6 designers shaking up fashion

Mejuri's mission is twofold: Present customers with affordable fine jewelry and give designers a platform for name recognition.

"Brands don't necessarily shed light on designers," said co-founder Noura Sakkijha, who is the third generation in her family to work in the industry. "We're going to bridge the gap."

Mejuri presents themed challenges to designers -- about four a year -- and provides guidelines for submissions (like a mood board and measurements). Customers vote for their favorite designs and Mejuri produces the top-voted pieces (which are sometimes refined to ensure they're cohesive with Mejuri's brand).

The latest challenge, "earring charms," saw about 60 submissions, and fewer than 20 were produced. (The average piece runs about $150.)

There are 700 designers signed up on Mejuri (up from 300 in 2013); each gets their own profile page with their bio and designs.

Mejuri has seen a 40% increase in sales since launching out of beta about a year ago. They're currently working out of Montreal as part of startup accelerator Founder Fuel.