Meet the Cannabis Crusader Who Co-Founded Genifer M Jewelry

Amiah Taylor: Your father is a gemologist, did his profession encourage a keen interest in gemstones from a young age?

Genifer Murray: One of my first memories of my Dad was his huge safe.  He was a jeweler/gemologist so he had fine gemstones that he kept in the safe.  I remember vividly him taking the gemstones out of wax paper to show me.  The colored stones were my favorite. 

AT: Understood. Do you have a favorite gemstone, following up on your love of colored stones?

GM: Pink sapphire.

AT: Oh my gosh, same!  And which precious metals are your favorite to work with?

GM: Platinum (laughs) if I had my choice it would be platinum. If not, white gold. I’ve never been a yellow gold person.

AT: Who is your dream jewelry company to collaborate with?

GM: The funny thing is, my Dad just bought me a Tiffany bracelet last Christmas. For a long time Tiffany…you couldn’t get into their pieces and then they came out with bracelets for around 100-200 dollars. I would say GeniferM would love to be the Tiffany of cannabis jewelry and we would love to partner with a beautiful jewelry line like Tiffany and Co. 

AT: I definitely get that, talk to me about the Molecule collection, I think it’s so creative. Did your background in microbiology sort of influence those pieces?

GM: I started one of the first analytical cannabis testing labs in the country in 2010.  I have a degree in microbiology.  My Dad likes to say that I’m a microbiologist but I am not.  I ran the business but I’ve always loved science and math so it was very interesting that I ended up with a lab business. I told my Dad, “Dad, we need to make molecules.” And he said “Genifer, only the science people will want those,” and I said, “no Dad, they won’t.”

So we did one molecule necklace and it exploded, so we did 3 sizes in silver. Then we made a gold one. Eventually, we started using diamonds, black diamonds, and colored stones. And we expanded to CBD molecules and it’s turned into a secret handshake. A lot of these parents they can’t wear the leaf but they certainly can wear a molecule.

AT: That’s really cool, it’s like #stealthmode completely slipping under the radar.

GM: (laughs) Yeah! Exactly! The jewelry is created to end stigma but I do know that people want to support it that can’t wear a leaf.

AT: You seem to have such a strong passion for women’s empowerment and you’re dominating in a historically male-dominated industry. Are there any woman-specific challenges that you have faced in the cannabis industry? 

GM: 100% and I think we still face it. I had a male partner and we would be in meetings and the person wouldn’t even look at me or ask me questions when I was the one that could answer the questions.  My partner would have to tell them that, “Genifer can answer these questions.” I also have had several friends who were sexually harassed and passed up for jobs because they wouldn’t sleep with the owner. 

I’ve known this firsthand. Unfortunately, we’re in a culture where we grew up around chauvinism and we didn’t really think about it, right? But now that you’re aware of it, you say “oh my God, I don’t want future generations of women to have to adopt this as normal.” The problem is women need to spend money with women-owned companies and harvest that financial power. That’s the only way we are going to get ahead.  I feel like we are waiting for men to help us. And that is not going to happen.  WE NEED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

AT: What advice would you give to a young woman who wanted to follow in your footsteps and enter into the jewelry industry or simply start her own business?

GM: Well jewelry is hard. We are successful, just because my father has connections, okay? So we were able to make it work. Start-up jewelry companies, they’re one of the harder companies to establish, similarly to restaurants. But as far as women in business, Rule #1 is you get an attorney. Actually no, Rule #1 is if you don’t have to have a business partner then don’t have one. A lot of women feel like they can’t do things on their own and they CAN. 

As far as the attorney, you need to do your due diligence and hopefully you get a referral, and you hire a woman attorney. This is crucial. We get really excited about business cards and the website and company names, but those things are not going to save your ass. Lastly, get a CPA (certified public accountant) so you set up your business appropriately for what you want as an exit strategy. Even if you plan on doing it your whole life, you really should have an exit strategy. 

AT: How was it to see your jewelry on models walking the runway for NYFW?

GM: : My heart fell out honestly. It was amazing. Just me being in New York for Fashion Week blew my mind. But seeing these beautiful women, wearing my jewelry and loving the jewelry and people commenting afterward, it was very exciting. 

AT: That sounds like a dream.

GM:  I always said though, what would be amazing was to see somebody wearing my jewelry that I did not know. And that happened in May of 2018. I was in a conference in Leon, Mexico and I ran into a woman who had my earrings on that I did not know. I had tears in my eyes, the whole thing.

Along those same lines, did you know I was on Vice TV with 2Chainz? So that was the second greatest thing, a couple recognized me and asked “hey, were you on Vice TV?”

2Chainz has this show called Most Expensivest and he has like $10,000 dollar hamburgers and he did a 420 episode. I was a guest and he interviewed me and it was hilarious. And I am not high the whole time, even though they spoofed it and made it seem that way. We got high after… but 2Chainz, he was high the whole time. He reminds me of Snoop Dogg in that way, just like so freaking high! But it was delightful. 

AT: If you could dress any celebrity you wanted in GeniferM Jewelry, who would it be?

GM: I have to say Cameron Diaz definitely.

AT: She has a beautiful neckline.

GM: Yes. I love her outlook on life and she’s funny and she’s not necessarily politically correct, and I’m not always politically correct. Jennifer Aniston too, that might be nice because that might make more of an impact. She’s pro-marijuana. But you’d look at her and say she’s more conservative vs. Cameron.

AT: Talk to me about the Gentleman’s collection, what type of man do you have in mind when you envision your pieces being worn, is that like a 2Chainz?

GM: We didn’t think it was the 2Chainz demographic. Because if you want to stereotype pop culture, he like most rappers really represents pop culture. 

But I’ll tell you it was the best thing I’ve ever done. Every time it runs, we get a ton of sales. But there are some crazy comments on the Vice video too. People rip me to shreds. Like one guy says “wow! I’ve never seen a blonde girl smoke pot!” 

AT: He obviously doesn’t leave his mother’s basement.

GM: (laughs) Yeah, exactly.

So you have the man that has really embraced the bead craze, lava beads and different types of beads. And there are actually masculine beads now. I’d liken it to when straight men got to wear fashionable jeans vs. Levis. And then there’s the corporate man who wears a suit, who buys the lapel pin. Then you have scientists who put it on a lab coat, usually the molecule. There are a few different demographics of men but I think most of them purchase for their significant others.