About » Biography of Theodore Mander

  Born 1985 in New York City by Richard Mander and Helena Carratala, Theodore Mander was exposed to fashion and business at an early age. Helena made a name for herself in the fashion industry after releasing her line Azabache in the Philippines. Since Theodore’s birth Helena and her friends taught him about style, design, and pushing boundaries. Richard the owner of a New York City general contracting company, a custom furniture-maker, and former staff of Sister Parish (the grand dame of interior design) always insisted that Theodore maintained a hard work ethic, and learned the value of a hard earned dollar.

In his early teenage years Theodore became passionately involved in art including fashion, dance, fine art, film, literature, and music.  While traveling the world and living in areas such as New York City and Hampton Bays he was exposed to a diverse range people and lifestyles, which continue to influence him in many ways.

After graduating high school Theodore studied for two semesters at Hunter College in New York City. Although he enjoyed his classes he felt that none of the subjects captured his interest to pursue as a career. Knowing his love for Art and Fashion his mother Helena suggested that he take classes in Jewelry Design after studying Colored Stones at the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) while designing a line of fashion jewelry. Theodore discovered he had the ability to combine his love of art and design with his trendsetting style. Fascinated by the technicality, and beauty of Gemstones he decided to further his education by earning his GG (GIA Graduate Gemologist) diploma teaching him to grade and identify Diamonds and other Gemstones.

While studying Gemology Theodore began developing NevaeH Jewelry after one of his friends expressed interest in producing one of his designs that at the time was just a rendering. Theodore at that point had to source the gems they needed, and then found someone who manufactured jewelry that could help make his concept a reality.  The ring was made, and from there on Theodore was on a mission to expand his knowledge. Once he graduated Theodore worked for a start up online jewelry store where he was responsible for processing and shipping orders and all specialized sales. Working there he learned about the business of the jewelry industry, and the growing world of e-commerce. After two years Theodore decided to broaden his experience and went to work for a designer jewelry manufacturer and Diamond importer where he was responsible for special orders and customer service for various accounts including the top jewelry stores and boutiques in the nation.  He gained a deep understanding of the manufacturing process and what it takes to have a well established designer brand.  Later he worked as a Gemologist for one of the worlds most reputable laboratories for grading diamonds and gemstones where he advanced his technical knowledge of Diamonds and Gemstones.

Theodore used the knowledge from his experiences and studies to effectively promote and build his brand, he realized with the increasing relevance of the internet in our society that social networking websites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter were a great avenue for networking and promoting the company. NevaeH Jewelry was one of the first jewelry companies to do so which is now a common practice. Theodore made short teaser videos featuring products that he posted on YouTube, which now have been viewed by thousands of people around the world, and changed the way companies viewed the possibilities of promoting ones brand on the Internet. Theodore is a very social character and has worked with many fashion stylists, and celebrities such as Christina Milian, David Hasselhoff, Siri Tollerod, Olivia, Shiest Bubz, UnKasa, and more. NevaeH Jewelry been featured in Rap-Up Magazine, OFW Magazine, Star Magazine, and many other forms of media and press. After much praise and demand NevaeH Jewelry developed two finished collections that are now available internationally as of October 2010.