Home PeopleHoboken Girl of the Week Hoboken Girl{s} of The Week: Emily and Maria of ME&EM For Good

Hoboken Girl{s} of The Week: Emily and Maria of ME&EM For Good

by Jennifer Tripucka
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When it comes to jewelry, we all wear it — but not all of it has meaning. That’s totally not the case in Emily Barere and Maria Strandberg’s world, who are the founders of the jewelry line, ME&EM For Good. But before we get into that, we’ll rewind a bit to when the two mom-turned-entrepreneurs became friends — a friendship that was forged in a Hoboken park when their two daughters, Ella and Molly, went to preschool and played together.

Soon after meeting, Ella was diagnosed with Leukemia, and she spent several years battling cancer. Her friend Molly was there every step of the way — along with her mom, Maria.

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^Ella and Molly, fast friends <3

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After her daughter’s devastating Leukemia diagnosis, Emily, a mom of three and {now} former Creative Director found herself constantly “wishing” for her daughter’s health and healing, which eventually came through after intensive chemotherapy. “We will never know if it was the medicine or the power of our wishing, but today Ella is in remission and able to play with Molly whenever she wants,” Emily joyfully recalls. Their friendship through Ella’s battle with Leukemia has seen more in a few short years than most friendships do in a lifetime.

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But all of that wishing turned into a bigger passion project — all for the greater good. “ME&EM For Good was born of wishes. A way to turn our misfortune into something good,” Emily recalled. And they did just that; the ladies, along with their {now 8-year-old} daughters created a jewelry line to “do good.”
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^Maria and Emily
For every charm purchased, ME&EM For Good will donate $1 to a children’s charity. “We set out to create cool jewelry that we couldn’t find elsewhere but wanted to buy for ourselves and our children,” Maria explained. It’s only been a few short months since they launched the brand, and in that time were able to make a sizable donation to Tackle Kids Cancer — which was matched by none other than Eli Manning.
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So without further ado, we’re asking some of our HG Qs as well as a little more about ME&EM For Good. Here are our Hoboken Girls of the Week in full effect:

Who designs ME&EM jewelry? Where is it made?

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We design all our jewelry ourselves and manufacture it overseas. We spent a lot of time and effort finding the perfect jewelry factory to maintain our high standards and safety requirements. 

 Tell us a little more about how donations work. 

Every time we sell or donate a ME&EM charm we give $1 to a For Good Project. Our first initiative is Tackle Kids Cancer which raises money for cancer research and assists families going through cancer treatments. This charity was founded at the same hospital that Ella was treated so seemed a natural place to start our giving. Throughout football season, Eli Manning has generously agreed to match all donations to Tackle Kids Cancer. We are very excited to make ME&EM’s first donation this month – and super happy that TKC is celebrating the occasion with a photoshoot and check presentation!

Okay down to Hoboken business. What is your favorite restaurant in Hoboken?

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We love Cucharamama for dinner but you can often find us working at one of Chef Pino’s restaurants — some days at Anthony David’s for coffee or Bin 14 for a glass of wine.

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What is your favorite boutique in Hoboken?

How do we choose just one? Luna Rosa is like walking into a jewel box filled wth sparkling must-haves. For the perfect gift, we both love Washington General Store and for anything and everything stationery, we always check out Hudson Paperie.

What do you love most about Hoboken?

It’s metropolitan yet has a small town feel, close to the city, and filled with great neighbors. Oh — and you can walk everywhere: What’s not to love?

What is your favorite thing to do in Hoboken?

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Walk along the river and take in the view.

How long have you been in Hoboken?

Without knowing each other we both moved to Hoboken 16 years ago. Maria from Sweden, and Emily from NYC. We couldn’t be more thrilled to live, work, and raise our families in this town.

What is your favorite outdoor place to spend time in Hoboken?

In addition to the waterfront, you can find us at the farmer’s markets, along Washington Street or far too often at the soccer fields.

What is your favorite place to workout in Hoboken?

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Devotion Yoga, Columbus Park tennis courts, or The Shipyard gym.

Where do you go out with friends in Hoboken?

Bin 14, Pier 13 — or for live music, The Cuban.

What is something you think needs to come to Hoboken?

Please no more sports bars or pizza joints. We would love to see a more diverse restaurant scene and a fresh local supermarket. We will greatly miss Sobseys. 

It’s clear these {two} pairs are inseparable, and that they’ve created something very special. “We are so happy to start our business in Hoboken and we are amazed with how supportive the Hoboken community has been! The response to our jewelry has been incredibly positive and everyone we’ve met has been excited to do good with us!”

 

To shop ME&EM For Good, click here {or head to Hudson Paperie downtown or Luna Rosa uptown to see it in person in Hoboken. Such cute gift ideas for girls!}.

 

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