Photos provided by LINK x LOU
We all have special people in our lives. Whether that’s a friend, a parent, a sibling, a spouse or anyone else we love, we’ve all had that passing thought of, “Let’s get matching tattoos!” While sometimes that is the perfect option, other times you want to get something meaningful without the commitment of ink on your body forever.
Reese Walters, the Columbia Linker for LINK x LOU, says permanent jewelry is the happy medium. It’s not as much of a commitment as a tattoo but is worth more than a gifted item. “Getting linked is kind of our trademark, like getting inked. It’s a memory, and it’s on there forever,” she says. “We’re selling more than a product. It’s an experience.”
For as long as we’ve known, jewelry has been a symbol of love. Mothers pass down jewelry to daughters; you get a ring to symbolize marriage, bracelets to symbolize friendship and so much more. Being able to incorporate memories on top of such an already-loved gift is something LINK x LOU finds even more special.
“Girls have shown the love of jewelry to be more than just jewelry,” Walter says. “I mean, it stands for so much more than that. So, to be able to make it permanent and kind of have it be a symbol of something is kind of a new way of jewelry.”
While LINK x LOU is a national company, it has roots in Missouri. The founder started the company in Kansas City before moving the headquarters to Denver, Colorado. “It was kind of her COVID baby experiment,” Walters says. The goal was to find a way to provide permanent jewelry options for people across the United States and not just have options in New York, where she originally got her first permanent bracelet at a boutique. Along with the roots in Kansas City, each LINK x LOU is locally run, from city to city. Now, after four years since opening, LINK x LOU has expanded to 70 cities and has about 100 Linkers across the U.S., including the one right here in Columbia, which Walters took over in August 2023.
“They like to call us ‘intrapreneurs,’ in a sense that the business here is our own business, but we still report up to a headquarters,” Walters says. “How much we work, who we partner with, how we market our business on socials, all of our partnerships with other local businesses, giveaways in our community, sponsorships within different giving back opportunities. All of that is up to our own discretion.”
While Columbia is the home base for Walters, she also works in surrounding communities, including Jefferson City, Boonville and the Ozarks, doing pop-up events or collaborating with local businesses in those areas. “My styles are primarily pop-ups with local businesses and then private parties,” she says.
Walters has partnered with several local businesses in Columbia, including Pure Barre Columbia, Toasty Goat Coffee Co., Element Wellness & Cryotherapy and Kelly Fields Boutique. “For pop-ups, we kind of collaborate for an activation experience where I’ll go and set up my table and display in their brick-and-mortar space,” Walters says.
Giving back to communities is one of LINK x LOU’s pillars of business. Along with promoting and collaborating with local businesses, LINK x LOU also donates a portion of sales to organizations that align with its values. “The organizations are selected by individual city Linkers in hopes to produce a lasting impact and maintain a relationship beyond the donation,” Walters says.
Walters also attends events as a vendor to display and provide products. This can be anything from a private formal event or a wedding, to a girl’s night in or casual hang out with friends. “I will do any type of get-together; it doesn’t have to be an event. It can be a random Friday night, too. And I’ll go to you.” For private events, Walters does not charge to come to the location, the payment only comes from the product used. “I go and I setup in their home, and it’s kind of more of an intimate experience behind that.”
From permanent bracelets, anklets and necklaces to rings, ear accessories and charms, there are pieces everyone will love when getting linked. “Since it’s permanent, we don’t want it to be too heavy, so you can’t really feel it on you,” Walters says. “They are truly so dainty.”
If you are looking for a bit of a heavier option, LINK x LOU came out with the LUXE Line as more of a statement piece to add to your collection. “These chains are about three times as thick as our Core Collection,” she says. While the Core Collection has been in place since opening, as LINK x LOU grows, they continue to keep up with what customers are craving.
Walters says it’s all about listening to feedback from customers and designing accordingly. “Each city can choose what they want to carry and opt into carrying as to what’s doing well in their city,” she says. “That’s also the nice piece of being independent within our own city, we get to choose what fits our market and what sells best here, and what our customers are asking for. ”To make sure each piece is perfect for all customers, LINK x LOU prides itself on a gold standard, offering 14k solid gold products so they won’t tarnish or stretch. Since the jewelry is meant to be permanent, you’ll be wearing the products during all of life’s moments. “Our products are created to withstand the test of time, no matter how much you shower, swim or sweat in them.”
Along with the promise of 14k solid gold products, LINK x LOU has sustainability at the core of its business, specifically the phrase we all know and love, “reduce, reuse, recycle.” According to the pillars of LINK x LOU, permanent jewelry reduces the number of pieces bought over the years, limiting the addition to “fast fashion.” Customers can also customize products they already have, with scrap metals, adding to the reusing aspect of sustainability. Finally, any gold scraps not used are sent back, melted down and used in the next batch of pieces sent out. Everything LINK x LOU does keeps in line with the four main pillars of business: connection, authenticity, integrity and innovation. The goal is to connect to communities, empower customers and employees, provide quality products and test the limits of business, all while linking memories forever.
To book LINK x LOU in Columbia for any occasion or to start a partnership, send a direct message to @linkxlou.columbia on Instagram or send an email to reese@linkxlou.com.
