Hi, welcome to Jewelry as Your Side Hustle with Sugar Gay Isver and I'm Sugar Gay Isver.
And today we have a very special guest also from Austin, a jewelry maker who is self-taught
and really works deep into the metal smithing and we're going to learn about her process
and how she got started and hopefully I get to meet her because she's just across town
for me right now I guess, but we'll hear more about that when she gets here and gets
on. So welcome to my show today, Angel Jasmine and I might be saying that a little bit wrong,
but that's kind of how I would say it, but I don't know, but take it away. Tell us about
your company and you and give us a little background or the little elevator pitch on your
jewelry design and let's get started. I can't wait to hear your journey.
Well, thank you for having me Sugar. My name is Angel Jasmine and I'm the owner and I guess
founder as well of Meadrais Jewelry. I'm a metal smith slash jewelry designer slash I guess one
woman show kind of, but I handmade pieces out of sterling silver custom 14 pay goal just because
I don't have anything on my website yet, but I have done some solid gold and then some limited
gold filled jewelry. But yeah, I do a process of handmade so it's out of carving wax, sheet metal,
wire, lost wax casting, but yeah, that's me. You totally taught yourself. I mean, I don't know.
So I just saw when I saw the words, it's like self taught. I mean, honestly, you can take
there's classes if you need like all that's available to you. But is that true? Like tell us
about how you get into jewelry. Are you an artist? I've never actually taken a class before for
metals. I wouldn't say fully been my own self taught journey just because my first foot in the
door with jewelry was like behind the scenes more so like managing. So I did get to work with a lot
of like master jewelers and like setters when I finally got into fine jewelry production. So I feel
like metalsmithing did come early or easy to me because I was able to kind of already know how
the metal works and different temperatures and just like maybe what gemstones can take heat and
one can and that's kind of what I learned without even like touching a torch or like a tweezer yet.
So I think that's what kind of made it easy for me once I finally like put the knowledge to practice.
You live in Austin, but you're from Chicago. Is that right? Yes, I am from Chicago. But once I
graduated at Columbia College Chicago, I moved to Los Angeles to try and get a job in fashion.
Just because my degree doesn't correlate with what I do now, I went to school for cultural studies,
which is kind of a branch of political science. Yeah, and anthropology, I would think too.
Yeah, it's got a lot to do with that and like some sociology, but I originally went to college
trying to do fashion design. But I quickly learned in my garment construction one class that sewing
is not for me. At least I get it. I can't sew. I can't I can sew if I don't have to measure.
Yeah, so I learned on my own, but once I like had an instructor telling me like no, no, no,
that's wrong. That's not how you do it. It just didn't I don't know it didn't click. I was like,
maybe this isn't my fashion route that I like. And I got into just like jewelry making by just
going to Michaels and like Hobby Lobby and getting like pliers and copper jump rings and stuff like
that. And then yeah, I moved to Los Angeles and got an assembly job with a fashion jewelry brand.
And that really like helped because after that, everyone that I got hired with, which was very
surprising because even the fine jewelry designers would ask me about that job and how I got it.
Wow. What are they asking you about because I I've I've hired people to come in and help me
for big projects before, but still our friends with many of them. And and I love that I love those
big orders. I love it when that comes in. But what kind of like jewelry assembly were you having to
do? Like I would love to hear that some of that too, just because it's fun. It was very it was
like fashion jewelry. So it was very much like brass kind of like plated, I guess, rhodium plated
brass. There was like minimal silver. But it was very much, I guess, fashion slash like costume
jewelry. Like if you didn't take care of it or like if you wore it a lot, the tarnishing will come.
You know, you know how brass is. Yeah, yeah, brass. I've now changed over to I used to just I
thought, Oh, this is great. I love these brass because I have it all done in Rhode Island. But
then it's like, but yeah, they look a little eh. So that's why I switched over to having everything
gold plated or imitation rhodium plated, because it is a big difference. And I thought, Oh, I don't
want my customers to have to be polishing their brass, whatever. So it really does make a difference.
Like I get that. So are you all like gluing stones into things? Is that what you were doing? And so
it wasn't. We never actually glued anything. But it was very much like wire wrapping, like cold
connections, I guess is what you would call it. Like you would wire wrap like tiny loops to clasts
so that it could close like because the chain we're pulling from like spools. I remember the owner
like did a huge trip to China and she brought back like rolls and rolls of different chains and whatnot.
