Janet Heller made that now infamous GOAT necklace for Superstar Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles and the whole world went GOAT Crazy!
This year’s global commercial for a single piece of jewelry may in itself be the GOAT!
The Greatest Of All Time! LOL
I got caught up in GOAT fever myself, and after watching the intricate making of Simone Biles 3D Diamond Goat Necklace on Janet Heller Fine Jewelry’s Instagram, I took a shot and sent a warm private Instagram invite to Janet Heller to join me on The Debbie Nigro Show.
It made me smile and shake my head in a good way, that the whole world was now paying attention to this talented female entrepreneur. Wow. Talk about a public relations opportunity! LOL
I somehow felt compelled (woman to woman) to congratulate her and tell her how happy I was for this stupendous attention for her and her company because first, she deserved the recognition for her talent and integrity, and second because I know how much harder it is for women entrepreneurs who are also mothers, to succeed in business.
And in my usual “Risk it! or Regret it!, spirit, I invited Janet to come take a bow on my show even though I was sure there were much bigger networks who’d be clamoring for her attention.
I was pleasantly surprised when she messaged me back and took me up on the offer.
Told her was I was very proud to have her on my show and proud that she must have trusted me to tell her story.
(Like her I try to bring peoples stories to life in a unique and meaningful way.)
Janet said,
“Thank you so much. I really am so excited to be on your show today.
Yes, that’s right. I mean, we’ve got thousands and thousands of requests.
It’s overwhelming. I cannot even keep up with it.
My social media team can’t keep up with it. But for some reason, I just, I don’t know, I was drawn to you and your message and here we are.”
Every hard-working entrepreneur knows getting good PR for their business is incredibly valuable and rewarding. But the Global free PR Janet got in the 2024 Olympics is the most extraordinary free PR I’ve ever seen.
Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles commissioned her exquisite GOAT piece she showed off during the 2024 Olympics, from Janet Heller Fine Jewelry in Calabasas, CA. to commemorate her remarkable achievements and undeniable legacy. She sure does have a legacy as the GOAT, and Janet said she was a joy to work with.
NBC reported, “Simone Biles says she knew people would ‘go crazy’ over her Goat Necklace.”
Janet’s legacy is that she and her company, Janet Heller Fine Jewelry have been crafting exquisite, personalized pieces for discerning clients for 15 years.They’re a premier custom jeweler in Calabasas, renowned for their meticulous attention to detail and an unwavering commitment to quality. Janet Heller has become the go-to choice for those seeking unique, meaningful jewelry.
BTW: That stunning 3D GOAT necklace (Greatest Of All Time) has 546 diamonds! Also, no small feat!
How did she do that?
Janet said:
“Well, so a lot of jewelry can be made where when you make the wax of the piece, once you’ve done the CAD image and you’ve done the rendering and then you go and you make the wax, a lot of times you can have the little holes for the diamonds in the wax. So when you print the wax, it already has a hole for the diamond.
But I don’t like to do that. I like to have my diamond setters drill each and every hole by hand. Just, you know, these are master artisans, master craftsmen, and that will enable the necklace to last so much longer. I mean, we want it to last forever, basically. And it’s just an incredible art that they do. They have to wear those, you know, almost binocular glasses type things. They do it by hand. It takes a very long time and we pick the diamonds out beforehand so we have them all laid out. We know the size and then you have to look at each stone, drill each hole so that it fits that stone and it’s just the craftsmanship and the quality is just unmatched in my humble I think that’s the most important thing.”
Janet has come a long way over her 15 years in business and I wondered now that she was having this amazing global moment of acknowledgement, what she remembered from when she first started out?
“When I first started out, my first necklace I made was a LOVE necklace. That’s how I feel about jewelry and about selling jewelry. I want to share the love. I love jewelry. I want to bring the love to everybody. I want to make it accessible to everybody. I started with one piece, a love necklace. Somebody bought that from me and then somebody else noticed it on them. They asked where she got it from, and then in turn came to me. Really, that’s how my business has grown, very organically and mostly word of mouth, which to me is the biggest compliment any jeweler or artist or entrepreneur can have.”
Word of mouth is sure very loud right now for Janet Heller Fine Jewelry and that 3D Diamond GOAT necklace, and people have been asking her to make one for them. Will she?
“I’m not gonna replicate that particular iteration of the goat necklace that is exclusively for Simone. It’s so representative of her accomplishments, her achievements, and so I do not want to replicate that because I feel that Simone is one of a kind and I want that necklace to be one of a kind as well. So I will not be making any other piece of jewelry that is an exact replica of that goat. I feel that if somebody wants something custom, that we should make it about them, about their story, their milestones and not about somebody else’s. Although I’m so flattered that people would want me to replicate it, but I feel like it’s such a personal representation of somebody’s story.”
