luxe.zen selects quality gemstones, wood and other naturally derived materials to handcraft beautiful jewellery pieces. The goal of these pieces is to enhance a holistic lifestyle integrated with wellness, meditation or spiritual practice. luxe.zen got its start in March 2016 when its principal designer began creating jewellery pieces for herself during an illness. She uses aromatherapy principles and selects gemstones with intention to amplify healing. At the same time, she realized this would empower others with the same goals. When it comes to product development, social media is key for luxe.zen. Watching other designers for trends can get overwhelming, as this market is competitive, so luxe.zen keeps grounded by focusing on its own customers. luxe.zen has a high rating on Etsy with over 15% of its customers leaving reviews. And every customer’s feedback is important in the product development lifecycle; it can be one of the richest sources for new product development ideas.

From minor alterations, to complete start-to-finish designs, as many as 30% of online shoppers see value in being able to customize products to their liking (Bain Insights, 2013). Co-creation is not a new concept, but with the growth of social media platforms, companies are now more connected than ever to their customers.

If you were using social media for personal or business use in Canada during the summer of 2016, you will have no doubt heard at least something about The Tragically Hip.  The favoured Canadian band was touring in what likely would be their last, due to frontman Gord Downie’s onset of brain cancer.  Concerts sold out and media of all sorts took note of what was developing into a notable time in our country’s music and lifestyle history.  As the final concert came to pass in August – complete with the attendance and interaction of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – an influential social media phenomenon was occurring. Ensight Canada reported, “In addition to multiple trending topics throughout the weekend of the concert, social media posts about The Hip and (Gord) Downie’s First Nations comments generated roughly 20 million potential impressions across Canada over the past week. What’s really telling is that Canada has about 14 million daily Facebook users, so when we look at the impressions generated, we can conclude almost everyone in the country who used the internet or social media came in contact with the story in some way.”