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Hi, welcome to Jewelry as Your Side Hustle with Sugar Gay Isver and I'm Sugar Gay Isver.

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And today we have a very special guest also from Austin, a jewelry maker who is self-taught

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and really works deep into the metal smithing and we're going to learn about her process

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and how she got started and hopefully I get to meet her because she's just across town

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for me right now I guess, but we'll hear more about that when she gets here and gets

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on. So welcome to my show today, Angel Jasmine and I might be saying that a little bit wrong,

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but that's kind of how I would say it, but I don't know, but take it away. Tell us about

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your company and you and give us a little background or the little elevator pitch on your

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jewelry design and let's get started. I can't wait to hear your journey.

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Well, thank you for having me Sugar. My name is Angel Jasmine and I'm the owner and I guess

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founder as well of Meadrais Jewelry. I'm a metal smith slash jewelry designer slash I guess one

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woman show kind of, but I handmade pieces out of sterling silver custom 14 pay goal just because

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I don't have anything on my website yet, but I have done some solid gold and then some limited

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gold filled jewelry. But yeah, I do a process of handmade so it's out of carving wax, sheet metal,

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wire, lost wax casting, but yeah, that's me. You totally taught yourself. I mean, I don't know.

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So I just saw when I saw the words, it's like self taught. I mean, honestly, you can take

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there's classes if you need like all that's available to you. But is that true? Like tell us

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about how you get into jewelry. Are you an artist? I've never actually taken a class before for

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metals. I wouldn't say fully been my own self taught journey just because my first foot in the

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door with jewelry was like behind the scenes more so like managing. So I did get to work with a lot

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of like master jewelers and like setters when I finally got into fine jewelry production. So I feel

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like metalsmithing did come early or easy to me because I was able to kind of already know how

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the metal works and different temperatures and just like maybe what gemstones can take heat and

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one can and that's kind of what I learned without even like touching a torch or like a tweezer yet.

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So I think that's what kind of made it easy for me once I finally like put the knowledge to practice.

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You live in Austin, but you're from Chicago. Is that right? Yes, I am from Chicago. But once I

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graduated at Columbia College Chicago, I moved to Los Angeles to try and get a job in fashion.

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Just because my degree doesn't correlate with what I do now, I went to school for cultural studies,

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which is kind of a branch of political science. Yeah, and anthropology, I would think too.

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Yeah, it's got a lot to do with that and like some sociology, but I originally went to college

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trying to do fashion design. But I quickly learned in my garment construction one class that sewing

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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.

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Yeah, so I learned on my own, but once I like had an instructor telling me like no, no, no,

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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,

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maybe this isn't my fashion route that I like. And I got into just like jewelry making by just

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going to Michaels and like Hobby Lobby and getting like pliers and copper jump rings and stuff like

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that. And then yeah, I moved to Los Angeles and got an assembly job with a fashion jewelry brand.

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And that really like helped because after that, everyone that I got hired with, which was very

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surprising because even the fine jewelry designers would ask me about that job and how I got it.

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Wow. What are they asking you about because I I've I've hired people to come in and help me

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for big projects before, but still our friends with many of them. And and I love that I love those

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big orders. I love it when that comes in. But what kind of like jewelry assembly were you having to

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do? Like I would love to hear that some of that too, just because it's fun. It was very it was

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like fashion jewelry. So it was very much like brass kind of like plated, I guess, rhodium plated

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brass. There was like minimal silver. But it was very much, I guess, fashion slash like costume

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jewelry. Like if you didn't take care of it or like if you wore it a lot, the tarnishing will come.

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You know, you know how brass is. Yeah, yeah, brass. I've now changed over to I used to just I

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thought, Oh, this is great. I love these brass because I have it all done in Rhode Island. But

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then it's like, but yeah, they look a little eh. So that's why I switched over to having everything

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gold plated or imitation rhodium plated, because it is a big difference. And I thought, Oh, I don't

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want my customers to have to be polishing their brass, whatever. So it really does make a difference.

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Like I get that. So are you all like gluing stones into things? Is that what you were doing? And so

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it wasn't. We never actually glued anything. But it was very much like wire wrapping, like cold

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connections, I guess is what you would call it. Like you would wire wrap like tiny loops to clasts

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so that it could close like because the chain we're pulling from like spools. I remember the owner

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like did a huge trip to China and she brought back like rolls and rolls of different chains and whatnot.

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So it's very much like what like dainty wire wrapping crystals like jump that were already kind of made

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kind of like more of like the mass produced, but it was very much connecting components to make a big

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piece and whatnot. And I still learned a lot like definitely, but I knew it wasn't the type of jewelry

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I wanted to make at the end of the day. But I think it's a good springboard. It just to teach you

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about hand tools. Right. Yeah. And like I said, a lot of like the handful of businesses I did work

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with afterwards, we're always curious about working with this one business just because they were just

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so well known in Los Angeles, I guess. Well, that is very cool. Actually, you got to start somewhere.