So it's very much like what like dainty wire wrapping crystals like jump that were already kind of made
kind of like more of like the mass produced, but it was very much connecting components to make a big
piece and whatnot. And I still learned a lot like definitely, but I knew it wasn't the type of jewelry
I wanted to make at the end of the day. But I think it's a good springboard. It just to teach you
about hand tools. Right. Yeah. And like I said, a lot of like the handful of businesses I did work
with afterwards, we're always curious about working with this one business just because they were just
so well known in Los Angeles, I guess. Well, that is very cool. Actually, you got to start somewhere.
So that's very cool. And so then it's a big leap from going from handmade and into doing
melting and, and, you know, all the things that you have to do. So I'm proud of you for learning
that on your own. Of course, you have some exposure to it. I don't even know how you go about buying
sterling silver. Does it come in like a block or a sheet or how does it come? Well, there's a fascinating
or just a great not fascinating. It's just a great store. Rio Grande, Georgia, which is where you've
heard of. And they have just all the raw materials. Like if you're casting yourself, you can buy
like grains of the metal that you want to cast in. Right. Because those would melt pretty fast.
Then yeah. And then I buy like my wire from there, my sheet metal. They also do have like
findings like jewelry finding components. That's what I bought before. Yeah. Yeah. They're pretty
reputable in like most metalsmithing groups and like most jewelers do buy from them. Yeah.
But it's not the only place I buy from. I do have a handful of places, you know, you got to shop
around. You do. Like supporting smaller businesses as well. If I can, like I have a, like a raw silver
company. They're a native Etsy store. They're indigenous owned. So I do like buying from them.
If I can't like do the free shipping option on Rio Grande, if I don't have enough product, you know,
so if I can, I want to support the smaller businesses as well.
I really try to do that too. And I was really thinking about like on some of my pieces to
list just like a simple pair of earrings. How many different companies, U.S., I only try to buy U.S.
that are, that supporting, that I'm supporting by making this one necklace. And it is amazing.
It's amazing how that is such an important part to the U.S. economy is keeping things as sustainable
as possible. Now, I also with the caveat say, well, China has also been carving jade for like
6,000 years using just water and bamboo. Like they're very good at the cutting of the gems.
Therefore, almost all raw, a lot. Let's just say, I don't know how much, but a lot of it all ends up
in China to be cut and processed and then sold back to us as finished products. And you can't
currently get around some of that. Although what I do is I work with old hordes from old warehouses.
But those still had to come from somewhere, Austria or Czech Republic or, you know, like
everybody had their little niches. So it is a global thing that, you know, just the supply chain
alone. It's very interesting to see how a finished product and then how it finds a forever home and
all that. So tell me about like, so you're an entrepreneur and you're a creative, you're an
artist and a businesswoman. And how are you finding like, what happened to you during COVID?
How did that work and how are things done since then? Were you working or making jewelry then?
Yeah, I think so what happened? I was planning on fully launching my business at the beginning of
2020. And then COVID hit. So I kind of just was like, all right, let me put this on the back burner
a little bit because it kind of felt like the world was on fire. A few like, you know, those
crazy months when we went into lockdown and everything was shut down. So I decided at the end
of 2020, like COVID is going nowhere, like places are kind of starting to open back up. I was like,
I can buy from suppliers now and do what I need to. So I decided to launch in October of 2020
after waiting. And I think the first, I would say the first year and a half was great, because I think
we all saw a boom in our, maybe our wallets with all the stimulus check that just felt like people
had money. So I did a lot of local markets in the area. And I was very sustainable on my own. I
didn't have a, I was a working in service industry before all of this happened too. So at the time,
like I wasn't working in service industry, just focused on jewelry and my business. So that was
awesome. But then the economy definitely hit its point where we're at now, we're still going through
it. So I did have to cave and I am back in service industry for about like three times a week. And I
found a pretty good restaurant that I can survive doing this and doing, sort of, you know, waiting
tables three days out of the week, and it pays well. So to all the servers in the world and
make sure everybody tips really well, because I've been really poor before where it's like
$5 is like not just one meal, you know, it could be like sustaining. So I make sure I give that 20
plus percentage every time I'm out or regardless, I don't care where it is getting my car wash,
I tip because surviving on tips is not for the faint of heart, like seriously hard. I bow to you
on that. Like I get it, like I have a full-time job too. So it just makes me buy better jewelry
components. Yeah. And not to say too that I'm just like surviving, it's like there's, you know,
a little bit of thriving there as well. So I've been able to find that because I also tried
getting like an admin administrative like job where it was going to be 40 hours a week, but
it just, you know, there's no way I could work 40 hours a week and then put 40 hours to my business.
