From her award winning designs to her educational program inspiring youth through documentary films, Coralie Charriol Paul is a woman to watch as Creative Director for jewelry and leather goods at Charriol and Co-founder of React to Film.  She has designed 15 jewelry collections to-date, including best-sellers ‘Crazy in Love,’ ‘Forever,’ and ’Tango,’ and created the famous Kucha watch, which received 'Ladies’ Watch of the Year' in 2005.  Coralie is introducing Charriol’s worldwide jewelry collection for the first time in the United States and it's bound to hit stores in September 2015.

In addition to her innovative design work, Coralie co-founded React to Film to share the best issue-based documentary films with influencers and students to promote social responsibility.  React to Film is a full-semester, for-credit elective course which aims to provide specific calls to action upon watching educational documentary films.  Find out how you can create a timeless brand, be successful combining creativity and business, and engage in social issues when you react to film.

Click here to shop Charriol and click here to react to film!

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It takes hard work, dedication, and of course, a wonderful product to create a timeless brand.

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Timeless Design

What is the secret to creating a timeless brand?

It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and of course, a wonderful product to create a timeless brand.  The product has to speak for itself.  We use a very distinctive cable material, which is identifiable, unique, one-of-a-kind, and in all of our products from watches, jewelry, eyewear, pens, and belts.  That’s really the DNA of Charriol and what makes us so unique.

What are a few must-have pieces for millennial women from your collection?

The must-have pieces from Charriol’s collection that I’ve designed this year are the Forever Young Bangles, which come in many different colors and sizes.  I love using them to stack an armful of bangles.  The other item is our St-Tropez 35 watch, which comes with a moon face.  We just launched it at Basel and it’s really the item to have this year. 

What has been one of your proudest accomplishments?

Creating an award-winning watch, the Kucha Watch, in 2005 has been one of my proudest professional accomplishments at Charriol.  I convinced my whole company to make it and we actually won an award for it.  But every year is different and I always try to challenge myself.  Every year needs to be better and better.  I hope to one day create a watch that is the hottest thing that everybody’s wearing on the street!

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Working with a talented team is what makes a fantastic product in the end.

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How can we be successful combining creativity and business?

Combining creativity and business is very hard to do.  On the one hand, I’m very business oriented and on the other, I’m very creative.  The secret to balancing both is to work with an incredible team of people who can help in areas where you’re not as good. 

My brother is a visual director and so I work with him on a lot of the visuals.  I also work with a talented sales team, as well as in-house designers on the technical design of the products.  Working with this talented team is what makes a fantastic product in the end.

What advice do you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?

It took me about 13 years to get to the table of Board of Directors at Charriol.  I worked very very hard for a long time before people would ask for my advice or opinion.   I would tell myself at the beginning of my career that the relationships you make along the way are really important including your friends, colleagues, and business contacts.  I really believe in connecting with those people and staying connected even through changing jobs.  Life is long and you never know when those people are going to come back into your life. 

 

Watch Coralie's bSMART interview here!

The relationships you make along the way are really important.

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Documenting Change

What is your dream for social change through documentary films?

I created REACT to FILM first because I love film and secondly because I've always been very interested in social issues.  I wanted to take fantastic films and showcase them in front of different audiences – influencers, college students, (and the most important one) high school students.  We use documentary films to teach kids about social issues and civic engagement in the classroom.

Can you share a few success stories from your organization React to Film?

REACT to FILM uses documentary films that range from a variety of topics from nutrition and education, as well as women’s rights in order to expose kids to social issues through film.  Then, they can react to these social issues by creating their own documentary films, writing a letter to congress, or changing the way they eat, for example.  It’s very rewarding to see how the course has effected change in their lives.

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Watch the trailers, ask questions, and get involved with the organizations.

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What are 3 must-watch documentary films for millennial women?

The first must-watch documentary film is Food, Inc.  It’s the first documentary that made me change the way I ate, lived, and made choices about food.  It’s also one of the reasons I created REACT to FILM.  The second one is Miss Representation.  It’s about how women are portrayed in the media.  Every woman has to see this film.  The last one is called Hunting Ground about rape on college campuses, which is a very important topic to talk about.

What have been your biggest lessons learned running a nonprofit?

I’ve learned a lot about creating and running a non-profit.  Originally, I thought everyone was giving their time to charity and didn’t get any money in return, but I’ve learned it’s a business at the end of the day and it’s about running a tight ship and making sure every dollar goes where it’s suppose to go.  That's the most important thing in creating a non-profit.

Also, I think it helps for non-profits to have a product they can sell or create so that recurring revenue can come back to the organization.  That’s a very smart business for a non-profit for it to actually become sustainable.  

How can bSmart members React to Film and make a difference?

The way you can React to Film is to first go to our website - ReacttoFilm.com - and check out all of the documentary films we’ve worked with over the last 5 years.  Then, watch the trailers, ask questions, and get involved in organizations that pertain to those films.

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The product has to speak for itself.

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Spotlight on Coralie Charriol Paul 

Neighborhood: Upper East Side, New York

Occupation: Creative Director, Philanthropist, Film lover, Mother, Wife, Surfer

Twitter: @coraliecharriol

Instagram: @coraliecharriol

Women I Admire: My mother, Diane Von Furstenberg, Arianna Huffington,

Dream Mentor: My father

Look of the Season: Leather jacket, Fringe bag

Ultimate Accessory: CHARRIOL watch and cable bangles

Favorite Store: Curve

Go-to Outfit: Anything sexy

Must-have Shoes: Espadillas

Favorite Nail Polish: Dark red

Can't Live Without Product: Natura Bisse Diamond Cream

Signature Scent: CHARRIOL tourmaline

Beauty Essential: Sleep

Cocktail of Choice: Casa Dragones tequila on the rocks

Best Date: Any date that ends with dancing

Travel Destination: I want a new adventure everytime - next stop, Bangkok.

Current Craving: Golden berries

Best Advice: Don’t wait

Favorite Quote: 'Every woman should know how to fall in love without losing herself.'

De-Stress Technique: Kick box

Favorite App: Surfline

University: Tufts University 

 

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