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So that's very cool. And so then it's a big leap from going from handmade and into doing

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melting and, and, you know, all the things that you have to do. So I'm proud of you for learning

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that on your own. Of course, you have some exposure to it. I don't even know how you go about buying

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sterling silver. Does it come in like a block or a sheet or how does it come? Well, there's a fascinating

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or just a great not fascinating. It's just a great store. Rio Grande, Georgia, which is where you've

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heard of. And they have just all the raw materials. Like if you're casting yourself, you can buy

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like grains of the metal that you want to cast in. Right. Because those would melt pretty fast.

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Then yeah. And then I buy like my wire from there, my sheet metal. They also do have like

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findings like jewelry finding components. That's what I bought before. Yeah. Yeah. They're pretty

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reputable in like most metalsmithing groups and like most jewelers do buy from them. Yeah.

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But it's not the only place I buy from. I do have a handful of places, you know, you got to shop

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around. You do. Like supporting smaller businesses as well. If I can, like I have a, like a raw silver

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company. They're a native Etsy store. They're indigenous owned. So I do like buying from them.

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If I can't like do the free shipping option on Rio Grande, if I don't have enough product, you know,

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so if I can, I want to support the smaller businesses as well.

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I really try to do that too. And I was really thinking about like on some of my pieces to

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list just like a simple pair of earrings. How many different companies, U.S., I only try to buy U.S.

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that are, that supporting, that I'm supporting by making this one necklace. And it is amazing.

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It's amazing how that is such an important part to the U.S. economy is keeping things as sustainable

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as possible. Now, I also with the caveat say, well, China has also been carving jade for like

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6,000 years using just water and bamboo. Like they're very good at the cutting of the gems.

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Therefore, almost all raw, a lot. Let's just say, I don't know how much, but a lot of it all ends up

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in China to be cut and processed and then sold back to us as finished products. And you can't

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currently get around some of that. Although what I do is I work with old hordes from old warehouses.

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But those still had to come from somewhere, Austria or Czech Republic or, you know, like

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everybody had their little niches. So it is a global thing that, you know, just the supply chain

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alone. It's very interesting to see how a finished product and then how it finds a forever home and

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all that. So tell me about like, so you're an entrepreneur and you're a creative, you're an

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artist and a businesswoman. And how are you finding like, what happened to you during COVID?

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How did that work and how are things done since then? Were you working or making jewelry then?

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Yeah, I think so what happened? I was planning on fully launching my business at the beginning of

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2020. And then COVID hit. So I kind of just was like, all right, let me put this on the back burner

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a little bit because it kind of felt like the world was on fire. A few like, you know, those

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crazy months when we went into lockdown and everything was shut down. So I decided at the end

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of 2020, like COVID is going nowhere, like places are kind of starting to open back up. I was like,

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I can buy from suppliers now and do what I need to. So I decided to launch in October of 2020

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after waiting. And I think the first, I would say the first year and a half was great, because I think

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we all saw a boom in our, maybe our wallets with all the stimulus check that just felt like people

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had money. So I did a lot of local markets in the area. And I was very sustainable on my own. I

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didn't have a, I was a working in service industry before all of this happened too. So at the time,

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like I wasn't working in service industry, just focused on jewelry and my business. So that was

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awesome. But then the economy definitely hit its point where we're at now, we're still going through

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it. So I did have to cave and I am back in service industry for about like three times a week. And I

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found a pretty good restaurant that I can survive doing this and doing, sort of, you know, waiting

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tables three days out of the week, and it pays well. So to all the servers in the world and

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make sure everybody tips really well, because I've been really poor before where it's like

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$5 is like not just one meal, you know, it could be like sustaining. So I make sure I give that 20

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plus percentage every time I'm out or regardless, I don't care where it is getting my car wash,

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I tip because surviving on tips is not for the faint of heart, like seriously hard. I bow to you

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on that. Like I get it, like I have a full-time job too. So it just makes me buy better jewelry

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components. Yeah. And not to say too that I'm just like surviving, it's like there's, you know,

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a little bit of thriving there as well. So I've been able to find that because I also tried

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getting like an admin administrative like job where it was going to be 40 hours a week, but

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it just, you know, there's no way I could work 40 hours a week and then put 40 hours to my business.

