ELLIOT & OSTRICH

Elliot & Ostrich creates expressive jewellery that tells a personal story. The company wanted to make its design and production process more scalable. Creating jewellery with hundreds of possible combinations makes the process complex and time consuming.

Elliot & Ostrich’s ambition is to grow and continue to provide a unique customer experience. They explored the possibilities of AI to automate the personalised design workflow. This requires significant investment. Alternative solutions, such as an online 2D configurator, also offer scalable options for customised designs.

Elliot & Ostrich is the jewellery brand of entrepreneurs Jennifer Elliot and Sylvie Arts, and is proud to bear the Antwerp's Most Brilliant label. In their unique space, 'The Nest', they offer customers a personalised experience to help them choose the perfect piece of jewellery. Elliot & Ostrich is ambitious and aims to grow while maintaining this unique customer experience. They have embarked on an innovation project with the city of Antwerp. In collaboration with Verhaert | Masters in Innovation, they developed a 2D simulator to better assist their increasing international clientele.

Hi Sylvie, what a beautiful place!
Yes, isn't it? We're very happy with it, too. As a high-end jewellery brand, we want to offer our customers the full experience. Our pieces are handmade and of the highest quality. We offer a timeless collection, and we also add a personal story from each customer to their jewellery. Our mission is to enable people to tell their life story through jewellery. We work with great passion on this every day. We operate only by appointment to give our undivided attention to our visitors. It works, too: our conversion rate is around 80%. Every encounter grows into a relationship.

But you want more?
That's right. We are ambitious and want to grow sustainably. Not by simply opening an online shop, though, because then we would lose the personal touch that defines us. We searched for a long time for a way to scale up without losing our identity. Every piece of jewellery we design offers hundreds of possibilities. That's why we teamed up with Verhaert | Masters in Innovation on the “Diamond and Jewellery” innovation projects run by the City of Antwerp. Together, we investigated how we could visualise that complexity.

What was the first step?
First, we explored the possibilities of AI. Although numerous tools offered great potential, they proved too inconsistent for direct use in sales conversations, even with good prompts. In the next phase, we developed a 2D configurator, integrating all the gemstones, diamonds and existing photos. This allows us to visualise colour combinations and patterns and optimally guide and inspire our customers. That tool is now ready to launch.

What other advantages does this tool offer?
It helps us create visuals for the website and ensures that we don't build up unnecessary stock. Customers can see everything without us having to produce extra items. We can also switch more quickly and show our customers the personalisation options remotely. We only start production when the customer is completely satisfied.

How did you find collaborating with the City of Antwerp and Verhaert | Masters in Innovation?
Very good. As I come from a corporate background, it felt familiar to work with professionals. They really thought along with us and tailored their approach to our capabilities and investment scope. They challenged us and brought inspiration from other sectors. It was incredibly refreshing.

What else would you like to achieve?
We want to roll out the concept of our total experience, 'The Nest', internationally at strategic locations. But we also want to increase our digital presence. However, we mustn't lose our DNA, which is still a tough nut to crack. The simulator is a good first step. Alongside a high-performance website and other smart tools, we want to build strong customer profiles. Customers should be able to share their collection or wish list (their 'ultimate stack') with their partner or family, and we want to show them which pieces match their existing jewellery. This way, we can work with our customers to create a unique, timeless collection that tells their personal story and can be passed on to the next generation.

What advice would you have liked to have received when you started out?
That guidance would have been extremely valuable. At first, I thought, 'Fake it till you make it.' But as a start-up, you have to do everything at once: HR, finance, marketing, sales... It's important to be open about your strengths and weaknesses and to seek guidance. Brainstorming with other entrepreneurs is incredibly valuable. Fortunately, many organisations in Belgium encourage this, such as Voka, Flanders DC, and the city of Antwerp.