Janet also was commissioned to create the Olympic rings necklace, symbolizing Simone Biles’ journey through multiple Olympic Games. Jordan Chiles, another gymnastic powerhouse wears several Janet Heller pieces that celebrate both her athletic achievements and personal milestones. Her collection includes a 14KT Gold & Diamond Olympic Rings Necklace, a custom diamond tennis bracelet and a diamond necklace bearing her nickname “Baby Jo,”
Janet said,
“Yes, and it all started with Tara Davis Woodhall, who is an Olympic long jumper. And Tara went to school with my daughter. They went to middle school and high school together. Wow. And Tara reached out right before the Tokyo Olympics for us to make her an Olympic diamond rings necklace and Simone saw the necklace on Tara and Jordan Chiles saw it on Tara as well, and they both reached out to me to make them a diamond Olympic rings necklace as well. “
Janet Heller’s company originally was called The Foundry and only recently changed it’s name to Janet Heller Fine Jewelry.
“Yes, it was named something else and we felt that it just wasn’t personal enough and my daughter actually encouraged me to change the name of the company to my name, and honestly, I think it’s crazy how we changed our name and then all of this happened. I feel like we were manifesting when we did that”.
Janet grew up in South Africa and I wondered when she was a little girl did she want jewelry instead of dolls?
“Funny thing is I played with dolls a lot, Barbie dolls, until I was a much older age than most other girls and I kind of used to play with one of my best girlfriends and we used to kind of hide the fact that we played with dolls.
But my mom is an incredible artist too. She’s a knitter and a crocheter and she used to make us these most incredible outfits for the dolls and then we would also make like with beads, we would make jewelry. I always wanted them to be adorned with jewelry. My mom loved jewelry too, albeit costume jewelry and my grandmother too, but I just always had beads on and necklaces and bracelets and just always wanted to make something and create something out of beads to make jewelry. So ever since I can remember, that’s been my passion.”
Janet is a mom of 4 who for 10 years was a full time Mom. She shared how she started out in the jewelry business.
“I have I have three sons and one daughter. I started working in the California Mart when I was about 20 No actually when I was about 19 and I worked there for five years I worked in an accessory showroom, and we would have we would represent jewelers and other entrepreneurs who made accessories and stores would come to the showroom to buy them. I just remember being so involved mostly with the jewelry companies, helping them with their designs and trends and just being so invested into the jewelry part of it. So even then I was doing that. And then I kind of wanted to start my own jewelry company at that point, but I met and married my husband and we had four kids so for the first I would say maybe ten years I was just a full-time mom and then I just couldn’t stay away and got back into it. “
I feel Janet’s story sends a loud message out there to a lot of mothers out there in the world, who while raising children might be feeling like they’re missing out on their business or entrepreneurial dreams, because they just can’t do both things right now. Point is, maybe ‘right now’ is just not the right time to do both.
The message is to them from Janet?
“There’s a season for everyone”.
This is surely Janet Hellers season and I’m happy for her.
You can see the fascinating making of the symbolic GOAT necklace on their Instagram account@janethellerfinejewelry
And you can see all the other beautiful Janet Heller Creations on their website JanetHellerFineJewelry.com.
And you can meet the lovely and talented Janet Heller here in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show. If you’d rather read than listen the transcript of the audio is included below.
AUDIO TRANSCRIPT:
0:00:00
And now, back to the Debbie Nigro Show!
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0:00:03
Like the legend of the phoenix All ends with beginnings What keeps the planet spinning? What keeps the planet spinning are new things, new creations, new ideas, new innovations
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and cool people who are able to bring them to life. Hey everybody, I’m Debbie Nigro.
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Way to meet my next guest.
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0:00:25
I’m so excited to introduce you to the gal behind the trending goat necklace that Simone Biles commissioned…But first a shout out to my fabulous sponsors behind this show … and Because a well-maintained pool is a safe pool. Check out V. Groppa Pools and gunitepoolsofwestchester.com. And then of course, for everything that may be ailing you that you want to treat naturally, CBDlivenatural.com. That’s something you should check out, especially if you’ve got aches and pains or you’re blowing body parts like me.
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0:01:04
All right. So this is a fun guest.
I am thrilled to introduce you to Janet Heller, who made that infamous goat necklace for Simone Biles. Now the whole world has gone goat crazy. Janet Heller
I’m very proud that you’re on my show today.
Thank you so much. That means the world to me.
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0:01:44
I really am so excited to be on your show today.
