As the Creative Director of local jewellery label Naveya & Sloane, Rachel Sloane oversees the vision of the brand she launched in 2010. From designing the look and feel of a campaign to store fit outs to customer experience, she and her partner work with a team of 14 in their headquarters in Central Auckland, where they produce gorgeous fine jewellery and engagement rings. "I am very passionate about creating a company that is of a world class standard and something that New Zealand can be proud of."
How did you get to where you are today?
I work alongside my partner, Alex Bunnett, and together we make a wonderful team. We are very lucky in the sense that our skill sets are quite different and we are both very passionate about what we do. Being surrounded by an amazing team is also critical and we have 14 staff at the NS headquarters, whom I admire. We would most definitely not have reached our goals today without these key people. We do try to work with the best of the best and we all work very hard to keep the train moving.
What is your leadership style?
We are a team, we listen and help each other. I tend to hire people who are naturally driven, which makes managing them a lot easier. Being in a senior position, I always aim to be supportive to ensure that everyone feels like they are free to design their own day. Working in a fast-growing company you need to let go and give people freedom to flourish. As a creative company with a core focus on design, I believe it is important to nurture creativity and inspire each other to reach above and beyond what we think is possible. I believe this is best achieved by creating a supportive culture where it's okay to give things a go, and fail. For me, passion, drive and a good eye for detail go a long way and our main goal is to hire the right people at the right time with the right attitude. It takes many hands to make light work and, although we are a team with a broad skill set, it is extremely important for us all to have the same vision and to work toward the same goals.
A defining career moment?
A defining moment would be when we set up our jewellery workshop on site at our Queen St studio. A year beforehand it seemed like an impossible goal, where almost all workshops in the industry are 30- to 50- and some even 100-plus years old. This meant that we could really refine our processes and control the quality, from design to the finished product. We are now a specialist manufacturing jeweller, in New Zealand and with over 100 years experience in our workshop.
What is the best career advice that you have received?
Never ever ever ever ever give up and to keep it simple.
