Mass communication junior Brooke Marcello is following the paths of previous students, taking on the role of part-time entrepreneur.
While studying mass communication in the hopes to continue on to law school, Marcello makes jewelry on the side, describing her line as having a fun and beachy vibe.
“As a college student, buying jewelry from boutiques became less and less practical,” Marcello said. “About a year and a half ago, I started making my own jewelry.”
Marcello’s line consists primarily of pearls, along with other fashion-forward pieces. While she works on other designs, she said the pearl designs are the most popular.
“The beach is a huge part of our family,” Marcello said. “We love going to the beach, and [the pearls] were something I noticed in a lot of beach towns.”
She said the simple, yet beautiful pearls caught the eyes of shoppers looking for trendy items.
While selling her necklaces at an event in the Delta Zeta Sorority house, Posh Boutique noticed one of her necklaces, and the collaboration stemmed from there. Marcello now said three of her necklace designs are sold at Posh Boutique in Baton Rouge and will soon be in the Mandeville, Louisiana, location.
“At first, I started doing it for myself and a few close friends,” Marcello said. “And now I’m in one of the best boutiques in Baton Rouge. I’m super excited.”
While the young designer makes all her pieces by hand, Marcello said she isn’t worried about her first mass order.
“I’ve gotten to where I can do it with my eyes closed,” Marcello said. “I can do it in about two minutes.”
Marcello said she hopes to perfect her more complicated pieces and gameday pieces to sell. Her business is still in the development stages, but she recently revealed her new name and logo: Kukee Rae, pronounced cookie ray.
“Growing up, everybody called me ‘Cookie’ because it rhymes with Brookie. … It stuck,” Marcello said. “I wanted to use that because it’s obviously very sentimental, but I spelled it in a different way. … Rae comes from my aunt who passed away several years ago from cervical cancer, and her middle name was Rae. … It’s pretty special to me.”
Marcello said her aunt lived in South Beach in Miami and thinks her beachy jewelry represents her aunt well.
While Kukee Rae is blossoming, she said law school is still on the agenda, but she is open to new possibilities.
“I’m [kind of] just seeing where this takes me, and if it takes me that way, I’m open to it,” Marcello said.

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Kimberly Gagnet

Mass communication junior Brooke Marcello designs and owns jewelry company Kukee Rae.