A mother-daughter duo that fell in love with jewelry designs in 2010 has since created a booming business full of unique pieces that reflect their Hispanic heritage and tell culturally significant stories through stylish necklaces, bracelets and more.
Patricia Fontaneda fell in love with jewelry design when she found evil eye bracelets on a trip to Miami and brought back some extra pieces to resell to her friends in Spain.
With guidance from her mom, Patricia Josa, who studied business administration in Venezuela, the pair launched Ibiza Passion -- a jewelry line infused with ancient traditions and amulets with a modern twist to offer pieces that resonate with contemporary consumers.
"Our pieces have to have a story and meaning behind it," Fontaneda told "Good Morning America," adding that they strive "to make it very chic and elegant" with convertible and detachable pieces to "take it from day to night."
"We started with what was very familiar to us, which is our faith," she said of one of the inaugural pieces. "We grew up in very Catholic countries, Spain and Venezuela, so we started with a Lord's Prayer so that you could say the entire prayer in a bracelet. We started seeing them everywhere, people started copying that design, so from then on we registered all of our own designs" and they officially pivoted from wholesale to retail.
Fontaneda, who like her mom also goes by Pati, was born and raised in Venezuela before moving to Spain at 11 years old where both sides of her parents' families are from. Their family eventually ended up in Miami, where she finished high school, later graduated from Florida International University with a degree in communications and now have a brick and mortar jewelry store in Glenvar Heights.
"[Faith] was one of the biggest things that always held us together and that kept us very centered in the tough times when we had to transition from country to country," Fontaneda, now 36, recalled. "That was a hard transition for us. I remember my mom taking us to church every Sunday." She said her mother would tell her and her younger brother Luis, "We're gonna find our little niche here, we're gonna make it work."
"Seven years ago, we created what is now our bestseller, the scapular necklace, one on your chest to guide you and one on your back to protect you," she said.
The necklace is a unisex religious symbol of devotion for Catholics, traditionally made of cloth or wool with two tags affixed on opposite ends to represent free graces.
"We needed to give it a more modern meaning without interfering with what it actually means," Fontaneda said, noting that they created pendants to "move around" like a charm on a necklace. "We were getting so many requests of these scapulars because people liked it so much that we started making it in rose gold with little rhinestones and in different colors. Then we kind of jumped into other faiths and other religions."
They made scapular pendants in an evil eye design to represent Greek culture. They followed that design with the hamsa hand that's common in Jewish and Islamic cultures, and the Om sign from Buddhism.
"The fact that it has a story behind it of protection and guidance has made it easier to enter markets that are maybe not as religious," Fontaneda said.
While some of their bestselling designs have subtle nods to religious stories, Fontaneda explained that meaningful pieces "don't have to be a huge cross or something." Their line of fiery heart designs known as "detente hearts," which translates as "to stop" in Spanish, were originally worn by soldiers as an amulet for protection in the 1800s.
"We took that as a concept and designed a whole line of sacred hearts and gave it a new meaning," Fontaneda said, explaining how the pieces are meant to "remind the person wearing it to stop all the things that prevent you from growing -- be it fears, insecurities or comparisons."
Josa, 60, told "GMA" that they use culture and history from other countries to inspire new jewelry designs, such as gold nuggets that resemble the raw ones her husband bought in the '70s, mined from the Amazon River. In referencing Greek mythology and the story of King Midas, Fontaneda explained that like raw gold nuggets' imperfections "are actually what make you unique."
Another thing Fontaneda said sets their jewelry apart is how it's representative of encouraging beliefs.
"We don't believe in luck per se. We believe in you creating your own future," she said. "The pieces we create are encouraging so that sometimes when you forget that along the way -- whenever you wear this it's a reminder -- like with the gold nuggets, you might think 'hey we're not the perfect size right now, but you're perfect."
In addition to using highest quality materials like the gold which Josa sources from Spain to ensure their jewelry hypoallergenic and water resistant, the mom and daughter designers keep functional versatility top of mind with pieces like dangly earrings that can be worn multiple ways with ease by simply unhooking, flipping or detaching part of the design.
"Working with my mom has been a blessing. There's no one that understands me and supports me like her," Fontaneda said. "Something that we learned very early on is to admire each other's strengths and our weaknesses. She is great at developing products and will see something that might become trendy -- she has that kind of vision."
Josa commended her daughter for being "very good" at all things advertising, communication and developing their brand image.
"For me, it's a wonderful company because we make beautiful things and I can see my daughter and my son every day," Josa, who oversees the sourcing, materials and design trends, said of their business. The whole company has become a family affair with Luis now helping behind the scenes with accounting.
Like many small and female-owned businesses, especially during the pandemic, Fontaneda said their journey has "been such a roller coaster."
"The ups are always amazing and the downs are just so low. But we're very excited to have our items be so recognized," Fontaneda said. "I've been on flights and I've seen people wearing a scapular. That makes all the ups and downs worthwhile. It's been incredible for for me to share that as a family."
Josa echoed her daughter's sentiments and added, "At the end of the day, everything works out."
As a mother now herself with another baby on the way, Fontaneda recently developed a new line of fine 14K gold jewelry for babies with "little earrings, Catholic heirlooms for baptisms [and] a little angel," among other things.
To date, Ibizza Passion has created over 35 registered designs with a presence in more than 20 countries around the world and Fontaneda said she's been thrilled to see their latest capsule collection of hearts made with natural stones "doing really well" adding that they're "going to expand on that trend next year."
Check out a few of each of their favorite designs to shop below.
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Virgin & sacred heart 18K gold & 925 Sterling silver plated. Water resistant. Chain Length: 24'' Medal: 0.6'' x 0.4'' No clasp closure - meant to be placed over your head. Sliding medals to use one in front & another in the back or both at front.
18k Gold Plated. Turquoise Stones. Water Resistant. Heart: 1" x 0.8" approx. Chain Length: 17.5''approx. Extension: 2'' approx.
18k Gold Plated. Water Resistant. Length: 6.9" approx. 2'' ext. upon request Oval size: .25' Comes in a complimentary velvet box.
This versatile design is inspired by gold nuggets. Raw, imperfect, yet beautiful. The earrings can be worn me in many different ways with a little hook behind the earring for you to detach and add as your look demands!
Sacred Heart, St Benedict & Victory Cross. 18k Gold Plated. Water Resistant. Length: 17.3" approx. Heart: 1.25" approx.
18k Gold Plated; Emerald Crystal, Zircon. Water Resistant. Cross: 0.7" x 0.4" aprox. Sizes: 5, 6, 7 & 8.