I told everybody earlier on the show that I just sort of boldly send you a blind message on Instagram and somehow you and I started communicating and you must have trusted me
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0:01:56
because here we are. Yes, that’s right.
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0:01:58
I mean, we’ve got thousands and thousands of requests.
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0:02:03
It’s overwhelming.
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0:02:05
I cannot even keep up with it.
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0:02:27
My social media team can’t keep up with it. But for some reason, I just, I don’t know, I was drawn to you and your message and here
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0:02:35
we are.
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0:02:36
I love that and that makes me feel really proud of everything that I work hard for.
Boy, you’ve been doing these 15 years, Janet, and you’ve become the sort of go-to person for people who want to commission things that are not just memories, but something that’s a legacy that they can honor their own lives and then pass on through generations. This is just one of those many things. Simone Biles, of course, trusting you to make her 3D goat, which you did an amazing job.
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0:03:08
I think everybody’s blown away by seeing how beautiful it is. Thank you. You have 546 diamonds.
You put those little diamonds; how do you do that?
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0:03:17
Well, so a lot of jewelry can be made where when you make the wax of the piece, once you’ve done the CAD image and you’ve done the rendering and then you go and you make the wax, a lot of times you can have the little holes for the diamonds in the wax. So when you print the wax, it already has a hole for the diamond. But I don’t like to do that. I like to have my diamond setters drill each and every hole by hand. Just, you know, these are master artisans,
1
0:03:49
master craftsmen, and that will enable the necklace to last so much longer. I mean, we want it to last forever, basically. And it’s just an incredible art that they do. They have to wear those, you know, almost binocular glasses type things. They do it by hand. It takes a very long time and we pick the
1
0:04:12
diamonds out beforehand so we have them all laid out. We know the size and then you have to look at each stone, drill each hole so that it fits that stone and it’s just the craftsmanship and the quality is just unmatched in my humble I think that’s the most important thing.
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0:04:28
I think that’s the most important thing. I think that’s the most important thing. It took you 15 years.
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0:05:03
When you started out, what do you remember about that? Now you’re having this amazing global moment of acknowledgement. What do you remember when you first started out?
When I first started out, my first necklace that I feel about jewelry and about selling jewelry. I want to share the love. I love jewelry.
1
0:05:23
I want to bring the love to everybody. I want to make it accessible to everybody. I started with one piece, a love necklace. Somebody bought that from me and then somebody else thought on them. They asked where she got it from and then in turn came to me. Really, that’s how my business has grown, very organically and mostly word of mouth,
1
0:05:46
which to me is the biggest compliment any jeweler or artist or entrepreneur can have.
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0:05:51
Absolutely.
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0:05:52
It’s to grow their business organically through word of mouth.
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0:05:55
Absolutely. You just said something interesting about that original necklace, which people were like, I want one of those too. I did hear you say that this particular 3D goat necklace that is now world renowned, that people have been sort of clamoring
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0:06:10
for you to make them one too, and you said you’re not gonna make any more of those. What did you mean by that?
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0:06:16
I’m not gonna replicate that particular iteration of the goat necklace that is exclusively for Simone. It’s so representative of her accomplishments, her achievements, and so I do not want to replicate that because I feel that Simone is one of a kind and I want that necklace to be one of a kind as well.
1
0:06:37
So I will not be making any other piece of jewelry that is an exact replica of that goat And I feel that if somebody wants something custom, that we should make it about them, about their story, their milestones and not about somebody else’s. Although I’m so flattered that people would want me to replicate it, but I feel like it’s
1
0:06:59
such a personal representation of somebody’s story.
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0:07:03
Yeah, I have to agree with you. One of the things I wanted to bring up is that you also made the Olympic ring necklace and beautiful diamonds, also commissioned to do that by Simone and also Jordan Childs. Is it the same Olympic rings necklace that they’re both wearing?
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0:07:20
Yes, and it all started with Tara Davis Woodhall, who is an Olympic long jumper. And Tara went to school with my daughter. They went to middle school and high school together. Wow. And Tara reached out right before the Tokyo Olympics
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0:07:38
for us to make her an Olympic diamond rings necklace and Simone saw the necklace on Tara and Jordan child thought on Tara as well And they both reached out to me to make them a diamond Olympic rings necklace as well. Yes. This is such a good story
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0:07:53
I’m so like happy for you. I Think there was yeah Yeah, I was just happy because I’m an entrepreneur, female entrepreneur. I know that, you know, having to start your own company is a big deal and then to, you know, stay in it for 15 years and then have everybody around you want to stay with you. I was reading your website and it seems like everybody who you work with is happy to be
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0:08:17
in your world and, you know, all creating together. So congratulations to everybody there. I know it’s not just you, but you are the headline of the company. The company was named something else and then it was decided to become your name
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0:08:28
yes, it was named something else and We felt that it just wasn’t personal enough and my daughter actually encouraged me to change the name of the company to my name and Honestly, I think it’s crazy how we changed our name and then all of this happened I feel like we were manifesting when we did that.
