From the city where the East meets the West, to the Cradle of the Renaissance, passing by the gem of the Middle East.
Born to a French mother and a Lebanese father, Paola Sleiman was born and raised in Istanbul. Upon graduating high school, she moved to Beirut where she got her Master’s in Interior Architecture. After spending a couple of years working in that field, she took a leap of faith and decided to follow her true passion. This is when she moved to Florence, Italy, to specialize in Jewelry Design.
How it all Started
Paola’s passion for jewelry started in her early childhood, where she would make bracelets and necklaces with plastic beads for her entourage. On her 15th birthday, she received a silver ring with semi-precious gemstones as a gift from her mother, and she never stopped collecting those since then. Together they would go hunting for unique pieces, all handmade with semi-precious stones, mostly from the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul and in little shops located in lesser-known corners of the city.
Later in university, while studying Interior Architecture, Paola realized her attraction to smaller-scaled objects, to the extent that she made her graduation project about Micro-Architecture. After discovering the jewelry created by designers and architects, such as Michele de Lucchi, Arata Isozaki and Zaha Hadid, she knew this would be her path. It is like all the roads, starting from childhood to early adult years, led her to the world of jewelry design.
When specializing in Florence, Paola learnt the traditional ways of designing jewelry, conceptualize pieces and collections, draw and render gemstones and metals using watercolor, and got to experiment behind the bench with the Lost Wax Technique.
Upon her return to Beirut, she launched her brand and has been creating collections and working on private commissions ever since.
Paola’s sketches from her training in Florence
The Brand
PSFJ is a young spirited fine jewelry brand born out of the unique story of its founder, which lies in her multicultural and multidisciplinary nature.
This mix of cultures, along with her interest in various branches of art, such as literature, painting and dancing, which she has been practicing since her childhood, are a major drive in her work. Her academic background in architecture and design gives her a solid base in her work and approach. If jewelry is a small architecture that lives on your body, it should reflect your singularity.
It is in this complexity that Paola digs her inspiration to create timeless pieces and collections for those who value a simple yet singular sophistication, emphasizing on the story behind every piece.
We produce in limited quantities as we believe that luxury pieces should have a certain exclusivity. We also work on commissions for those who wish to translate their own personal stories into timeless and unique jewels.
Our Manifesto
Dive deeper into the brand’s culture by getting to know our vision and values.
OUR VISION
We believe there is a relationship between jewelry and the person who wears it.
Jewelry is not only ornamental. It is like a bridge between us and our memories: sometimes it connects us to previous generations, sometimes to moments, places, events… We want to inspire these connections through the stories our jewelry tells.
SLOW FASHION
As a brand we strive to be part of the Slow Movement.
The slow movement works towards creating an industry that benefits the planet, the animals and all people. Slow fashion is a concept that defines itself being against fast-fashion chains and promotes sustainable and healthy living in an environmentally friendly way. Quality takes over quantity. We do not aim to scale quickly or create items to please the masses. Instead of chasing trends, we strive for long-lasting styles and versatile pieces.
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is an important value to which we are committed. This is why we produce in limited quantities and only replicate upon demand. We exclusively work with local suppliers and workshops, and we advocate for the empowerment of local craftsmen. We deal with the same reputable gemstone suppliers that we did when we first started our brand. As for the gold, we recycle wherever it is possible and try to keep the environmental footprint of our production process as small as we can. Every piece is produced locally in Beirut, and the production of our pieces follows your demand. This is why we have less than 1% waste in overall production. Pieces that have not been sold within 18 months will be sent back to our workshop and recycled into new ones. Like our pieces, our packaging is produced in Beirut, and we are aiming to switch to more eco-friendly packaging in the near future and we use recycled paper for the cards we print.
Ethical Workplace Practices
We exclusively work with a local workshop where craftsmen are in good working conditions with fair pay. It is important to us that the working conditions on site are in line with our values.
Giving Back
In the aftermath of the financial crisis in Lebanon, we started an initiative to gather food donations for underprivileged families. The launch of this initiative on our social media helped us reach out a bigger number of people and gather more donations, which have been distributed with the help of a local NGO.
Have a Custom Order?
Contact our team with a small description of what you have in mind. We will shortly respond and help develop your idea, following your budget.
