RI’s Next Generation: Fighting to Preserve Her Family’s Jewelry Legacy - And Make Her Own Mark

RI’s Next Generation: Fighting to Preserve Her Family’s Jewelry Legacy - And Make Her Own Mark

Stefanie Casinelli Taylor comes from a Rhode Island jewelry family.

For generations, the Casinellis ran Gennaro Inc. in Cranston, and recently Stefanie Casinelli Taylor launched her own line, Zaxie by Stefanie Taylor.

Then, the pandemic hit the business hard. And during that time, Casinelli Taylor lost her father.  

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While that would be enough to make anyone fold, Casinelli Taylor doubled down.

“This is sort of rebirth,” said Casinelli Taylor, of her newest jewelry endeavor, "Zaxie Strong," which honors her father, and the interconnectedness of family and friends.

“My dad was a boxer, and he taught me how to box,” said Casinelli Taylor. “So the ‘never stop fighting’ in ‘Zaxie Strong’ has even more meaning."

 

 

Back From the Brink

This week, Casinelli Taylor spoke with GoLocal about launching Zaxie Strong, her newest line. 

“Gennaro Inc. is the mothership where Zaxie was born,” said Casinelli Taylor.

A three-generation family business which started by making tiaras for Miss America in 1953, Gennaro today is a women-owned and operated industry leader in forecasting, designing and manufacturing best-selling private label accessory assortments. 

“At one point, we had a 40,000 square-foot warehouse in Cranston. Then COVID happened,” said Casinelli Taylor. “We had to furlough workers. We’re in retail stores; Payless Shoes filed bankruptcy on us two times - they owed us over two million dollars.” 

“Then, my father got sick in the middle of this with brain cancer,” said Casinelli Taylor. “You’re like, how much more can I handle? We get to the point where we have to sell our building, to literally pay off our bank loans to survive. And my father, at this point, has passed away.” 

"And I’m cleaning out his office - we’d gone from 50 employees down to ten - and I find this note from him,” said Casinelli Taylor. “So here’s this scribbled paper where he wrote, ‘Good things come to those who wait, better things come to those who are patient, and the best things come to those who never give up, never stop fighting.”

“And I just started crying. And at that point, I just wanted to give up. I'm like, at this business, I'm never going to make any money. I'm in so much debt.  I can't do this anymore. What am I going to do with my life?” said Casinelli Taylor. 

“And it was like a sign from the moment I was like, this brand. I have to do something with this brand. This is the only way out,” said Casinelli Taylor. “And that was kind of where we created Zaxie Strong.”

 

 

Moving Forward

“So we created the design of interlocking circles, meaning that we're all in this together,” said Casinelli Taylor. “And it's sort of a gifting item you can give to people who are going through cancer or just a difficult time. Or, it can be for somebody that's graduated, or somebody that's done something great.”

According to Casinelli Taylor, Zaxie had first launched on April 9, 2018 - her grandmother’s birthday.

Now, seven years later, the official re-launch is going to be this coming April 9.

“I have to do this. We’ve made it out. We have the opportunity - we’re out of debt, we’re here, and I’m not giving up on this,” said Casinelli Taylor. 

The Zaxie Strong tagline? 

“Strength is made. It’s not born.”