Family legacy, energy build growing company

POSITIVELY SHINING: The success of Alex and Ani bangles allows company founder and designer Carolyn Rafaelian to give back to her community. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
POSITIVELY SHINING: The success of Alex and Ani bangles allows company founder and designer Carolyn Rafaelian to give back to her community. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Carolyn Rafaelian can’t wait to get up in the morning and come to work. She expects her employees feel the same way.
She has a lot to look forward to. Two years ago, her company, named after her first two daughters, was 25 employees large. Today, she employs 240 Rhode Islanders.
Rafaelian is the owner and designer of Alex and Ani, a Cranston-headquartered jewelry company that designs pieces promoting positive energy.
How can one young company handle such billowing growth?
“I have a phenomenal team,” said Rafaelian. “The people that are part of this right now are literally divinely put here. I say that to them all the time, ‘There is no mistake that you were meant to be put here.’ ”
Spirituality permeates every part of Rafaelian’s life. As a result, it’s an integral part of her business as well. Each week, Alex and Ani sells hundreds of thousands of bangles adorned with symbolic charms, representing the Tree of Life, Star of Venus, or St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers.
Nancy Carriuolo, president of Rhode Island College, discovered Alex and Ani a few years ago.
“I was just really taken with the fact that the whole company reflects her personality and her look,” said Carriuolo, who wears a bangle and charm that represents leadership.
The jewelry is handmade. When Carriuolo visited Rafaelian’s factory, she described the near-silence as “serene.” Instead of the blaring sounds of machines, the factory was filled with workers assembling each piece.
Rafaelian and her family inherited the 25,000-square-foot factory from her father, Ralph Rafaelian, a jewelry maker in Rhode Island. So in a very real way, founding Alex and Ani was a way for Rafaelian to return to her roots. And in doing so, she wanted to give back to her community. Through Alex and Ani’s Charity By Design, Rafaelian has partnered with local and national charities – 135 in the last year – to help raise funds. With many of the partnerships, Alex and Ani creates a unique charm to represent the charity. A portion of the proceeds from each Charity By Design item is donated directly to the charity.
“Because these bracelets have such a unique and strong message with them, it only made sense,” said Rafaelian. “The more you have, the more you have to give. And we’re giving back as we grow.”
Rafaelian takes giving back to her Rhode Island community a step further. Material for her jewelry is made from recycled metal from nearby mills and refineries. In turn, Alex and Ani sells its scraps back to the mills. Rafaelian said the eco-friendly origin of her work is reflected in the spirit of the products.
The first Alex and Ani retail store opened in Newport in 2009. Today, the business has expanded into Providence, East Greenwich and Cranston, and stores are up and down the East Coast. Alex and Ani products are also sold in Japan, Spain, Kuwait, Canada, South Korea and Israel.
But it doesn’t stop there. This year, Alex and Ani hopes to penetrate markets in San Francisco, Red Bank, N.J., Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Denver and into the Middle East and South America. &#8226

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