Reinventing The Brooch - It’s Hip

Linda Dela Cruz
Wednesday - January 27, 2010
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Jacci Delaneau and her Hip Heirloom brooch

Women of all ages love bling and are scooping up the decorative jewelry that Jacci Delaneau creates with her company, Hip Heirlooms.

When accessories are right, every age group gets it,” she says.

Delaneau has invented a shiny embellishment that is used instead of a belt.

“It slips over a button,” she explains. “It’s a reinvention of the brooch with a contemporary spin. It’s classier than a belt, and people like the broochiness of it. This has a chain so that it doesn’t get lost when you have to undo it to go to the bathroom.”

The Hawaii Kai resident wears hers with jeans, but she says it can go on anything that has a button.


The hip heirloom fashion accessory is available at Riches at Kahala Mall, Red Pineapple at Ward Centre and Philanthropy By Madison and Co. in Kailua.

The idea of marketing this product had been on her mind for the past eight years.

“I didn’t want to worry about adding extra inches around my belt, so I pinned a brooch on my jeans,” she recalls. “It was cute and decorative. It was my own little trend for a little while.”

But marketing the idea was then put aside as something she might do someday.

Inspired in part by one of her friends who invented her own product, Delaneau set out in 2008 to make her hip heirloom a reality within a year. Using the knowledge she gained as a serial entrepreneur, she manufactures them in the United States.

This isn’t her first business endeavor. The native New Yorker once owned an Italian sportswear company with a partner as well as the Silk and Oil Galleries in Kaimuki.

She credits her worldwide travels for her positive attitude.


“Anything’s possible,” she says. “I’ve seen so many people live an unconventional life.”

She says she has one technique to overcome the fear that some people may not like her product.

“I just do it anyway,” she says.

She hopes to soon get Hip Heirlooms to boutiques on the Mainland.

For more information, call 888-466-4312 or log on to www.hipheirlooms.com.

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