Jess Fried

BA, MA Media, Journalism and Communications

Jess is the founder of Dainty Diamond, a Toronto-based jewelry brand that sells high-quality gold, silver and diamond jewelry. Dainty Diamond's jewelry story dates back to 30+ years ago when Jess' father entered the jewelry business.

Throughout her childhood, every weekend consisted of visiting her dad at work. She would put on a large diamond necklace, stand on a stool and tell everyone who walked passed that they "needed" this necklace.

In 2019, she graduated from Western University with a Master of Media in Journalism & Communication. After studying and working in different jobs in the media industry for over two years, she was ready to find a career that she was passionate and excited about.

As a young woman, she consistently heard from my friends how difficult it was to find high-quality and affordable jewelry. So, in 2020 when a friend asked Jess if she could get her a gold necklace through her dad's connections, she told her it was no problem. After helping her find the perfect gold necklace, needless to say, Jess was inspired and Dainty Diamond was born.

What started as a hobby outside of her 9-5 job to help friends and family find the perfect earrings, necklace or any piece of jewelry they were looking for, quickly grew into a space she was extremely passionate about and wanted to share these high-quality pieces with others.

Three years later, Jess is working on Dainty Diamond full time, with a small but mighty team of four staff with excitement and energy to keep growing and helping people feel their best inside and out through jewelry.

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Advice I'd tell my younger self: Doing something is better than nothing. Keep showing up and being consistent and it'll all work out.

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A woman who inspires me: Sara Blakely (founder of Spanx), any and all female entrepreneurs