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Yeah. It's just, I'm happy service industry is there for me in that way where I can work

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those three days and still be able to pay bills, still be able to keep my business money in my

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business. So yeah, it's a balancing act. I mean, it's a jiggle, but I'm proud of you for like coming

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up with a plan because it is hard. I've worked 40 hour week jobs too, but what I ended up having

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to do is get up really early, like at five o'clock, and then I'm working in at five to eight, and then

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I work from, you know, five to eight again, and like, and then you have the weekend. So I'm able

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to put in 40 hours, but it's a mess at the end every week. It's like, oh, it's really hard.

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Well, that's just work too. I don't know if you have kids, like that's not factoring children,

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pets, like hobbies, like other. That's been who gives me that evil eye. Like, yeah.

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A lot of time. You know, he is, you know, if you have a partner who is, and you're an,

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I'm here an entrepreneur, they just have to come along for the ride. Like they're just part of

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the employment, like they're free labor. It's like, I'm sorry, you got to put this together. I know

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you're tired, but my intern. Yes. That's what I thought. We do what we can do, right? Like,

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I've been doing this for a really long time. I wouldn't stop for anything. I can't stop.

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I dream about jewelry. So it is what it is. But because you know, that fashion, that drive to be

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fashion, you must have had like art in your background somewhere even before that, like in your soul,

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right? Like in your soul, you had this drive to create. Yes. That's not going to ever go away.

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Like, no, it won't. Yeah. It's just definitely going to an art school solidified that for me.

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Like I just wanted to be an artist one way or another. I don't think I was ever meant for the

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nine to five or I also think I know too much about the world and capitalism to want to just work

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for make money for somebody else. I know. I know. Right. I get you. I'm in. I'm in with you, girl.

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I can get that. So we all, but you know, you have to realize as artists, we're just different than

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everybody else. Like we are like, well, I'll do anything to create my art. Like, I don't care

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what if it's stay up to midnight, if that's what whatever it is, it's in me. So I fit every penny

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that I make back into my jewelry. I know. It's so true. It is. It's so true. I'll never get

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up ahead probably of what I've spent over the 20 years. Oh my God. So much money. That's for our

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tax guy. Yeah, yeah. That's true. So this is right now. So we're in the summer and you are

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preparing I guess for Christmas kind of sales. Do you have other places where you sell at?

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Like how's that journey going? Finding wholesalers or retail? No, I'm actually just retail right now.

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I was at a little like shop, I don't know if you know, Free to Friday, ATX, they do the markets,

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and they also have a sister company Las Oprendas. But they opened up like a little trailer on South

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Congress and like this small business trailer. Like I said, there are a handful of small businesses

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in there and they were one of them. So I was selling my stuff out of there, but they did have to close

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down. I'm sure they have plans of opening back up soon or you know, a storefront I know is in their

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future. So hopefully that happens. I have had a couple of people reach out but like no actual

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follow throughs and I'm not actively searching for wholesale at the moment. I just I know there is

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value in it like 100%. I just I know I need to put in more energy than what I have right now or time

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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

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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

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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

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once I put in more solid gold stuff on my website. Just because at the moment too, I just don't see the

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the value and just like selling my work off for half. You know, I don't know. Like I know what

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it takes to make my stuff. So I think maybe one bigger point or where I'm selling a little bit

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more and I don't have a side or a part time job, I'll be a little more excited about wholesale.

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But it's just I haven't had the time or the energy really to just like email going person to the boutiques.

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You have a line sheet. It's up to date. I just haven't sent it to anybody.

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Well, you have I love that you have this like it's like jewelry, but with the dark side, you know,

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it's definitely got a niche market because you know, I'm making some bridal jewelry right now for a

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bridal store. And I kind of like when I was reading through yourself, I kind of got a spider. I'm like,

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oh wait, there's brides that, you know, they want the frilly little dress, but they still might want

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that interesting class. That's more like a, you know, a dog color kind of a class or I don't know

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what they call it, a bridge class that looks a little bit more, you know, tech, not tech, but more

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industrial. More like alternative. Yeah. I added one of those pieces that's kind of inspired by you.

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I'm kind of like, oh, yeah, I see that. Like if I was in your mom standing there and you're in your

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beautiful dress, but you're like, oh, this is really like out of my bag. Like, oh, but I can have a

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piece of jewelry that's a little bit like me. So yeah, I like the soft and the edgy combination

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as well. I feel like that's kind of the like a good balance. Because I can't get away from like

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the opals, the moon stones and like those like just really flashy colorful stones. But I'm also

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very much like I like darks, like neutrals. And I like how silver looks with black stones and stuff

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like that. So I'm always I feel like my personality is battling between like a gothic princess and

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a fairy little twinkle fairy. Well, you know, that whole sparkle thing is, you know, that's in our

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DNA too. You know where that comes from? Because I read this somewhere and I was like, hmm, could be.

