Building a business as sisters: a love letter to family, craft and Incador
There is a particular kind of ease in building something with someone who has known you your entire life. When people ask what it’s like to grow Incador with my sister Karen, I get reminded of how lucky I am to be doing this with her.
We grew up in a close, family oriented home where creativity and sentiment were part of everyday life, and jewellery was one of the ways we expressed that. Karen and I would always borrow, swap and trade each other’s pieces. She would also collect jewellery from her travels through Greece, Montenegro, Italy and Croatia as small, beautiful mementoes of sun soaked summers by the sea and idyllic evenings spent over long dinners overlooking golden sunsets. Each piece she brought home held onto those moments for her, a way of preserving that effortless feeling of calm and being completely at ease. Even then, Karen understood that jewellery is emotional. It becomes part of the way you remember your life and the moments you never want to let go of.
Neither of us imagined we would ever build a business together, but Incador came to us organically. Choosing a cofounder is often like choosing a partner, someone you make decisions with every single day and someone you trust with the things that matter most. It’s a decision that can feel quite heavy, but for Karen and me, it felt instinctive.
One of the things I value most about working with Karen is how different we are. Our personalities, strengths and weaknesses are beautifully complementary. I’m the one who dreams big, imagining all the possibilities of what Incador could become. Karen is the detail keeper. She is meticulous and organised. She watches over our operations, our supply chain, and all the fine details that ensure every piece meets the standard we hold ourselves to. She grounds me and brings structure to my ideas, and I bring the direction and vision to her precision. The things I shy away from, she enjoys, and the things she avoids, I run towards. It’s a balance that feels effortless because it has always been a part of who we are as sisters.
There is a kind of unfiltered honesty that comes from growing up side by side. We were raised in the same home, shaped by the same values, and that gives us a shared language, one of trust and transparency. We can be direct with each other, even blunt at times, because we know our intentions are aligned. This honesty is part of what makes Incador feel so personal. We care deeply about doing things properly, and we’re meticulous because the work matters to us.
Every design is considered with intention and integrity, and every client is cared for with that same attention.
The most fulfilling part of building Incador hasn’t been the milestones or growth, but being able to share it all with Karen. Creating something so meaningful with someone you love and who knows you better than most gives the work an incredible sense of warmth and purpose. Every achievement feels more meaningful because we experience it together, and every moment of pride naturally extends beyond the two of us to our entire family, and that’s an extremely empowering and emotional feeling.
Incador grew from the values we were raised with, care, gratitude and responsibility to one another. It is built on the belief that jewellery should be personal and intentional, and it’s built on the bond between two sisters who never expected to become business partners but who now can’t imagine doing anything else. Our hope is that when people discover our work, they sense the family story at its core and they feel welcomed into that family.
From our family to yours,
Alice
