FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I have never seen necklaces like these — how do you describe them?

With intricate beads on a crochet base, our necklaces are designed by me and my mom and handmade by women artisans in Turkey. We call them “social necklaces”. You’ll understand what we mean when you put one on — they’re real conversation starters.

Is crochet a traditional handicraft in Turkey?

Crochet accessories are very common in Turkey. Artisans make crochet table runners, pillowcases, scarf edges, jewelry, and many other things. In our case, we use the crochet for practical reasons. It is durable, soft, and lightweight, and provides the ideal texture to make it a base for beading.

How do you make your jewelry?

It takes three artisans to make each piece of jewelry. First, one of our crochet team makes the crochet base to our exact measurements to determine the shape of the necklace. Next, another artisan sews on the gold bugle beads to set the pattern. These two steps require a lot of care and attention in order to standardize our necklaces. Finally, another artisan sews on the rest of the beads according to our pattern. Because every piece is handmade, you may notice slight variations from what you see in the image. Each necklace has its own unique character — which is what gives handmade jewelry its beauty.

Who are your artisans?

Our story started as a mother and daughter duo. Later, my two aunts join our team and now it has grown to a group of 10 women — all mothers — in our hometown of Balikesir in Turkey. My mom and my aunt have always been very talented, but until now they have not had the tools to market their skills. We’ve found that many women of their generation have encountered the same problem, and we’re proud to be able to offer them meaningful employment.

How do you give back?

At Seyyah, we were determined to build our business in a good way. We’re committed to empowering women by offering this opportunity to our artisans — often their first experience of paid work.

Inspired by the felines of Istanbul, we donate cat food to animal shelters in Turkey with every purchase from our Cats of Istanbul collection. Here in the US, meanwhile, we’re always happy to donate jewelry as raffle prizes to help raise money for causes that we support.

Do you offer any discounts or coupons?

At Seyyah, we don’t believe in discounts and coupons. We are proud to pay our artisans fair wages while offering our jewelry at fair prices to our customers. We also guard against overproduction by making only five necklaces in each design — so each one really is a limited edition.

What forms of payment do you take?

We accept payments from Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, and debit cards. You can also pay using PayPal and AfterPay.

What is Afterpay?

With Afterpay, you can pay for your order in four interest-free installments. You pay the first installment when you make your purchase, with subsequent payments made every two weeks.

Simply browse the website as usual and choose Afterpay as your payment method at checkout. You’ll then be taken to the Afterpay website to create your account, or, if you already have an account, to log in.

The minimum order value is $35 (maximum is $1,000).

Find out more at Afterpay’s website here, or you can call them on 855-289-6014.

Afterpay is only available to residents of the United States

Where can I see these necklaces in person?

Right now, you can see a selection of our necklaces in the Femme Fatale DC pop up store until May 31, 2019. Find us at 3224 11th St NW, Washington DC.

Sign up for our newsletter to find out where our jewelry will be popping up next!

Visit our Shipping, Returns & Exchanges, or Contact Us pages for your other questions.