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It was that, okay, so ancient man, go away back and tell me. Christ or caveman, rock dwelling people.

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They would look on the horizon for twinkles. And that twinkle meant water. There was water

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somewhere. So looking for that sparkle, well, to sustain us so that we lived, that's what we were

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looking for all the time, because that meant that there was water out there. And if you look at water,

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it does sparkle on the horizon. Yeah, Christmas in the sun. So yeah, so I kind of think, wow, it's

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just that we're all, you know, it's in our DNA to want that sparkle. Like it just comes from somewhere

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with that. And you know, it's very normal to have that. I think even in my photos, whenever I do

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photos and I edit them, there's like a little brush that you can do it, it adds just a little bit of a

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lens flare that light coming off of something. Yeah. And I see it in movies all the time too,

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where they're panning something and they let that and their rainbow effect kind of hit that lens. And,

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you know, maybe they're panning off, but you know, you see that. And that is like a,

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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

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that, we're in that. Like, you know, there's lots of light and sparkles for water and all that. So

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if you pay attention to that, you'll be shocked at how it's in almost everything. It's, it's something

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that videographers right now have really gleaned to is just your eye without, is it so subtle?

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You don't even notice it. So you'll see it in my pictures too. I sometimes it's a

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lot more subtle than others, but, and it's also, this is another thing about being a jewelry maker

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today is that you have to be able to photograph everything and you have to be able to do social

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media and you have to be able to, you know, follow these trends and blah, blah, blah. How is that

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going with you? Cause that's nothing fun about, like I, I try to make it fun. It is a chore to

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everyday. My husband's like, I like that. I'm like, it's okay. I'm making a video.

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Yes.

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Work.

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It can definitely feel like a chore, but I do find the fun in it. Like it is, it does have the,

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you know, like I do like editing the videos and doing all that. So, but sometimes it can feel

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like a chore, but I also think that I've been so used to it. Like I have thousands of videos and

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photos of just jewelry on my phone.

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And really you should. I thought of that. So one thing I'm like, photograph everything. It is

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shocking. It doesn't happen too often. Somebody, something sneaks out of my studio without it

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being photographed, but even like the simplest snap can really be, you know, taking, you know,

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needs to be taken care of so that yeah, I have over a way over a hundred thousand pictures of my

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jewelry. We have a server where some of them go to and then there's just, yeah, the photos, you

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know, that's delete, delete, delete all the extra ones and keep going. External hard drives are full

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for sure.

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It's such a, because it's so easy to take a million pictures and then you got to go back

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through and edit them and find the ones that are good, then delete the old ones so that you

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don't end up with like multiples of everything. But I do take a lot of pictures every week.

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You know, I don't even know how many I take every week. It's significant.

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Yeah.

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Today I'll take more pictures. Yesterday I took more pictures.

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I did.

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And you know, like, and that also goes to the fact that you have to have a really good phone or a

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really good camera. I've, you know, not used my camera now in years. I'm pretty sure I don't even

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know where it is. I think I could find it, but it's all gone to our phones. You know, they have,

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they have really great cameras in there. So, but it's definitely a part of our work. And so how

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did you get good at taking pictures of your work? Is that something you had to learn to?

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I think just a imitation kind of just like going through Pinterest and really doing research and

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then just going through Instagram. And I definitely have other jewelers that I've been following for

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a really, really long time and they've been in business for a while. So just seeing how they

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take photos, how also just like huge companies even take photos like jades and or case jewelers

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and like Jared's and all that because it's good. I think it's good to compare like big box places

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to small business and kind of see where you can fit in the middle or what they're doing right or

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wrong and you know, same with like small businesses. So it's really just a lot of research scrolling

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and then kind of applying it to what I want my brand to look like, which has been kind of a

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struggle because you want to be consistent. You know, that's what they tell you, like you want

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your brand to be recognizable. So it's just, yeah, a lot of research and then putting that

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information to practice. But I know it's always got to have really good lighting. So I do take a

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lot of photos outside in the sun because that also is really bad when tech this wants to rain for two

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weeks straight and I cannot take any photos or anything. Or it's a lot when you go out there

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and your phone like blows up and says, uh, we're too hot. Like she's hot. I use my DSLR. That's

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about like 10 years old. It's my parents' camera, but I definitely took it for myself. But that one

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has definitely done me right in the heat because it doesn't matter how hot it is. I'll go out there

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and still take photos and set up my little backdrop and my collapsible table outside.

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But yeah, that camera does pretty good. It doesn't heat up as fast as the phone. So

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it is a problem. I mean, I, it's kind of shocking and I work in the cell phone industry. And so I

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know like some of the things I've done is like kind of pre-chill it. Yeah. I gotta be out there.

