Sanyana Joseph was searching the internet for a gold "wahine" necklace when she had an epiphany.
"It was so hard for me to get this 'wahine' necklace," she said. "I really needed it. I really wanted it. And I was like, 'Wait, why am I getting this 'wahine' necklace? I'm not wahine. I’m Mutacn and I’m Serepein.’"
Mutacn and Serepein are words to describe women in the Micronesian languages of Kosraean and Pohnpeian.
She said buying the "wahine" necklace didn't feel right for her, but it was her only option at the time since there weren't companies that sold jewelry in her Micronesian language.
Sanyana called her sister, Shantel, to pitch the idea of starting their own business and Sienna Official was born.
The sister-owned business sells gold necklaces in bold cursive letters that read "woman" or "beautiful woman" in more than a dozen Micronesian languages.
In Hawaiʻi, the sisters said their Micronesian identity was something to be kept quiet, but their business aims to empower Micronesian women to wear their culture proudly around their necks.
"Saying Micronesian out loud wasn't something we could be loud about," Sanyana said. "We used to whisper it. But with Sienna, we've put the words on necklaces, forcing us to want to know about our islands and teach it."
Shantel said their business has become more than just a jewelry brand.
"I feel it's become a brand where we created a safe space for Micronesian women and youth to connect with their culture and community," Shantel said. "Sienna is about empowering our heritage and our cultures."
Embracing Pacific heritage
Their brand name, Sienna, is inspired by the Kosraean word "Siacna." It means different, unique and one-of-a-kind. The sisters said they grew up hearing their mother saying it.
"We had that in our mindset," Shantel said. "It's good to be different, and growing up, that's what we learned about being Micronesian. We are so different, our traditions, our culture, our families, our attires and our religions."
Micronesia is located in Oceania's western region. It has 2,000 islands consisting of the Republic of Palau, The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan, Tinian and Rota), Guåhan (Guam), the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap and Kosrae), the Republic of Kiribati and the Republic of Nauru.
Sanyana and Shantel said they wanted to include every language and folktale in their jewelry.
To share the islands’ legends, the sisters did a social media outreach to hear diverse stories. It inspired them to branch out to pendants and rings.
Each piece of jewelry also tells stories of Micronesian folklore.
The best-selling "Sirena" pendant tells the story of a Chamorro woman named Sirena who turns into a mermaid. She snuck off to swim in the ocean when she wasn’t allowed to. Her mother told her to stay away from the water or else she would be cursed.
The story is Guam’s infamous legend that serves as a reminder that every Pacific Islander is connected to the ocean.
Another jewelry piece is the "Infinite" ring, shaped like octopus tentacles. It's a story about an octopus named Lidakika who guided the first settlers to Pohnpei.
“In Kiribati, the creator God is an octopus named Na Kika who is said to have created the islands using its tentacles to pull the earth up from the bottom of the ocean,” Sanyana said. “The 'Infinity' ring represents a forever connection, similar to the connection we have with our home islands.”
Their newest seller is the "Divinity" necklace. It's a pendant of a headless woman's body. It’s inspired by the Palauan love story, “Surech ma Tulei.” The story portrays a woman's mind to be the most important feature of her body.
"It represents Micronesian women, who are strong women but soft women at the same time," Shantel said.
Expanding their brand
Sienna Official was an idea that started during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three years later, their business expanded to rings, pendants and clothing.
Sanyana and Shantel said they had never thought about a career in jewelry.
Their logo is a butterfly. They said it symbolized spreading their wings outside the Federated States of Micronesia by covering the whole region. The sisters said they have more in store for their brand.
"We reach more Micronesians than we were just to reach out only in Hawaiʻi," Sanyana said. "We send packages all over now, all over the mainland and islands we've never been to. It's so cool."
Although the sisters continue to sell their jewelry online, they also sell at pop-up events and wholesaling in Pohnpei, Chuuk and Guam.
They even worked with other Micronesian artists to help build their brand. For example, some have designed stickers representing an urohs, or skirt in Pohnpeian.
"What the urohs symbolize is Micronesian," Sanyana said. "You see that skirt, and you know their Micronesian. So we wanted to send out a freebie sticker that they could slap on anything. If anyone sees it on their phone, their laptop, or Hydroflasks. So it's like, 'Oh, they're Micronesian, or they support someone Micronesian.'"
Sanyana said Micronesian entrepreneurship is a new language to her. Growing up in Hawaiʻi, the sisters were told to attend school, study and to get nine-to-five jobs. But the sisters said they're more hands-on in their craft.
They encourage other Micronesians to start their own business.
"Don't be afraid," Sanyana said. "You'll never know what's going to happen unless you try."