Yeah. It's just, I'm happy service industry is there for me in that way where I can work
those three days and still be able to pay bills, still be able to keep my business money in my
business. So yeah, it's a balancing act. I mean, it's a jiggle, but I'm proud of you for like coming
up with a plan because it is hard. I've worked 40 hour week jobs too, but what I ended up having
to do is get up really early, like at five o'clock, and then I'm working in at five to eight, and then
I work from, you know, five to eight again, and like, and then you have the weekend. So I'm able
to put in 40 hours, but it's a mess at the end every week. It's like, oh, it's really hard.
Well, that's just work too. I don't know if you have kids, like that's not factoring children,
pets, like hobbies, like other. That's been who gives me that evil eye. Like, yeah.
A lot of time. You know, he is, you know, if you have a partner who is, and you're an,
I'm here an entrepreneur, they just have to come along for the ride. Like they're just part of
the employment, like they're free labor. It's like, I'm sorry, you got to put this together. I know
you're tired, but my intern. Yes. That's what I thought. We do what we can do, right? Like,
I've been doing this for a really long time. I wouldn't stop for anything. I can't stop.
I dream about jewelry. So it is what it is. But because you know, that fashion, that drive to be
fashion, you must have had like art in your background somewhere even before that, like in your soul,
right? Like in your soul, you had this drive to create. Yes. That's not going to ever go away.
Like, no, it won't. Yeah. It's just definitely going to an art school solidified that for me.
Like I just wanted to be an artist one way or another. I don't think I was ever meant for the
nine to five or I also think I know too much about the world and capitalism to want to just work
for make money for somebody else. I know. I know. Right. I get you. I'm in. I'm in with you, girl.
I can get that. So we all, but you know, you have to realize as artists, we're just different than
everybody else. Like we are like, well, I'll do anything to create my art. Like, I don't care
what if it's stay up to midnight, if that's what whatever it is, it's in me. So I fit every penny
that I make back into my jewelry. I know. It's so true. It is. It's so true. I'll never get
up ahead probably of what I've spent over the 20 years. Oh my God. So much money. That's for our
tax guy. Yeah, yeah. That's true. So this is right now. So we're in the summer and you are
preparing I guess for Christmas kind of sales. Do you have other places where you sell at?
Like how's that journey going? Finding wholesalers or retail? No, I'm actually just retail right now.
I was at a little like shop, I don't know if you know, Free to Friday, ATX, they do the markets,
and they also have a sister company Las Oprendas. But they opened up like a little trailer on South
Congress and like this small business trailer. Like I said, there are a handful of small businesses
in there and they were one of them. So I was selling my stuff out of there, but they did have to close
down. I'm sure they have plans of opening back up soon or you know, a storefront I know is in their
future. So hopefully that happens. I have had a couple of people reach out but like no actual
follow throughs and I'm not actively searching for wholesale at the moment. I just I know there is
value in it like 100%. I just I know I need to put in more energy than what I have right now or time
just to like cold call and do all that that it's hard. It is. It's like that other hat that we don't
even want to put on that whole hat of kind of that it's a tough hat to put on. But I know it needs to
happen. I know I'll be a little more, how do you say it? Like I'll be I'll definitely have a set plan
once I put in more solid gold stuff on my website. Just because at the moment too, I just don't see the
the value and just like selling my work off for half. You know, I don't know. Like I know what
it takes to make my stuff. So I think maybe one bigger point or where I'm selling a little bit
more and I don't have a side or a part time job, I'll be a little more excited about wholesale.
But it's just I haven't had the time or the energy really to just like email going person to the boutiques.
You have a line sheet. It's up to date. I just haven't sent it to anybody.
Well, you have I love that you have this like it's like jewelry, but with the dark side, you know,
it's definitely got a niche market because you know, I'm making some bridal jewelry right now for a
bridal store. And I kind of like when I was reading through yourself, I kind of got a spider. I'm like,
oh wait, there's brides that, you know, they want the frilly little dress, but they still might want
that interesting class. That's more like a, you know, a dog color kind of a class or I don't know
what they call it, a bridge class that looks a little bit more, you know, tech, not tech, but more
industrial. More like alternative. Yeah. I added one of those pieces that's kind of inspired by you.
I'm kind of like, oh, yeah, I see that. Like if I was in your mom standing there and you're in your
beautiful dress, but you're like, oh, this is really like out of my bag. Like, oh, but I can have a
piece of jewelry that's a little bit like me. So yeah, I like the soft and the edgy combination
as well. I feel like that's kind of the like a good balance. Because I can't get away from like
the opals, the moon stones and like those like just really flashy colorful stones. But I'm also
very much like I like darks, like neutrals. And I like how silver looks with black stones and stuff
like that. So I'm always I feel like my personality is battling between like a gothic princess and
a fairy little twinkle fairy. Well, you know, that whole sparkle thing is, you know, that's in our
DNA too. You know where that comes from? Because I read this somewhere and I was like, hmm, could be.
