Our Story
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Meet Shenetta
My Journey
Shenetta has designed more than 2,000 pieces for the business she began in 2007. Her goal is to make bold and beautiful pieces that give women that boost of self-confidence they deserve. Outfitting a woman with an eye-catching piece can be the little thing that makes a woman’s day and attitude a better one.
Her creations are not something you see every day. Then again, you shouldn’t. They are one of a kind piece made with a variety of Swarovksi crystals, uniquely shaped stones, silver-hued metal, glass beads, pearls and more. Her designs are luxurious, yet budget-friendly, with pieces ranging from $45 to $150.
Shenetta has been invited to participate in a number of community events all over the state of Florida. She received the opportunity, at the University of Florida, to design a necklace in the school colors of orange and blue, with chunky, gator-like accents completing the look. She was also a vendor at the Bass Pro “Big Hats & Bow Ties” event in Palm Bay, where she brought with her 15 unique pieces.
Murphy, the aforementioned beauty consultant, has hosted home shows for Gordon. “She makes one-of-a-kind pieces,” Murphy says. “It’s unique, and it’s like a showpiece. Not something you’re going to another store or a boutique and find. Whenever I have an outfit I want to customize a piece for, she just puts it together.”
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In the
Press
Jewelry designer brings out inner beauty
Take everything you think you know about jewelry and forget it.
“I don’t care about trends,” says SheNetta Gordon, creator of SheNetta’s X-Clusive Jewelry Designs. “A trend is not for me. I may wear white in winter because that’s how I feel.”
Gordon, who has designed more than 2,000 pieces for the business she began in 2007, knows her advice goes against conventional accessory wisdom.
Her goal? To make bold and beautiful pieces that give women that boost of self-confidence they deserve. In particular, women who struggle with their own perception of themselves.
“The true concept behind my business was to identify women who had low self-esteem, because I had very low self-esteem growing up,” Gordon says.
Outfitting a woman with an eye-catching piece can be the little thing that makes her day — and attitude — a better one, Gordon says.
“Just someone walking up to her saying, ‘Oh, my God, the necklace you’re wearing is beautiful,’ ” Gordon says. “Today, she got more attention different than she would get any other day. It’s an esteem-builder.”
Ivory Murphy, 46, of Palm Bay agrees.
“I know that it does make a difference,” says Murphy, a beauty consultant with Mary Kay. “Her pieces complete the outfit. It just kind of makes you feel better because people are going to see you and say, ‘That is so pretty, where did you get that?’ You always get compliments when you wear her pieces.”
Tough childhood
Gordon, 45, is a Melbourne native. She describes herself as someone who’s always dabbled in fashion, saying, “My flair was different from most.”
Gordon worked in a logistics and procurement role for Harris Corp. before getting laid off in 2007. She continues to work in the field through contracts with temp agencies, but her passion is her jewelry business. She hopes to expand at some point and have her own store.
The self-esteem aspect is something that brewed from her own childhood.
“I felt I was an ugly duckling,” Gordon says, noting she never had anyone tell her she was beautiful.
While there were challenges, her mother was a good one. Her father was killed when Gordon was 9. She grew up in a community stricken with crime and drugs. And when Gordon became a mother at 14, her own mother did not turn her back on her.
Gordon says she went on to survive continued sexual assault for a decade. She was homeless for a bit, but realized she was limiting herself and decided to set the example she needed to her children.
She went back to school for her GED and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in business administration as well as an associate’s in accounting from Keiser University. She is a devoted member of Truth Revealed Ministries.
“My journey was not easy,” she says. “I still have marks to prove it. But no matter how many times I was beat to the ground, my spirit was still able to stand up.”
Gordon says her positive life changes were, in part, to show her kids they don’t have to fall into a stereotype.
