WHO ARE YOU?
Melody Godfred, creator of the Self Love Pinky Ring and author of THE ABCs of SELF LOVE.
WHAT did you do ?
I created the Self Love Pinky Ring and with it, empowered a global community of women to be, love, and choose themselves - daily - through myself love movement, www.fredandfar.com.
HOW did you do it?
The very first Self Love Pinky Ring was born of my personal necessity. Despite hitting every wish list milestone by my early thirties - career, marriage, family - I wasn’t happy because I was an expert at taking care of everyone, except for myself. I needed a symbol and reminder to prioritize and reclaim my true self: so I created one. When I recognized how much having a sparkling, physical reminder to practice self love and self care transformed my life, I set out to make it available for other women. With no e-commerce or jewelry experience, it took a year of research, alongside deep personal and professional work before I took a leap of faith and brought my vision to life. Once I did, my company and my personal story resonated with thousands of women around the world who not only committed to wearing the Self Love Pinky Ring, but joined myself love community Fred and Far as well.
What I’ve been most proud of as an entrepreneur is my commitment to my core values as I’ve navigated this business over the past five years. For me, it is all about the women who join my movement. I am here to witness and celebrate them and their stories. Despite the many shifts I’ve had to make, I do my best to infuse every element of this product and community with integrity, authenticity, love and quality - because the commitment I am asking women to make to themselves with my ring is the most important commitment of their lives.
WHEN did you start your company?
I launched my company, Fred and Far, in 2016.
WHY are you innovating with this product or service?
Jewelry symbolizing commitment is an integral and established part of our culture. With the Self Love Pinky Ring, I took an established norm and energized it with a new meaning. If an engagement ring symbolizes commitment to another, why shouldn’t women wear a ring that symbolizes commitment to themselves? By only producing one ring, for one finger, I created a symbol that is now instantly recognizable. It’s also unique in that it is a symbol for all women regardless of their relationship status. Prior to 2016, self love and self care were not part of our culture’s conversation. I know that I, the Self Love Pinky Ring and my movement played a key role in changing that. That is why this work is the privilege of my lifetime.
What takes my product further is the community and content that comes with it. As a writer first and foremost, I explore self love and what it means to choose yourself with original content every day. I also took my learning's as the leader of myself love movement and wrote my book, The ABCs of SELF LOVE, to make practicing self love and self care actionable on a daily basis. For me, making the commitment to yourself is a daily ritual. I’m committed to making that ritual possible for women from all walks of life. All they need to do is decide they are ready to embrace the fact that they are whole, worthy, chosen and loved: just as they are. From there, I can provide the tools and resources to honor their self-commitment every day.
WHERE are you from?
I currently live in Los Angeles, CA, which is also where I produce the Self Love Pinky Ring. I was born in Tehran, Iran. My parents fled the country when I was only a few months old so I could have a life free from religious and gender discrimination.
INDUSTRY:
Women’s Empowerment // E-Commerce
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram.com/fredandfar
Facebook.com/fredandfar
LinkedIn.com/in/melodygodfred
Instagram.com/melodygodfred