It was that, okay, so ancient man, go away back and tell me. Christ or caveman, rock dwelling people.
They would look on the horizon for twinkles. And that twinkle meant water. There was water
somewhere. So looking for that sparkle, well, to sustain us so that we lived, that's what we were
looking for all the time, because that meant that there was water out there. And if you look at water,
it does sparkle on the horizon. Yeah, Christmas in the sun. So yeah, so I kind of think, wow, it's
just that we're all, you know, it's in our DNA to want that sparkle. Like it just comes from somewhere
with that. And you know, it's very normal to have that. I think even in my photos, whenever I do
photos and I edit them, there's like a little brush that you can do it, it adds just a little bit of a
lens flare that light coming off of something. Yeah. And I see it in movies all the time too,
where they're panning something and they let that and their rainbow effect kind of hit that lens. And,
you know, maybe they're panning off, but you know, you see that. And that is like a,
as a subtle sign to our eyes that we're like, okay, we're, it's good. It's like, we're here. We're in
that, we're in that. Like, you know, there's lots of light and sparkles for water and all that. So
if you pay attention to that, you'll be shocked at how it's in almost everything. It's, it's something
that videographers right now have really gleaned to is just your eye without, is it so subtle?
You don't even notice it. So you'll see it in my pictures too. I sometimes it's a
lot more subtle than others, but, and it's also, this is another thing about being a jewelry maker
today is that you have to be able to photograph everything and you have to be able to do social
media and you have to be able to, you know, follow these trends and blah, blah, blah. How is that
going with you? Cause that's nothing fun about, like I, I try to make it fun. It is a chore to
everyday. My husband's like, I like that. I'm like, it's okay. I'm making a video.
Yes.
Work.
It can definitely feel like a chore, but I do find the fun in it. Like it is, it does have the,
you know, like I do like editing the videos and doing all that. So, but sometimes it can feel
like a chore, but I also think that I've been so used to it. Like I have thousands of videos and
photos of just jewelry on my phone.
And really you should. I thought of that. So one thing I'm like, photograph everything. It is
shocking. It doesn't happen too often. Somebody, something sneaks out of my studio without it
being photographed, but even like the simplest snap can really be, you know, taking, you know,
needs to be taken care of so that yeah, I have over a way over a hundred thousand pictures of my
jewelry. We have a server where some of them go to and then there's just, yeah, the photos, you
know, that's delete, delete, delete all the extra ones and keep going. External hard drives are full
for sure.
It's such a, because it's so easy to take a million pictures and then you got to go back
through and edit them and find the ones that are good, then delete the old ones so that you
don't end up with like multiples of everything. But I do take a lot of pictures every week.
You know, I don't even know how many I take every week. It's significant.
Yeah.
Today I'll take more pictures. Yesterday I took more pictures.
I did.
And you know, like, and that also goes to the fact that you have to have a really good phone or a
really good camera. I've, you know, not used my camera now in years. I'm pretty sure I don't even
know where it is. I think I could find it, but it's all gone to our phones. You know, they have,
they have really great cameras in there. So, but it's definitely a part of our work. And so how
did you get good at taking pictures of your work? Is that something you had to learn to?
I think just a imitation kind of just like going through Pinterest and really doing research and
then just going through Instagram. And I definitely have other jewelers that I've been following for
a really, really long time and they've been in business for a while. So just seeing how they
take photos, how also just like huge companies even take photos like jades and or case jewelers
and like Jared's and all that because it's good. I think it's good to compare like big box places
to small business and kind of see where you can fit in the middle or what they're doing right or
wrong and you know, same with like small businesses. So it's really just a lot of research scrolling
and then kind of applying it to what I want my brand to look like, which has been kind of a
struggle because you want to be consistent. You know, that's what they tell you, like you want
your brand to be recognizable. So it's just, yeah, a lot of research and then putting that
information to practice. But I know it's always got to have really good lighting. So I do take a
lot of photos outside in the sun because that also is really bad when tech this wants to rain for two
weeks straight and I cannot take any photos or anything. Or it's a lot when you go out there
and your phone like blows up and says, uh, we're too hot. Like she's hot. I use my DSLR. That's
about like 10 years old. It's my parents' camera, but I definitely took it for myself. But that one
has definitely done me right in the heat because it doesn't matter how hot it is. I'll go out there
and still take photos and set up my little backdrop and my collapsible table outside.
