Meet Zuanci Lemus

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zuanci Lemus a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Zuanci with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I get my work ethic from my mom, aside from my grandmother, she is the strongest most resilient woman I have in my life. She has always been a very disciplined woman when it comes to working and has always influenced me consciously and subconsciously when it comes to jewelry. She migrated to Los Angeles from Mexico City and worked very hard to give me the opportunity to have a better life. She instilled in me that I should always make sure that I can survive on my own, to keep my head up and give it my all. Shout out to Leticia for being a great mother.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My name is Zuancí Lemus. I was born in Los Angeles and raised in South Whittier. I have always had a love for jewelry and was influenced by it from a very young age. Both of my parents always wore the nicest gold jewelry and being hispanic, I feel like we come out of the womb wearing gold. I have memories of being in elementary and the other kids calling me Mr. T because I always wore several gold necklaces with pendants, the traditional bracelet with my name on it, rings and earrings. I thought Mr. T was tough, so I was cool with the idea of being the girl version of Mr. T.

Before my mom migrated to the U.S from Mexico City she worked in the jewelry industry. She migrated to LA and one of her jobs was selling gold jewelry. I would tag along with her to the Jewelry District in LA and shop for chains, rings, earrings and custom pieces for her clients. My mom laced my dad and I up with gold pieces all of the time, to this day I wear my 14K gold and emerald ring that my mom gave me when I was a kid. I have this distinct memory of my dad showing me a little bag of tiny diamonds that my mom gave him… me curious of course, asked, what’s it for?…. He explained to me that he was taking the diamonds to his dentist so he can have them placed in his teeth. I thought that was the coolest thing on the planet as a kid, even more so as an adult, I love it! Both of my parents influenced me and planted the seed for my future in jewelry. I didn’t know it then, but now that I take a step back and fully analyze my life, I have come full circle. I was destined to create Drip Gems.

The idea of Drip Gems started in 2019 right before the pandemic hit. I rediscovered my fascination/love for dental jewelry when I saw someone with a tooth gem and instantly it reminded me of my dad and his diamond teeth. From that moment forward I took the biggest leap of faith, left my art teaching career and decided to fully dive into dental jewelry. Drip Gems was born in 2020 in Laguna Beach. For the first year I was only placing tooth gems on teeth which I love but it only fed the creative monster inside of me. I craved more creativity and I knew I could do so much more than just tooth gems, so I took another leap of faith and decided to start designing and hand making Gold Grillz. I had no idea how to start, what I needed or how expensive it was going to be, but I knew that creating custom gold dental pieces was what I wanted to do. I took an apprenticeship with a Master Jeweler and learned the basics of jewelry design and started practicing making grillz. Through trial and error I learned to perfect my craft and now create amazing gold pieces for my clients.

It amazes me how real my dream has become. I moved to Orange County, knew not a single soul out here as far as clients but now I have people from all over the world coming in to get a Drip Gems Grill. It’s such a crazy, special feeling that I can’t explain. When a client comes in and tells me, “Yeah, I saw your work and I love it”, or “it’s always been a dream of mine to have a grill” I’m here from Australia or Paris or driving from the Bay to Laguna Beach, it’s crazy! Seeing my work on clients out in the world has been surreal. Every time I see someone in a fashion photoshoot, on tour, in a show, in their own interview or everyday life, wearing a custom piece I created specifically for them, I have a “pinch me” moment.

Drip Gems is an embodiment of luxurious inspiration, it’s here to offer the wearer a custom golden accent to add to their smile so they can Smile the Brightest.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The qualities that were most impactful for me in my journey were the lessons that I learned from failure. Failing in my previous ventures has brought me to where I am now. I always saw myself as an artist, a free thinker, a big dreamer, but didn’t fully know my niche. I struggled to find myself for a very long time. I knew I wanted to be an artist but I didn’t know what type of artist I wanted to become. While in college I went back and forth between mediums, tried painting, drawing and sculpting. Sculpting was my favorite out of the 3. I graduated college and began working in an art gallery in LA and teaching Art, I thought to myself, “I’m going to make something of myself in the art world” but nope, it didn’t happen. I met a lot of wonderful people, and made tons of memories but I wasn’t fully moved by any of it. Until I reunited with the love I have for gold jewelry and creating custom gold dental jewelry. My skills in sculpture definitely play a big part in creating the gold pieces I create now. To me every custom mouth piece I create and spend countless hours on, is a piece of art, a piece of me, that someone will have forever.

My advice to anyone starting on their own journey is to fully believe in yourself. Be patience with yourself and the journey. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, don’t follow trends, always stay true to yourself because trends are temporary your vision and dream is timeless.. Once you find your niche, practice, ask questions, do research, stay in your lane and don’t spread yourself too thin, Find a great mentor and enjoy everything that comes with where you’re trying to go. It’s not going to be easy but you will get there if you don’t give up on yourself. I always say, if a Hispanic girl from South Whittier, that came from nothing can make it, and is now making custom pieces in prestigious Laguna Beach, you can too.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

The book that has played an important role in my development has been
“A Happy Pocket Full of Money” by David Cameron Gikandi

It has taught me to dream big, hold my dreams high, to always find inspiration in my surroundings and to be grateful. And most importantly to remember the past, look toward the future, but to be myself here in the now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Dripgems.com
• Instagram: Drip_Gems

Image Credits

Personal photo taken by Eric Lampe’