A 21-year-old creative warrior and young entrepreneur with a natural passion for fashion: Rachael Connery (RC) sets out to make her jewellery business, Syranius the talk of the town. Pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts and Technology at the University of Technology, the young artist has hopes of taking her business to new heights. 

TA: First off what is Syranius and why that name?RC: Syranius is an authentic Jamaican bracelet line. We design unconventional bracelets for male and female. The name, (smiles) long story short, we (my partner and I) were brainstorming names until we thought we made up the word Cyrenius, but when we googled it we learned that it had some biblical meaning that reflected the direction that we wanted to take. So we tweaked it a bit and Syranius was born. Cyrenius means warrior. TA: How did you decide that you wanted to come up with this business?  RC: Funnily enough we initially wanted to do a t-shirt line as we both have a natural love for fashion, but we found it to be a bit over-saturated. So we thought “hmmm… what can we create that we both love and can’t leave the house without?” And voila! Bracelets came to mind. 

We believe that jewellery/ accessories are like the exclamation point of an outfit. They put everything together and create a complete fashion statement. 

TA: Where does the inspiration stem from for the look and feel of each piece, and what makes them unique?RC: Our pieces are inspired by unconventional materials that we come across. They are also inspired by art and fashion. We never really know what we want to design beforehand. We just experiment with materials. 

What sets them apart is the fact that we use unconventional materials to create our pieces; zippers, metal pipes, buttons etc. Especially compared to other local jewellery lines we try to stay away from the rasta-esque cliché vibe and make them more fashion forward to cater to both males and females.

TA: How do you find time to manage work, school and your business?RC: Oh Jesus! (laughs) I could never do it on my own. In regards to Syranius, I have a really good business partner who will always go the extra mile. It’s a small team but we make it work, and it’s something we both love. Overall, it’s all about good time management and prioritizing. I am no pro and it is never easy but it can be done. Anything is possible if you want it bad enough.

TA: Are there any big future plans for Syranius?RC: Secret!!! (laughs). Well, for short term goal, we definitely want to launch a new collection soon. That is being worked on. The big dream is to expand towards making more than just bracelets as we want Syranius to be the go-to brand for accessories. We’d also love to see our pieces being sold in stores both locally and internationally. How cool would that be?

TA: Where can people view or purchase Syranius merchandise? 

RC: Check us out on Facebook: facebook.com/syranius and on Instagram: @syranius . For inquiries email us at syraniusbracelets@gmail.com, WhatsApp or call 381-6312/355-5347. Orders can be made on any one of our social media sites, WhatsApp or email. 

See some of her jewellery pieces below: