It's Yours to Carry

The Xander Castil Story

2017 — The Beginning

It was the summer of 2017, and I had just turned sixteen when my father approached me with the idea selling his jewelry designs online.

Growing up, jewelry was our family’s way of making a living. I spent much of my childhood in jewelry exchanges, around tools, stones, and the craft my father built his life on.

It wasn’t nearly as glamorous as one might imagine, but it was honest work.

His idea was simple: he would create the jewelry and I would sell it on the internet.

And just like that, what would eventually become Xander Castil was born.

We working out from our small townhome garage, barely big enough to fit our car.

Our setup consisted of a few computers for designing, a 3D printer, two workbenches, and basic jewelry-making equipment my father had collected over the years.

This would serve as our workshop for the next five years. Cramped, and hot from the Florida heat, I never took any pictures of our workspace. I remember being too embarrased about it.

We started off with simple pieces — rings, pendants, earrings — and listing them on Etsy. 

Experimenting to see what the online market responded to.

And it was during those early experiments that we decided to try something a bit different.

Living in South Florida, we both were avid fisherman. And one day, my father created a pendant based on the Snook, one of the most sought-after fish among local anglers.

We made a few pieces and wearing them out in the local piers and fishing spots, other anglers would often notice and ask about it.

Some even wanted one of their own.

Encouraged by the reactiom, I listed the Snook online. 

At first... nothing.

In fact, the first nautical design ever sold was a triple Snook ring, a design I came up with that was based on the pendant.

It was only later, towards the end of year, that we started getting our first few sales for the Snook.

Looking back now, I'm amazed how one fish would eventually become the design that quietly set the foundation for everything that followed.

 

2018 - 2020 — The Founding of Castil

As those early sales continued, I began to imagine something bigger. 

Being an ambitious, slightly delusional kid growing up, I started dreaming of building something better than our small, cramped, and hot garage workshop.

Originally, the brand was called “Castil.”

I came up with the name by splitting my last name, Castillo, in half.

I remember wanting a name that could represent my family’s lineage in jewelry, something that could sound like a jewelry house.

The name became my standard. Whenever I wasn't sure what direction to take, I would simply ask myself: what would a jewelry house do?



Or at least grow big enough to afford our own warehouse…

During my later high school years, we began building our nautical collection with designs such as the Mahi, the Tarpon, and the Redfish.

I spent many of my afternoons after school designing new products, building our website, and coming up with pricing and marketing strategies.

That routine would continue once I left for college.

However, by my second semester as a freshman, I realized I could not balance being both a full-time student and building a jewelry company.

After many weeks of thought, I decided to put all my efforts into what I thought would work out better not only for me, but for my family in the long run.