KEEP Collective

KEEP Collective came from the team behind Stella & Dot, the jewelry company founded by Jessica Herrin. Herrin co-founded KEEP with Blythe Harris, Stella & Dot's chief creative officer, and Dana Bloom ran it as vice president and general manager. It ran as part of the Stella & Dot Family of Brands, alongside the Ever skin care line, from a base in Sausalito, California.

By August 2014 the brand's first website was collecting wait-list sign-ups from would-be Designers. Direct Selling News dates the launch to January 2015. Growth was quick. In its first year KEEP brought in nearly $50 million in revenue, and by early 2017 it had more than 10,000 independent Designers in the US and Canada. Canada opened in April 2016, with a maple leaf charm to mark it, and an online design studio followed that October.

“KEEP Collective isn’t about the product. It’s about you.”

Jessica Herrin, founder of Stella & Dot — Direct Selling News, January 2017

Later came licensed Disney charms (on the homepage in January 2018) and engraved cuffs. In November 2019, Glossy reported, Stella & Dot and KEEP products went into 26 Nordstrom stores and onto Nordstrom.com. Weeks later the brand stopped being a company of its own.

KEEP sold a system rather than finished pieces. Every look started with a Keeper and was finished with Keys.

• Keepers: single and double-wrap leather bands, suede, silicone bands in solid colors and prints, metal mesh bracelets, bangles and pendant necklaces in silver, gold and rose gold tones.
• Keys: slide-on charms with initials, dates, birthstone colors, hearts, faith symbols, sports and hobby icons, and script words like "mom" and "love".
• TimeKeys: watch faces that slid onto a Keeper like any other charm.
• Engravables: cuffs, discs and bars engraved with names, dates, verses or coordinates.
• Extras: key fobs and pet collars, plus licensed Disney charm sets.

Prices stayed at gift level. Direct Selling News put charms at $7 to $34 and bands at $19 to $59 in 2017. The old Direct Sales Aid profile listed silicone Keepers from $19, leather bands at $29 to $39, metal mesh and bangles at $49 to $59, and TimeKeeper watches at $59 to $69. The metals were ionic plated, the company said. Collectors often bought a few Keepers and swapped Keys between them as the seasons, or their moods, changed.

Sellers were called Designers. They held in-person parties, which KEEP called Socials and later Design Sessions, where guests built bracelets from the Designer's sample Keys. Hosts earned discounts and free jewelry when their event qualified. Each Designer also had a personal KEEP website, and customers could order there or in the online design studio. Orders shipped from the company, so Designers did not need to carry stock.

Starter Kit

New Designers bought a starter kit of samples. Direct Selling News reported in 2017 that a kit could be had "for as little as $149." The old Direct Sales Aid profile listed kit options from $149 to $349. Herrin said the company wanted people to join "without being a salesperson" and leaned on training to get them started.

Pay

Designers earned up to 35% commission on their personal sales, according to Direct Selling News, plus team commissions once they built a team. The old Direct Sales Aid profile recorded a 25% to 35% commission range. Designers who sponsored others moved up a leadership path, and in Canada the company ran a "Race to Founding Leader" promotion for its first leaders. The full plan lived in KEEP's compensation documents, which are no longer online.

KEEP ended as a standalone company at the turn of 2020. Its own storefront at keepcollective.com was still running in late December 2019, according to Wayback Machine captures. On January 3, 2020, Glossy reported that Stella & Dot had merged its three brands, so Ambassadors could now sell Stella & Dot jewelry, KEEP accessories and Ever skin care together. By the same day, keepcollective.com was redirecting to a KEEP section at stelladot.com/keep.

“Our brands are separate from a consumer perspective, but our true reason for being as a company is to empower the modern woman with the ultimate side gig, so she can untether from [work] hours that just don't work for her.”

Jessica Herrin, CEO and founder of Stella & Dot — Glossy, January 2020

KEEP lived on inside Stella & Dot for a while. New charm collections were still being released on stelladot.com in August 2020, and the stelladot.com/keep page was still archived as a live page in July 2022. By February 2023, though, the old KEEP address was sending visitors to the Stella & Dot homepage instead. By September 2024 the keepcollective.com domain was listed for sale, and today it shows a parked placeholder page. We found no public closure notice for the line.

Today Stella & Dot is still in business as an online jewelry brand with an affiliate program, but it no longer sells KEEP. Its current store has no Keepers or Keys. Former Designers kept whatever samples they owned, and used KEEP bands and charms are easy to find on resale sites.