Shop Small is a monthly series highlighting small business owners from diverse backgrounds. This series aims to go deeper than your typical product roundup, diving into the inspirational stories behind some of our favorite brands. By taking a behind-the-scenes look at how their shops came to be and highlighting the products they (and their shoppers!) love, we hope to put a deserving spotlight on these marginalized business owners.
Jewelry designer Trisha Okubo's mother was one of Silicon Valley's first female engineers, so it makes sense that she started her career in tech. Okubo held various tech roles at fashion startups and companies like eBay Fashion, where she was the Global Product Manager, and worked as the U.S. Product Manager for eBay's homepage.
But at night, Okubo indulged her creative side. She carved out time to study fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in L.A. During a year off, she stumbled onto jewelry design.
Fast forward to 2016, when Okubo founded the jewelry brand, Maison Miru. Known for its nap earrings, which have flat backs that are typically used for cartilage piercings instead of traditional earring backings, the Maison Miru collection ranges from titanium hoops to elegant rope necklaces. Plus, they're easy to mix and match — much like a makeup palette. "No matter what, it all goes together," Okubo says.
Here, Okubo gives us a glimpse into her world, sharing about Maison Miru's early days, the brand's most popular jewelry designs and her commitment to sustainability.
"By nature, jewelry is inclusive and doesn't discriminate in the way clothing can." — Trisha Okubo
Shop Maison Miru
Floating Sphere Signet Ring
Heirloom Necklace
Poet Bracelet
How did you come to launch Maison Miru?
I grew up in Silicon Valley, studied engineering in college and went to fashion school at night. I started my career in tech, but I also worked at eBay Fashion and fashion startups. I basically lived a double life for a number of years.
Eventually, I quit my jobs and took a gap year. Then, I tried a bunch of different things and jewelry really stuck. I love the beauty of jewelry and making things with my hands. I can come up with an idea, sit on a bench and actually turn it into a reality without getting up.
What are the brand's main selling points?
When it came to jewelry, I didn't find anything out there that I liked. Maison Miru is not fast fashion jewelry, but it's also not so expensive that I'm afraid to wear it. There's something so beautiful about the idea of a palette that's not just for kids. It's for adults to play as well. This was happening on the beauty side, but not on the jewelry side, especially if you don't know how to put stuff together. I made the jewelry collection really easy to use. No matter what, it all goes together.
“That’s why it was so important to make Maison Miru a place where everyone belongs — we make jewelry for her, for him, for them, for everyone.” — Trisha Okubo
Do you have an ideal customer in mind?
I don't have one ideal customer. By nature, jewelry is inclusive and doesn't discriminate in the way clothing can. I want this brand to be inclusive.
How does your culture influence the brand?
I'm half Japanese, half Chinese and I grew up fully American, which means I’ve always felt like an outsider, no matter where I am. My Asian friends see me as very Americanized, and the rest of the world sees me as an Other, and I never really felt like I had a place where I really belonged. That’s why it was so important to make Maison Miru a place where everyone belongs — we make jewelry for her, for him, for them, for everyone.
I've also always been very inspired by my family. My mother was one of the very earliest engineers. She was an aerospace engineer and dealt with a lot of discrimination and sexism, and she always encouraged me.
What's the significance of the brand's name?
The name Maison Miru is a combination of French and Japanese. "Maison" is "house" in French and "miru" is the Japanese word for "to see." I've always loved the Japanese focus on attention to detail and doing things better.
I want to encourage people to open their eyes and embrace creativity, because when you look at what's going on in the world, we need more connection and community. I'm not going to solve world hunger, but what I can do is bring people together. I can encourage people to actually be creative.
What were some of Maison Miru's early jewelry designs and what's most popular now?
We launched with the Ear Bar in 2016, and it included traditional studs, hoops and ear cuffs. This was before piercings went mainstream. Thanks to requests from the piercing community, we also started making flat backs, which were traditionally used for cartilage piercings. For the first time, we started making them for regular lobe piercings, and we call them Nap Earrings. They’re designed to leave in 24/7, so you never have to take them out.
Our other bestsellers are titanium hoops. They're super lightweight, so they don’t make your ears hurt, and the medical grade titanium is somehow both durable for life and safe for sensitive skin. Because titanium is so lightweight, we can make hoops bigger and still super comfortable.
Maison Miru’s Bubble Lock Necklace, which is made of recycled stainless steel, is available in both silver and gold-plated finishes.
What Maison Miru pieces do you wear regularly?
The two pieces I wear all the time are the Bubble Lock Necklace and the Signet Ring. I purposely made the Signet Ring blank, because I wanted it to represent possibility. It's not just about looking at the past. It's also adjustable, so I can move it around to different fingers.
How do you think about sustainability when designing jewelry?
Our commitment to sustainability is focusing our collection on performance metals that won't ever tarnish, and that way, we can keep jewelry out of landfills. We hosted an event called the Earth Day Earring Exchange, which was really a party we threw to celebrate our commitment to converting 100% of our collection to performance metals by the end of 2024.
For the event, we asked our customers to bring in tarnished jewelry from any brand to exchange for a new piece of jewelry from us. I didn't know this idea would be so resonant. It turns out that it’s not just me who has a pile of tarnished jewelry at the bottom of her jewelry box!
I couldn’t bear to throw this tarnished jewelry out because of my “zero waste” immigrant values, so I decided to do something about it. I wanted to take everybody’s tarnished jewelry and turn it into something beautiful and new. The brass and sterling silver most costume jewelry is made of are actually perfectly good metals. They’re just not meant to be forever jewelry, since they naturally tarnish. So, I’m going to recycle these metals and make them into something they were meant to be. Stay tuned on this one — we haven’t announced the next phase of the Earth Day Earring Exchange project yet!
Monique Valeris
Home Design Director
Monique Valeris is the home design director for Good Housekeeping, where she oversees the brand's home decorating coverage across print and digital. Prior to joining GH in 2020, she was the digital editor at Elle Decor. In her current role, she explores everything from design trends and home tours to lifestyle product recommendations, including writing her monthly column, "What's in My Cart."
