John Hardy
John Hardy was founded by Canadian John Hardy, in 1975 after he visited Bali in the mid 1970s and noticed the tradition of Balinese jewelry. . He started by first learning the techniques of the local artisans and then branched into developing his first pieces by applying new design concepts to Balinese techniques. The designs became of interest to the western world and sold quickly so Hardy expanded the business. As the foundation for the business grew so did Hardy's success and by 1996 he built a manufacturing compound in Bali which became the production center as well as home. Success continued to follow Hardy as he added designers like Guy Bedarida in 1999 who expanded the concept and branched the company further into European, Ancient, and Asian designs. The expanded designs opened the market to incorporate worldwide demand and by 2007, Damien Dernoncourt, who was the president of the company at the time, along with Guy Bedarida purchased the company keeping the name. They also moved the headquarters to Hong Kong and opened a satellite office in New York. Its first flagship store opened in Plaza Indonesia, Jakarta in 2010 and in 2011 they opened in Hong Kong. Two additional stores were added in Bali by 2014 the same year Robert Hanson became CEO. By the summer of 2016 a United State boutique was opened in Houston and a second location shortly after in New York City. Since then the company has expanded greatly opening a number of stores in the US, Caribbean, Indonesia, Hong Kong and retail partners were established to sell product through department stores.