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Oh, I believe in all that.
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Your timing was brilliant.
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Yeah, timing is unbelievable. Janet Heller, Fine Jewelry, the new name. It was called the Foundry, am I right?
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0:08:58
Yes, it was called the Foundry.
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0:09:00
Right. Okay, so Custom Jewelry, Calabasas, California. By the way, I love it out there, so I’m kind of jealous you live in Calabasas. How’s the weather been? How’s everybody doing out there?
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0:09:09
The weather has been so hot.
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I know.
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Absolutely boiling, but my showroom is freezing inside, so the crazy thing is we’re always wearing sweaters in the showroom, and then you go outside and it’s over 100 degrees.
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0:09:22
Oh, man. I’m sorry. I know we’re struggling here. I’m on the East Coast in New York, but I know the world is dealing with heat that they haven’t in a long time. It’s making everybody a little edgy.
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0:09:32
I was just in New York a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say that I much prefer the dry heat of California to the humidity of New York. That’s really hard.
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Right. I’m with you. I can do it out with no humidity. The humidity makes me cranky, Janet. It makes me very cranky.
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I get it.
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So let me ask you, just growing up in South Africa, because you go back to how you were inspired with jewelry, like when you were a little girl, did you want jewelry instead of dolls?
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0:10:01
Like how did that go, Janet?
Funny thing is I played with dolls a lot, Barbie dolls, until I was a much older age than most other girls and I kind of used to play with one of my best girlfriends and we used to kind of hide the fact that we played with dolls. But my mom is an incredible artist too. She’s a knitter and a crocheter and she used to make us these most incredible outfits for the dolls and then we would also make like with beads, we would make jewelry. I always wanted them to be adorned with jewelry.
We would have these beautiful outfits that my mom would make and then I wanted them to be adorned with jewelry. And then my mom loved jewelry too, albeit costume jewelry and my grandmother too but I just always had beads on and necklaces and bracelets and just always wanted to make something and create something out of beads to make jewelry. So ever since I can remember, that’s been my passion.
I love the story and I can see you with the Barbie dolls way longer than you should have had them, but that’s all good. It’s okay.
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0:11:05
I was so scared to admit that to other people because most girls, they were starting to at 14 years old, think about dating and things like that. I just wanted to play with my Barbie doll So now everyone knows I admit it
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0:11:20
You said you have a daughter and one child more than one job. No, I have I have three sons and one daughter Oh, you were busy. I don’t know how mothers of four did it now do it. You know, I had one child I just saw a mother of four yesterday and and she was on the beach with four kids. I go Do it. So that was hard right raising its four children
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0:11:39
That that was a lot of work with a full-time job, so I started working in the California Mart when I was about 20 No actually when I was about 19 and I worked there for five years I worked in an accessory showroom, and we would have we would represent jewelers and other entrepreneurs who made accessories and stores would come to the showroom to buy them.
1
0:12:06
I just remember being so involved mostly with the jewelry companies, helping them with their designs and trends and just being so invested into the jewelry part of it. So even then I was doing that. And then I kind of wanted to start my own jewelry company at that point, but I met and married my husband we had four kids so for the first I would say maybe ten years I was just a full-time mom and then I just couldn’t
stay away and got back into it.
Boy you’re giving a loud message out there to a lot of frustrated mothers who are raising children feeling like they’re missing something by not being in the kind of world or business or entrepreneurial opportunities they would like to be because they can’t do both right now to let them know You know there’s a time for everything and it’s okay To be a great mom and not have to be out there doing your thing because you could always do your thing when it’s your
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Time and this is now your time even for everybody
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There’s a season for everybody and so you know if I might add what I love most about jewelry is that it’s a physical representation of an idea a celebration a milestone idea, a celebration, a milestone, and it invites conversation, which in turn leads to a story, and storytelling through jewelry is my ultimate passion.
All right, well, that wraps it right up perfectly. It leads to you being on my show, and this is my story, presenting you from my perspective to the rest of the world in a very intimate and conversational way.
Thank you, Janet Heller.
Anybody interested in their own conversation, you can just connect with JanetHellerFineJewelry.com is the website.
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0:13:46
And then, of course, on Instagram, you can see I put everything up on my social media. And then, of course, on Instagram, you can see I put everything up on my social media about you.. And, wow, you’ve just been an unbelievable guest. Thank you.