But yeah, that camera does pretty good. It doesn't heat up as fast as the phone. So
it is a problem. I mean, I, it's kind of shocking and I work in the cell phone industry. And so I
know like some of the things I've done is like kind of pre-chill it. Yeah. I gotta be out there.
Right now I gotta do it all. Okay. And I just stick it in the refrigerator for just like a minute
and then like, okay, you got a little bit of a go. And then I have like a place where there's a fan
where it can like cool off in the middle because it gets hot. Yeah, it does. Our phones are really,
they take a real beating on all that. Have you applied to any shows coming up? Is that something
that you'd like to do? Yeah. So with getting ready for the holidays, I've kind of been lightly
seeing who I do want to do like shows with, who maybe I don't, I'm on the fence right now.
But should I apply to the Armadillo Art Bazaar? I know I won't be accepted like this year, if anything,
it'll probably be years of me reapplying just because they're jewelry. I know is the most
competitive, but I have, I've seen what they have up there. And I do think my jewelry is pretty
distinct. Especially if you're, if you, because I know a friend of mine that got in, she got in
because she had like a line of men's jewelry. Which is different already just because it's men.
And so having that niche that, you know, that opens you up from other jewelers because
most other jewelers like me, it's all like, oh, you know, yes, I have guide collections, but
I've applied to that show a million times and they even the blue genie is like, yeah, we don't want
me. It's like, okay. I mean, it's hard. It is. Yeah. Blue genie was another one. I was kind of
like, do I want to? I don't know. It's just, it's so hard right now with the economy being the way
that it is to and just so many small businesses in Austin that you're competing with not just
jewelry, you're competing with lower price point artists, you know, so it's just rough right now
with everyone just the cost of living being so high that such a luxury what I consider because
my stuff is more of a luxury price point compared to just different types of jewelry that are out
there. So that's kind of the why I'm so on the fence. It's like, do I shell out all this money
to do these types of craft shows or these types of wholesale accounts or do I stick to the very
small like art markets that are like 50 to $100 to vend and you know, I could make a little bit
more money just because my vendor fee isn't so high or what I give back to the coordinators wouldn't
be so high. So it is like that juggling of should I do the big stuff or should I do more smaller
shows for the holidays? It is. It's a lot and right now I think you have to be applying because
I think the deadlines for a lot of these things are you know now. Yeah, the end of the summer.
Yeah, you can't you. It's a twist on us all, isn't it? Because I seriously I saw I've been
to so I've been involved for this for 20 years and I've done so many different shows
in Canada, New York here and like all over, all over, all over. And I really don't think that
during the show I've ever really come out ahead because there's so many costs of so many costs
to Dasha like your inventory and all that just everything. But then it's afterwards it's that
okay now I've got this new this new group of people that know about me. So it's really kind of more
that sales and marketing kind of go hand in hand at these shows and that kind of leads to one thing
leads to another thing leads to another thing. So those kind of you know just to be there and if
it's just you know your markets now where are you in Austin just basic general so I'm in Hutto
which is north where I am. So I'm in South Austin so like there's lots of good markets.
There's William Cannon. Yeah I know that area. And there's a lot of good markets there on the weekend
the weekend markets and like gosh have a tent. Yes I am also I've been doing pop-ups for a while
so I have all that set up. I just know that if I do the bigger shows too with the you know the
bigger vendor fee price like I want to look like a mini retail space too. So like I also feel like
the table and the tent and the sign don't cut it at that point like I want to look like you almost
walked into like my own storefront. Yeah so I think there's also that to think about too when you do
these big shows. It's a big jump up. It's all your marketing materials and yeah like it's so I'm
constantly adding to my pile year round just so that I had because you do run out of things it's
like okay I just bought a bunch of gift certificates that looked really professional from the place
that I'm going into so they have those just like it's amazing if you like how much you can spend
to make all this go like you gotta have customers. It's a lot of overhead so yeah after you spend all
those big bucks it's like now it's like it's nervous and you're like I have to hit a certain
amount of sales to you know break even or make this much money or so it does get a little like
just I get a little nervous too with just how the economy is and who I'm competing with as well so
I don't think about who you're competing with. You're your own person you can't compete with
other people they're competing with you but it's not like I that's the one thing I would just say
like just you know go with your heart. My main problem is that I'd rather like instead of somebody
wants to dig around with the price which I hate is like just take it like I don't want to I don't
want you to dig around with my price I made this and I loved it and I you love it too pay for it but
I really feel like people like can smell me like uh she's gonna give us some good because she's
she doesn't like us to dig around with her price I don't know I feel like I give off that oh that
oh well I just take it like I can't yeah that's a horrible way to be that's a horrible way to be
and so they're the opposite actually I've been told that I'm too like emotionally connected to my