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Right now I gotta do it all. Okay. And I just stick it in the refrigerator for just like a minute

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and then like, okay, you got a little bit of a go. And then I have like a place where there's a fan

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where it can like cool off in the middle because it gets hot. Yeah, it does. Our phones are really,

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they take a real beating on all that. Have you applied to any shows coming up? Is that something

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that you'd like to do? Yeah. So with getting ready for the holidays, I've kind of been lightly

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seeing who I do want to do like shows with, who maybe I don't, I'm on the fence right now.

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But should I apply to the Armadillo Art Bazaar? I know I won't be accepted like this year, if anything,

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it'll probably be years of me reapplying just because they're jewelry. I know is the most

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competitive, but I have, I've seen what they have up there. And I do think my jewelry is pretty

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distinct. Especially if you're, if you, because I know a friend of mine that got in, she got in

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because she had like a line of men's jewelry. Which is different already just because it's men.

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And so having that niche that, you know, that opens you up from other jewelers because

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most other jewelers like me, it's all like, oh, you know, yes, I have guide collections, but

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I've applied to that show a million times and they even the blue genie is like, yeah, we don't want

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me. It's like, okay. I mean, it's hard. It is. Yeah. Blue genie was another one. I was kind of

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like, do I want to? I don't know. It's just, it's so hard right now with the economy being the way

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that it is to and just so many small businesses in Austin that you're competing with not just

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jewelry, you're competing with lower price point artists, you know, so it's just rough right now

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with everyone just the cost of living being so high that such a luxury what I consider because

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my stuff is more of a luxury price point compared to just different types of jewelry that are out

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there. So that's kind of the why I'm so on the fence. It's like, do I shell out all this money

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to do these types of craft shows or these types of wholesale accounts or do I stick to the very

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small like art markets that are like 50 to $100 to vend and you know, I could make a little bit

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more money just because my vendor fee isn't so high or what I give back to the coordinators wouldn't

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be so high. So it is like that juggling of should I do the big stuff or should I do more smaller

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shows for the holidays? It is. It's a lot and right now I think you have to be applying because

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I think the deadlines for a lot of these things are you know now. Yeah, the end of the summer.

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Yeah, you can't you. It's a twist on us all, isn't it? Because I seriously I saw I've been

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to so I've been involved for this for 20 years and I've done so many different shows

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in Canada, New York here and like all over, all over, all over. And I really don't think that

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during the show I've ever really come out ahead because there's so many costs of so many costs

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to Dasha like your inventory and all that just everything. But then it's afterwards it's that

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okay now I've got this new this new group of people that know about me. So it's really kind of more

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that sales and marketing kind of go hand in hand at these shows and that kind of leads to one thing

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leads to another thing leads to another thing. So those kind of you know just to be there and if

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it's just you know your markets now where are you in Austin just basic general so I'm in Hutto

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which is north where I am. So I'm in South Austin so like there's lots of good markets.

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There's William Cannon. Yeah I know that area. And there's a lot of good markets there on the weekend

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the weekend markets and like gosh have a tent. Yes I am also I've been doing pop-ups for a while

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so I have all that set up. I just know that if I do the bigger shows too with the you know the

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bigger vendor fee price like I want to look like a mini retail space too. So like I also feel like

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the table and the tent and the sign don't cut it at that point like I want to look like you almost

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walked into like my own storefront. Yeah so I think there's also that to think about too when you do

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these big shows. It's a big jump up. It's all your marketing materials and yeah like it's so I'm

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constantly adding to my pile year round just so that I had because you do run out of things it's

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like okay I just bought a bunch of gift certificates that looked really professional from the place

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that I'm going into so they have those just like it's amazing if you like how much you can spend

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to make all this go like you gotta have customers. It's a lot of overhead so yeah after you spend all

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those big bucks it's like now it's like it's nervous and you're like I have to hit a certain

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amount of sales to you know break even or make this much money or so it does get a little like

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just I get a little nervous too with just how the economy is and who I'm competing with as well so

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I don't think about who you're competing with. You're your own person you can't compete with

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other people they're competing with you but it's not like I that's the one thing I would just say

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like just you know go with your heart. My main problem is that I'd rather like instead of somebody

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wants to dig around with the price which I hate is like just take it like I don't want to I don't

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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

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I really feel like people like can smell me like uh she's gonna give us some good because she's

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she doesn't like us to dig around with her price I don't know I feel like I give off that oh that

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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

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and so they're the opposite actually I've been told that I'm too like emotionally connected to my

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pieces because I'm the one selling them and making them it's true and I'm like you know you're kind

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of right but I also feel like there is a healthy balance like you have to know the value of something

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because you don't want to undercut yourself and also other people in the industry yes for sure and so

