Mialisia

Mialisia began with Annelise Brown, a stay-at-home mother of four boys in Utah. She wanted jewelry that could go from the grocery store to church to a date night without buying a new piece for each. So she started designing her own. Her key idea was to add hooks to chains instead of traditional clasps, so pieces could be linked into different lengths and styles. She called it VersaStyle and applied for a patent.

According to the company, Brown first sold the line at craft shows and on Etsy and Shop Lately, and built it into a million-dollar business from her basement within three years. Demand outgrew what she could make herself, so she turned it into a direct sales company. Mialisia opened its doors in the summer of 2013, with Brown as CEO and her husband Sean Brown as president. Its company profile on Gust listed it in Provo, Utah, and said it had passed $3 million in sales.

“In the past 5 years I've gone from a business in my basement to a multimillion dollar jewelry company to joining forces with one of the fastest growing and innovative direct selling companies in our industry.”

Annelise Brown, CEO of Mialisia — Youngevity acquisition announcement (NewMediaWire), May 28, 2015

In May 2015, Youngevity International announced that it had bought the business. Its annual report dates the deal to June 1, 2015, when it acquired certain assets of Mialisia & Co., LLC.

Mialisia sold fashion jewelry built around VersaStyle. Necklaces, chains and connectors were made to clip together, so the wearer could turn them into:

• Necklaces: single, long, lariat-style or layered.
• Bracelets and wraps: chains doubled or tripled around the wrist.
• Belts and anklets: longer combinations of the same pieces.

The company said two or three pieces could make more than 25 looks. Prices were moderate: the old Direct Sales Aid profile listed pieces from about $20 to $50, and the company's Gust profile gave an average price under $50. Pieces carried a lifetime limited warranty.

After the Youngevity deal, the range grew. By late 2016 the Mialisia site offered a Locket Builder for floating-charm lockets, engraved coins, chains and bracelets, alongside VersaStyle pieces. It also sold special pieces for Make-A-Wish Arizona, with 60 percent of the sale price going to the charity.

Mialisia's independent sellers were called Designers. They showed the line at home parties, which the company later called a Mialisia Social, and at vendor events, and they sold through personal websites. Hosts earned free jewelry when their party qualified. The company called itself a party-plan business and sold only through its Designers.

Starter Kit

New Designers joined by buying a starter kit. The company said its plan let new sellers pick a kit that matched their goals. The old Direct Sales Aid profile listed a starting kit of $199; the full kit range is not preserved in the archived site.

Pay

Designers earned commission on their own sales, plus bonuses and team commissions for building a team. The old Direct Sales Aid profile listed commission from 35%. The detailed compensation plan was not captured by the Wayback Machine, so its full terms cannot be confirmed. After the acquisition, Mialisia sellers were also called Distributors, and they gained access to Youngevity's wider product range, while Youngevity distributors could sell Mialisia jewelry. The 2016 site offered markets in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico.

Mialisia did not close in the usual sense. It was absorbed. On May 28, 2015, Youngevity International announced that it had acquired the business, and its annual report gives the date as June 1, 2015. Youngevity said Mialisia distributors and customers would gain access to more than 1,000 Youngevity products. Brown said Mialisia would continue its mission to “remind women of their infinite worth.”

For a while the brand kept its own identity. By October 2016 the Mialisia website listed a Scottsdale, Arizona address and said Mialisia belonged to Youngevity's family of brands. From November 2016 to late 2017 the site still sold jewelry. By January 15, 2018, mialisia.com showed only a short notice: “The Mialisia website has been combined with Youngevity Social.” Youngevity kept a subsidiary called Mialisia Canada and still listed the Mialisia acquisition in its annual report for 2019.

The mialisia.com domain later passed to unrelated websites. If you are looking for interchangeable jewelry today, see Youngevity or browse live jewelry companies on Direct Sales Aid.