pieces because I'm the one selling them and making them it's true and I'm like you know you're kind
of right but I also feel like there is a healthy balance like you have to know the value of something
because you don't want to undercut yourself and also other people in the industry yes for sure and so
I mean it takes so much I think the whole thing about okay so this piece of jewelry right here
like it's an expensive piece of jewelry it's a real sharp tooth all of the cake is gorgeous
oh everything costs money a lot of money it's crazy how much and the love and the time that it took to
figure something some of these pieces out like yes we love our pieces yes we do I'm not surprised
that you love your pieces at all there are babies so make everybody pay that's what I
understand yeah we gotta know our value so and we can't undercut other people in our industry too
yeah I don't worry about that I don't worry about anybody else I I don't you know um I don't worry
about anybody else I don't even look I don't think I I don't know are you part of the women
there's a jewelry group for women in jewelry here in Austin did you know about that group
um is it the the ladies mix or it's not like um Austin female jewelers or women
jewelers or something like that I've been to one of their meetings it was great I'm gonna join
in the fall they have like the new membership drive so when I see them I know they already had
their meeting in July they don't have it in August when they have it in August somebody
will reach out and say hey don't forget and then I'll reach out to you and say hey just come as a
guest because it is kind of nice to have that community and I'm gonna put up other people
around you that understand what we're doing like and can also help you with whatever like you know
whatever it is whatever the thing is like I have a few groups of those kind of people on what's that
for example and uh that you know we've all kind of like just have a little chat area where something
comes up we need to give it a reach out to somebody and that's really important do you have that in
your in your background of you know in your jewelry world do you have other people that you can reach
out to for just talk to um yeah so I don't have like uh I guess I would say like other metal smithing
friends in Austin technically like I know of them and we're like the jewelry girls at the markets
and maybe like I feel comfortable messaging them here and there but I do have a closer
like group of girlies that are all jewelers and metal smiths but we're all in like an Instagram
groups that a friend of mine started I actually worked with her at the jewelry assembly job I
had so I've known her for like 10 years I think at this point um but she actually started this group
um and it's like I think the Instagram messaging chat has gotten to like 30 or 40 of us but it's
very like our whole motto is we're not gatekeeping if I have questions about like do you guys have a
really good like chain supplier for this like I'm having issues with this piece like do you
guys have any tips on how to work with brass or like stuff like that or even just like how to
respond to angry customers and how things like that so I feel like that group really helps me with
all that I just I think I only know like maybe two of them personally that's okay that's all right
but you know what I'll make sure that I invite you and if you're free come because it's I'm the
outlier in that group because everybody else is doing metal smithing and I don't do metal smithing
so you would fit perfectly into and it's awesome it's all down south it's all somewhere like
closer to you than it is to me so yeah and it's not a big group but they're a connected group and
and truly there's some really nice women in that group that you know we all support each other
and all of that is important you know you know even when I teach classes at Austin community
college I tell all those people hey I'm your friend forever always reach out to me like
just say where you know me from because I really think that it's important that we use our jewelry
to make connections because we should like yeah we should we should uplift each other there's
enough room for us and I want to do that for you I definitely do like if there's anything that I
can think of that you have your way I'm rich with resources sure yeah I'd love to go definitely
and we'll keep in contact after all this too of course of course and yeah and if you ever are up
this way so you know where Hutto is so you know it's like Austin Flugerville Hutto George
so we're over here okay north north east of Austin but just right there like I'm I can be in
downtown Austin I think it's like 12 miles so it's nothing like we're really not okay
like a soul rose but you should come here and just come hang out and I can teach you some new
things that I do that you can incorporate into your world because I'm a teacher you know that's
what I do I'm I'm a natural I love to teach and I'd love to show you some of the things that I do
because it can kind of blow your mind what you can do with with very what with all different
kinds of other products that you might not have been exposed to but that I teach or like that so
if you're ever up this way you go hey I'm gonna check out sugar is who she has going on today
yeah definitely I do think I'm due like an actual class so I think once I'm ready to bring or
actually no I don't even need to be ready to bring casting like in because that's one of the
things I don't do I have to outsource it just because I don't own a home yet or okay but there's
in this group that I'm going to connect you to they are part of like co-ops where they you know
they share outs you know what all the equipment so that you don't buy the equipment and you just go
there and whatever it's you know what time you're gonna come and you put it down and so I I'll hook
you up with those girls they're great and they do some really good stuff and they probably love to