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I mean it takes so much I think the whole thing about okay so this piece of jewelry right here

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like it's an expensive piece of jewelry it's a real sharp tooth all of the cake is gorgeous

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oh everything costs money a lot of money it's crazy how much and the love and the time that it took to

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figure something some of these pieces out like yes we love our pieces yes we do I'm not surprised

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that you love your pieces at all there are babies so make everybody pay that's what I

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understand yeah we gotta know our value so and we can't undercut other people in our industry too

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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

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about anybody else I don't even look I don't think I I don't know are you part of the women

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there's a jewelry group for women in jewelry here in Austin did you know about that group

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um is it the the ladies mix or it's not like um Austin female jewelers or women

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jewelers or something like that I've been to one of their meetings it was great I'm gonna join

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in the fall they have like the new membership drive so when I see them I know they already had

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their meeting in July they don't have it in August when they have it in August somebody

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will reach out and say hey don't forget and then I'll reach out to you and say hey just come as a

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guest because it is kind of nice to have that community and I'm gonna put up other people

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around you that understand what we're doing like and can also help you with whatever like you know

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whatever it is whatever the thing is like I have a few groups of those kind of people on what's that

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for example and uh that you know we've all kind of like just have a little chat area where something

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comes up we need to give it a reach out to somebody and that's really important do you have that in

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your in your background of you know in your jewelry world do you have other people that you can reach

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out to for just talk to um yeah so I don't have like uh I guess I would say like other metal smithing

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friends in Austin technically like I know of them and we're like the jewelry girls at the markets

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and maybe like I feel comfortable messaging them here and there but I do have a closer

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like group of girlies that are all jewelers and metal smiths but we're all in like an Instagram

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groups that a friend of mine started I actually worked with her at the jewelry assembly job I

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had so I've known her for like 10 years I think at this point um but she actually started this group

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um and it's like I think the Instagram messaging chat has gotten to like 30 or 40 of us but it's

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very like our whole motto is we're not gatekeeping if I have questions about like do you guys have a

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really good like chain supplier for this like I'm having issues with this piece like do you

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guys have any tips on how to work with brass or like stuff like that or even just like how to

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respond to angry customers and how things like that so I feel like that group really helps me with

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all that I just I think I only know like maybe two of them personally that's okay that's all right

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but you know what I'll make sure that I invite you and if you're free come because it's I'm the

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outlier in that group because everybody else is doing metal smithing and I don't do metal smithing

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so you would fit perfectly into and it's awesome it's all down south it's all somewhere like

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closer to you than it is to me so yeah and it's not a big group but they're a connected group and

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and truly there's some really nice women in that group that you know we all support each other

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and all of that is important you know you know even when I teach classes at Austin community

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college I tell all those people hey I'm your friend forever always reach out to me like

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just say where you know me from because I really think that it's important that we use our jewelry

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to make connections because we should like yeah we should we should uplift each other there's

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enough room for us and I want to do that for you I definitely do like if there's anything that I

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can think of that you have your way I'm rich with resources sure yeah I'd love to go definitely

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and we'll keep in contact after all this too of course of course and yeah and if you ever are up

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this way so you know where Hutto is so you know it's like Austin Flugerville Hutto George

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so we're over here okay north north east of Austin but just right there like I'm I can be in

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downtown Austin I think it's like 12 miles so it's nothing like we're really not okay

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like a soul rose but you should come here and just come hang out and I can teach you some new

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things that I do that you can incorporate into your world because I'm a teacher you know that's

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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

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because it can kind of blow your mind what you can do with with very what with all different

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kinds of other products that you might not have been exposed to but that I teach or like that so

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if you're ever up this way you go hey I'm gonna check out sugar is who she has going on today

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yeah definitely I do think I'm due like an actual class so I think once I'm ready to bring or

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actually no I don't even need to be ready to bring casting like in because that's one of the

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things I don't do I have to outsource it just because I don't own a home yet or okay but there's

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in this group that I'm going to connect you to they are part of like co-ops where they you know

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they share outs you know what all the equipment so that you don't buy the equipment and you just go

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there and whatever it's you know what time you're gonna come and you put it down and so I I'll hook

368
00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:56,240
you up with those girls they're great and they do some really good stuff and they probably love to

369
00:39:56,240 --> 00:40:02,560
have somebody that they can you know help and teach you know or it just so you what they do

370
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:08,960
because they're doing all that all that stuff the real metalsmithing stuff which is hard because

371
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:15,440
yeah from a home you have to have the exhaust system proper ventilation yes I don't want to be

372
00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:22,640
getting everyone in my house sick all my animals and my partner and stuff so yeah that's why that's

373
00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:29,520
one of the things I do outsource is a few of my cast my a few of my cathed pieces that's the one

