International Students Bring Family Business to Fredericton
FREDERICTON — The three Boquin sisters say they come from a family of super-powerful women, the type of women who start a business sharing a part of their culture in a new country.
Vam Vam Jewelry was started by Valeria Boquin and her twin sister Monica, who moved to Fredericton from Honduras to go to St. Thomas University in 2018. When they went home for Christmas, they were inspired by the entrepreneurial women in their family.
“One of my aunts had cancer when I left and the way she managed to survive and sustain her family was through jewelry,” said Valeria Boquin.
The girls decided they would try the same thing in Canada. Their aunt gave them a two-day crash course and some materials. After they got back to Canada, Boquin continued teaching herself to make rings, earrings, hair clips, necklaces and bracelets.
“Now I find myself just grabbing the materials and just making things out of inspiration,” said Boquin.
When she first started selling in 2019, her first clients were international students. Boquin could see how her jewelry could relate to them and what they wear back home.
“So that’s how I started growing, and little by little starting to get into the Canadian market. Now I see more New Brunswickers or around Canada into [my] jewelry,” said Boquin.
Customers say her jewelry is colourful and different from things they’ve seen before. This might have to do with the trends and styles from Honduras that Boquin introduces to the Canadian market.
“It’s definitely been a challenge but people have been very into it,” said Boquin. “They have accepted it very well and they are very interested and supportive so I’m really thankful about it.”
As a student who needs to pay for her education, Boquin said she sometimes doesn’t have the time or energy to give herself fully to her business. During the school year, Boquin has many part-time jobs and a handful of extracurriculars. Boquin’s sister has to retire from the business because of her own heavy workload. Boquin’s younger sister Alessandra is currently is helping from home in Honduras.
“I don’t think it’s been growing as I was hoping it would grow because I couldn’t put my whole energy in it and now I definitely see a difference right now in summer when I can,” said Boquin, who continued to operate the business during the summer months.
Despite these challenges, she said it is really rewarding to make a product you are proud of.
“It took me a while to be very sure of my products,” said Boquin. “Learning to accept that it goes as it goes…has allowed me to believe more and to see more positive things and also to work really hard on what I want.”
Most of her materials still come from Honduras, but because of Covid, she has been incorporating materials from New Brunswick. Vam Vam has upgraded to using materials like gold as they try to make their business more sustainable.
“We are reducing the amount of waste, we don’t use plastic in our (online) store anymore,” said Boquin. “We make sure the material quality is very good quality so if they last long the less you have to buy.”
For every sale, Vam Vam donates a portion to RAICES (Refugee & Immigrant Center for Education & Legal Services), Honduras Agape Foundation and Venezuela 180. In the future, they want to partner with more organizations in New Brunswick.
“For us, it’s really important the fact that we are not just making something that makes a profit but feeling like we are making an impact and helping others,” said Boquin.
What have the girls been up to lately? This past summer Valeria was part of Planet Hatch‘s Newcomer Accelerator program. Vam Vam has also launched a new collection called +504, which is exclusively made from materials from Honduras.
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Rachel Smith is an intern for Huddle. Send her story suggestions: [email protected].