have somebody that they can you know help and teach you know or it just so you what they do
because they're doing all that all that stuff the real metalsmithing stuff which is hard because
yeah from a home you have to have the exhaust system proper ventilation yes I don't want to be
getting everyone in my house sick all my animals and my partner and stuff so yeah that's why that's
one of the things I do outsource is a few of my cast my a few of my cathed pieces that's the one
thing but soon everything will be in house or yeah because really I'd love to introduce you to some
so those girls that do that I mean you never know like and also like what if I lived down there I
would be part they have this like this co-op for a laser like all kinds of this laser that does all
kinds of like cutting and blah blah blah blah and I had somebody do it for me once I was really
happy about the results but I'm not close enough to like go down there and try to learn how to use
a laser thing but it's just great for engraving and cutting out things I don't know lots of different
kinds of things but there's there there's some we do live in Austin where it is a cool place to be
and yeah definitely I just I need to do my research and just get out there it's just hard as an
introvert yeah yeah we're doing great today you don't seem like you're an introvert but I understand
that I understand you know I've been on the side of the road selling jewelry just like open up my
trunk and sell it on Soho like I've done it all I've done it all like I can't tell you like I'm
I'm anything for a buck gay is what I am because I'll I'll be on the side of the road so
yeah someone's gonna stop and buy something like it is hard it is it is part of the process is
that at the end of the day somebody has to buy this stuff so we have a thing about our customer
that would want this piece of jewelry and then there's also like the nest group that might be
something that I'm I'm involved with and and you could get involved with too it's you know it's a
national group by Tori Birch and it has a lot of it's all women for the most part that are you
know committed to their craft of whatever all kinds of crafts like not just jewelry like every
different kind of craft you can imagine and that was really that was a really good group they really
lifted me up after COVID and got a grant that kind of helped do a few things and you know it's just
little tiny million baby steps isn't it all yeah it's just a few things at a time because one thing
at a time doesn't work yeah yeah do you have any pieces that you're working on today that you can
show us um yeah actually I have um an order to fulfill uh right now so it's my labradorite necklace
that I have on my site with the prongs and I'm almost finished but I have to take one of the
prongs on the setting and then I just gotta attach everything soldering and then throw it in the
tumbler and it's ready for setting but yeah so what so I don't know anything about what you just said
so I know prongs I understand that but then you tumble it kind of at the end like once you put it
into the prongs you tumble it yes so that is like one of my final steps because there's a lot of
final steps once everything is um sanded the way that you want it to like the mirror finish that you
want a good thing to do to work hard on your pieces and also give it an extra like shine
is you throw it in this uh I guess it's called the tumbler that's on this uh belt so it's constantly
turning I'll throw it in there for like 20 minutes and it has the steel shot medium I use that for
the type of shine that I want but there's different mediums you can use for like if you want a brush
finish or if you want like a different type of finish I guess I like a high polish so how this
chain kind of looks is how it would be like little tiny babies yeah so it's like steel shot I can bring it real quick
I had a rock tumbler so it's the same kind of you can buy a rock tumbler and you just have to buy
this medium for it and it's just steel and it shines everything up in there I throw it in there for like
two hours and everything comes out super shiny and sometimes if you don't even want to polish with
like the wheel like it's just as shine like it's just as polished as if you were to sell it right
after that but I always like to give stuff a final like shine with like the compound and the rotary
tool and everything but yeah can I get stuff back from my plater and I'm going to visit them so I know
this is what happens is they put it into a giant tumbler it's big because they're you know commercial
but they use corn ground corn husks yeah there's different mediums so I think it just kind of
depends on the outcome like how you want it to look once it comes out of it um but I like the
high polish so that's what I go for it's gameplay that high polish doesn't bang things up but that's
what I would think I'd be like I don't know that's too scary for me yeah I would think that you this
would just like scratch it but I think it's just constantly being scrapped like burnished so much
that it just all comes out even so I don't know the the science to it but I know once I put it in
there for two hours it's great there is a lot to making jewelry I mean yeah a lot of steps like
there's a lot of a million little steps and then you know Austin Community College has got a great
program for jewelry making they don't teach the business side of it that's what I've always been
like there to try to you know help really because isn't it a four year it's like yeah right yeah so
that's it that's kind of nuts to me because I figured even in the six week like programs that
or eight week programs that sometimes people do to get the metal smithing certification that I figured
you could at least like taught you a little bit of the business is jewelry focused okay you want
to go learn business you do something else but you know and I also adjusted the blocks which was a
