Bali, Indonesia last year, amplified a small thought that had been in the back of my mind for a few years: create your own jewelry line. I spent hours in flea markets in Bali racking up on beautiful pieces that were good quality at amazing prices. And so I came back from that trip thinking just how much I wanted to curate collections for boys and girls that love beautiful things just as much as I do.
Tragedy struck my family with the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, which caused my father to pass. My father meant more to me than I can ever put into words. His passing hit me so hard that In that moment I decided to quit this little dream of mine. But something told me to keep going, and a few weeks later I finally decided that I needed to finish what I had started to make my dad proud. He wouldn’t want me to quit my dreams, that’s not how he raised me. When it came to finally name this business, I couldn’t come up with any names at first. And when I decided that I wanted to dedicate it to my dad, I realized that his initials (Gustavo Eduardo Mota) spelled out the word“GEM”- Something that’s related to jewelry and in that moment I knew with every living cell in my body that this is what god, the universe, and my father have given me the blessing to do.
Gem•ilia is not only dedicated to my father, but to my famILIA as well. Those that are related by blood but also friends that I have a bond so strong with that I consider them family too.
So I hope that when you shop with us and put on a piece of our jewelry, you feel good in how you look and that gives you the confidence to conquer anything that you want. Just like my parents told my sister and I: when you look good you feel good. Nothing can stop you.