374
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:37,440
thing but soon everything will be in house or yeah because really I'd love to introduce you to some

375
00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:42,960
so those girls that do that I mean you never know like and also like what if I lived down there I

376
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:49,120
would be part they have this like this co-op for a laser like all kinds of this laser that does all

377
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:54,720
kinds of like cutting and blah blah blah blah and I had somebody do it for me once I was really

378
00:40:54,720 --> 00:41:00,080
happy about the results but I'm not close enough to like go down there and try to learn how to use

379
00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:07,120
a laser thing but it's just great for engraving and cutting out things I don't know lots of different

380
00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:14,320
kinds of things but there's there there's some we do live in Austin where it is a cool place to be

381
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:20,400
and yeah definitely I just I need to do my research and just get out there it's just hard as an

382
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:26,640
introvert yeah yeah we're doing great today you don't seem like you're an introvert but I understand

383
00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:32,880
that I understand you know I've been on the side of the road selling jewelry just like open up my

384
00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:40,400
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

385
00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:45,920
I'm anything for a buck gay is what I am because I'll I'll be on the side of the road so

386
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:55,200
yeah someone's gonna stop and buy something like it is hard it is it is part of the process is

387
00:41:55,200 --> 00:42:00,000
that at the end of the day somebody has to buy this stuff so we have a thing about our customer

388
00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:06,320
that would want this piece of jewelry and then there's also like the nest group that might be

389
00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:13,120
something that I'm I'm involved with and and you could get involved with too it's you know it's a

390
00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:21,600
national group by Tori Birch and it has a lot of it's all women for the most part that are you

391
00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:26,240
know committed to their craft of whatever all kinds of crafts like not just jewelry like every

392
00:42:26,240 --> 00:42:30,800
different kind of craft you can imagine and that was really that was a really good group they really

393
00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:37,440
lifted me up after COVID and got a grant that kind of helped do a few things and you know it's just

394
00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:43,280
little tiny million baby steps isn't it all yeah it's just a few things at a time because one thing

395
00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:50,720
at a time doesn't work yeah yeah do you have any pieces that you're working on today that you can

396
00:42:50,720 --> 00:43:02,800
show us um yeah actually I have um an order to fulfill uh right now so it's my labradorite necklace

397
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:08,560
that I have on my site with the prongs and I'm almost finished but I have to take one of the

398
00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:15,840
prongs on the setting and then I just gotta attach everything soldering and then throw it in the

399
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:21,840
tumbler and it's ready for setting but yeah so what so I don't know anything about what you just said

400
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:27,760
so I know prongs I understand that but then you tumble it kind of at the end like once you put it

401
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:33,200
into the prongs you tumble it yes so that is like one of my final steps because there's a lot of

402
00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:40,400
final steps once everything is um sanded the way that you want it to like the mirror finish that you

403
00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:46,240
want a good thing to do to work hard on your pieces and also give it an extra like shine

404
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:53,680
is you throw it in this uh I guess it's called the tumbler that's on this uh belt so it's constantly

405
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:59,840
turning I'll throw it in there for like 20 minutes and it has the steel shot medium I use that for

406
00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:04,000
the type of shine that I want but there's different mediums you can use for like if you want a brush

407
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:11,520
finish or if you want like a different type of finish I guess I like a high polish so how this

408
00:44:11,520 --> 00:44:18,880
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

409
00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:30,160
I had a rock tumbler so it's the same kind of you can buy a rock tumbler and you just have to buy

410
00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:36,800
this medium for it and it's just steel and it shines everything up in there I throw it in there for like

411
00:44:37,520 --> 00:44:44,080
two hours and everything comes out super shiny and sometimes if you don't even want to polish with

412
00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:52,160
like the wheel like it's just as shine like it's just as polished as if you were to sell it right

413
00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:56,800
after that but I always like to give stuff a final like shine with like the compound and the rotary

414
00:44:56,800 --> 00:45:03,360
tool and everything but yeah can I get stuff back from my plater and I'm going to visit them so I know

415
00:45:03,360 --> 00:45:10,320
this is what happens is they put it into a giant tumbler it's big because they're you know commercial

416
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:17,440
but they use corn ground corn husks yeah there's different mediums so I think it just kind of

417
00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:23,120
depends on the outcome like how you want it to look once it comes out of it um but I like the

418
00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:29,440
high polish so that's what I go for it's gameplay that high polish doesn't bang things up but that's

419
00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:35,760
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

420
00:45:35,760 --> 00:45:41,760
would just like scratch it but I think it's just constantly being scrapped like burnished so much

421
00:45:41,760 --> 00:45:48,560
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

422
00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:54,880
there for two hours it's great there is a lot to making jewelry I mean yeah a lot of steps like