TV show reality TV show for entrepreneurs so I think I probably I have had so many hours of the
business part of it just jammed into me and it really is so I understand where you're coming
from where you've totally self taught just like me and then you're it's like those next steps
are the you know here we come up for Christmas and so you got to have everything ready for
like Halloween or whatever and so I understand how hard these little baby steps can be and how it
can be very challenging because really we just want to make more jewelry or work on whatever
we're working on because that's a lot more fun than you know all the other bits and bobs but
are you making fun things for Halloween because you know that's a big it's like Christmas almost
now yeah I mean Halloween is my favorite time of year so um yeah last year last year was just um
I just wasn't feeling it because every year I usually do like a mini one of a kind little drop
of like necklaces or just like I try to use like spooky stones like moss agates or I actually handmade
a uh like web necklace so I handmade like a web like literally a spider web out of wire and connecting
everything together and that was fun so I think I might go more that direction this year um but
yeah last year just with everything going on in the world like just celebrating Halloween didn't
feel so right but I'm gonna be back this year we're gonna do uh definitely a Halloween collection
because I'm gonna do markets and yeah Halloween's getting just as big as Christmas and it should
take my favorite time of year so yeah it really is uh Halloween is a really big part of it like
I don't know I guess I've I've always done but I'm always looking for like okay what am I gonna do but
um I don't know it's the fun part of it we all love Halloween yeah I love Halloween yeah and
I don't know if I'll be doing it this year because this year they're actually accepting applications
for vendors but I think it was the past three years I have vended at the Waterloo Greenways Day
of the Dead festival. How fun! Is yeah another reason why I love that time of year is the day
of the dead and just doing that event because it was also like my best market of the year sale wise
um and the event's super fun like I do the makeup the candy skulls makeup everything and
so I hope they accept me this year like they ask because I'll definitely be there so
oh well how so we're coming up to end of our hour so tell us how people can find you let's go over
all of the different places so I know you have the news as jewelry.com and you can and that's
that's your website yes so I mostly sell out on my website that's my baby I've just put in so much
hard work on there so that is uh where you can find everything that I have made to order or ready
to ship I do have my shop available on Instagram as well so if you do want to buy through Instagram
I believe Facebook as well I'm all set up on there um TikTok I have a I have social media presence
on there but I don't think I'll be doing the TikTok shop it's just I've heard like too many
horror stories and just I don't want them taking down my social media page on there that I've just
put so much time and effort on as well so I still like to tell people on TikTok like my
link in bio is there please go to my website um yeah and all platforms that I do have it'll be
the same handle so me rice jewelry all around nothing different uh but yeah Instagram TikTok
Facebook I even have a tumbler a Pinterest and I believe a clapper account as well which is kind
of like a TikTok but it's like not as well known um but yeah that's where you can find me everywhere
and obviously if I'm ever in any storefronts I will promote it with all my heart yeah and and
and I look forward to finding you at one of those so we will connect again I feel like we're little
friends now so you know I am I might be the matriarch of the jewelry uh little fashion jewelry kind
of stuff on my world but you're welcome to come into my world anytime and dip your toe into
and even inspired me so always remember that like it does take a lot of us together to go oh look
at this like oh that's kind of fun and I'll later have a piece of jewelry that you're kind of inspired
me to make so and I'll make sure I like yeah I'd love to see it yeah yeah I see what you're doing yeah
but I see what you're doing yeah everyone's got a little dark side in them so it's going to let it out
I have I tell you so in my collections of course I have you know all kinds of collections and I
have some really dark stuff because at one point like skulls and all the bones and all that was
so like animal skulls and all that they're probably all just like sitting right over here somewhere
they were a big part of my little jewelry world for a while because I like it I like that I can do
all different kinds of stuff you can't pigeonhole me I'm gonna dip my hole in something it's gonna be
fun but it's been really great and thank you so this has been Angel Jasmine and she is an amazing
jewelry and Austin Texans and I'm so glad that we got to talk to you today and talk about all things
jewelry where you've been where you're going where you're headed and and how we can help each other
because I know it's a journey and it really is much more fun if we bring our friends along so
you're now one of my friends and and it really was a great hour spending with you so and this will be
posted and and then you can share it with the world and I look forward to continuing conversations
with you and seeing you in person at the next month meeting of the Austin women and jewelry
business it's a combination of one of those words I'm terrible with those things no for sure
it's any the Instagram or whatever I need to follow and thank you for having me I'm super excited
to get to share this with my followers and stuff so they could like get to know me a little more
if you're going to get to know me like seriously I know they will too and so will my friends too so thank you and have a great rest of your day.