“You don’t have to stop. You don’t have to settle,” Gordon says. “It had been beaten in me that I would be no more than a pregnant, unemployed, uneducated African-American woman, by society and family. That’s what I felt. Where I was going? Why would society look at me any different than just that? They judged me wrong, because I am more than that. But I didn’t give them anything to work with. I was a child. I made poor decisions, but I learned every day.”
Creating statement pieces has given her the chance to see what life really offers — for herself and her clients. She tried designing by the book but didn’t like following someone else’s advice on what was beautiful.
“Someone like me, who felt they were unworthy, can sit down and design and inspire,” says Gordon, who is engaged to be married. “And as I see people wear my designs, and it’s like, ‘Wow. That was in me? I had all of that to give?’ That’s the passion behind it.”
One-of-a-kind pieces
On this day, Gordon is as proud as the peacock that serves as the focal point of her favorite necklace.
It’s not something you see every day. Then again, you shouldn’t. It’s a one of a kind. (And she’s not selling it, either.)
Gordon shows off the frosty acrylic centerpiece, explaining in its prior life, it served as a Christmas ornament. She incorporated a layer of chain and beads for its bold rebirth. Everything starts from a look she thinks she can improve. She adds Swarovksi crystals, uniquely shaped stones, glass beads, pearls and more.
She describes her style as elegant, whimsical and romantic. It’s luxurious, yet budget-friendly, with pieces ranging from $45 to $75.
“How can I make this better, this broken piece?” Gordon explains of her thought process. “Every piece that I look at, how can I make this broken piece, the woman I was, better? Every piece I look at as that broken vessel that I was. I build from that piece.”
She points to one necklace that boasts a flower as the focal point, with smaller jewels filling the petals. The flower, she explains, was once a ring. Now, it’s the centerpiece of a design lined by chunky black beads and vertical strips of silver-hued metal.
She’s done craft shows at the University of Florida, designing a necklace in the school colors of orange and blue, with chunky, gatorlike accents completing the look. She’s been a vendor at a Bass Pro event in Palm Bay, where she brought with her 15 pieces.
Murphy, the aforementioned beauty consultant, has hosted home shows for Gordon. She’s also bought about 10 designs from her.
“She makes one-of-a-kind pieces,” Murphy says. “It’s unique, and it’s like a showpiece. Not something you’re going to another store or a boutique and find. Whenever I have an outfit I want to customize a piece for, she just puts it together.”
Fashion tips
Trends anchored on timelines mean nothing to Gordon.
“For me, it’s all about the feeling,” she says. “How do I feel today?”
Murphy echoes that.
“I just wear what makes me feel good,” Murphy says. “When I get up, that’s how I dress. And I like bright colors.”
Gordon doesn’t design for a person, but for their soul, she says. Sometimes, clients send her a picture of shoes, an outfit, something for which they want the perfect piece.
And not what the fashion magazines are touting. But she encourages women to go bold.
“If you start out with something a little bit larger than what you wear, then you graduate,” Gordon says.
And don’t pull the “I don’t really go anywhere” excuse.
“I wear this with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt,” she says of her peacock necklace. “And my 6-inch stilettos.”
Show it off wherever you go — be it a grocery store or baseball game, she says.
And don’t pick the jewelry to match the outfit. It should be the other way around, she says.
“People say, ‘I have the outfit, I need to pick out the jewelry,’ ” Gordon says. “Believe it or not, that’s not going to be a piece of jewelry you pick up too often, just for that outfit. Here’s a piece of jewelry I can wear with a multitude of things.”
Consider what time of evening you’re dressing for, as well as what the neckline is. Also, pay attention to eyeshadow. And bright colors are best, she says.
“Don’t be afraid,” Gordon warns. “Don’t be limited. Don’t be timid.”
“You’re not cookie cut,” Gordon says. “Your smile is different, your shape is different, your hair is different. Your heart may be the same, but you are your own individual. Whatever aspect, be that person. Don’t fit into this mold because that’s not you, and you’ll spend 20 years trying to be someone else. Just be who you are.”
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