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DANA GORDON’S JOURNEY OF JEWELS AND EMPOWERMENT

Dana Gordon, 38, founder of the successful jewelry company Dana Rebecca, often questions the materialism of the corporate world. Despite the difficulty of not getting lost in it, she always centers herself when making decisions about her company.

Dana’s family has been in the fine jewelry industry for 50 years, with her father being one of the first diamond cutters in Chicago. Her interest in jewelry started when she and her father went to India to source natural diamonds for his business for her 16th birthday. This led to founding her own creativity and company, ‘It’saDana,’ at 16. “I’ve always been a really creative kid; I loved to make things and be crafty and messy,” Gordon said. This father-daughter trip is where her creative dreams came to life. 

However, as she grew older, her creative side was pushed to the side. “I never considered making jewelry to be more than just a hobby,” Dana said. Throughout her college experience at the University of Texas at Austin, she thought law school was her next step. Instead, Dana followed her dreams. After college, she attended the Gemological Institute of America and, six months later, in 2007, launched ‘Dana Rebecca’.  

Now, Dana’s company has locations in Chicago and New York. She’s learned the importance of working hard, doing what you love, and following her gut. “I have never been motivated enough by money for the decisions that I have made in my career to have been financially driven”, Gordon said. She embraces politics and uses her platform to take a stand. During COVID, she launched ‘Female Founded Friday’ on her Instagram to review and promote products from new female-founded companies. This segment is especially important to Dana because she wants her brand to be about more than just jewelry. As a mother of two daughters, she wants all women to feel supported and loved in timeless jewelry.

‘Dana Rebecca’ will continue to grow with passion. She hopes to continue opening up relationships with strong females while showing her daughters what it means to be one as well.