423
00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:59,600
there's a lot of a million little steps and then you know Austin Community College has got a great

424
00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:06,640
program for jewelry making they don't teach the business side of it that's what I've always been

425
00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:15,760
like there to try to you know help really because isn't it a four year it's like yeah right yeah so

426
00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:21,360
that's it that's kind of nuts to me because I figured even in the six week like programs that

427
00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:27,440
or eight week programs that sometimes people do to get the metal smithing certification that I figured

428
00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:34,320
you could at least like taught you a little bit of the business is jewelry focused okay you want

429
00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:41,040
to go learn business you do something else but you know and I also adjusted the blocks which was a

430
00:46:41,040 --> 00:46:48,400
TV show reality TV show for entrepreneurs so I think I probably I have had so many hours of the

431
00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:54,720
business part of it just jammed into me and it really is so I understand where you're coming

432
00:46:54,720 --> 00:47:00,400
from where you've totally self taught just like me and then you're it's like those next steps

433
00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:06,160
are the you know here we come up for Christmas and so you got to have everything ready for

434
00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:12,960
like Halloween or whatever and so I understand how hard these little baby steps can be and how it

435
00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:17,920
can be very challenging because really we just want to make more jewelry or work on whatever

436
00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:24,080
we're working on because that's a lot more fun than you know all the other bits and bobs but

437
00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:31,520
are you making fun things for Halloween because you know that's a big it's like Christmas almost

438
00:47:31,520 --> 00:47:41,440
now yeah I mean Halloween is my favorite time of year so um yeah last year last year was just um

439
00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:47,520
I just wasn't feeling it because every year I usually do like a mini one of a kind little drop

440
00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:55,760
of like necklaces or just like I try to use like spooky stones like moss agates or I actually handmade

441
00:47:55,760 --> 00:48:04,320
a uh like web necklace so I handmade like a web like literally a spider web out of wire and connecting

442
00:48:04,320 --> 00:48:10,240
everything together and that was fun so I think I might go more that direction this year um but

443
00:48:10,240 --> 00:48:16,160
yeah last year just with everything going on in the world like just celebrating Halloween didn't

444
00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:22,960
feel so right but I'm gonna be back this year we're gonna do uh definitely a Halloween collection

445
00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:28,640
because I'm gonna do markets and yeah Halloween's getting just as big as Christmas and it should

446
00:48:28,640 --> 00:48:35,680
take my favorite time of year so yeah it really is uh Halloween is a really big part of it like

447
00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:41,280
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

448
00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:48,160
um I don't know it's the fun part of it we all love Halloween yeah I love Halloween yeah and

449
00:48:48,160 --> 00:48:53,520
I don't know if I'll be doing it this year because this year they're actually accepting applications

450
00:48:53,520 --> 00:49:00,880
for vendors but I think it was the past three years I have vended at the Waterloo Greenways Day

451
00:49:00,880 --> 00:49:06,800
of the Dead festival. How fun! Is yeah another reason why I love that time of year is the day

452
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:12,560
of the dead and just doing that event because it was also like my best market of the year sale wise

453
00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:20,160
um and the event's super fun like I do the makeup the candy skulls makeup everything and

454
00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:27,680
so I hope they accept me this year like they ask because I'll definitely be there so

455
00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:34,480
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

456
00:49:34,480 --> 00:49:44,240
all of the different places so I know you have the news as jewelry.com and you can and that's

457
00:49:44,240 --> 00:49:50,560
that's your website yes so I mostly sell out on my website that's my baby I've just put in so much

458
00:49:50,560 --> 00:49:58,080
hard work on there so that is uh where you can find everything that I have made to order or ready

459
00:49:58,080 --> 00:50:04,960
to ship I do have my shop available on Instagram as well so if you do want to buy through Instagram

460
00:50:04,960 --> 00:50:12,800
I believe Facebook as well I'm all set up on there um TikTok I have a I have social media presence

461
00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:18,960
on there but I don't think I'll be doing the TikTok shop it's just I've heard like too many

462
00:50:18,960 --> 00:50:25,040
horror stories and just I don't want them taking down my social media page on there that I've just

463
00:50:25,040 --> 00:50:31,680
put so much time and effort on as well so I still like to tell people on TikTok like my

464
00:50:31,680 --> 00:50:38,720
link in bio is there please go to my website um yeah and all platforms that I do have it'll be

465
00:50:38,720 --> 00:50:45,360
the same handle so me rice jewelry all around nothing different uh but yeah Instagram TikTok

466
00:50:45,360 --> 00:50:52,880
Facebook I even have a tumbler a Pinterest and I believe a clapper account as well which is kind

467
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:59,520
of like a TikTok but it's like not as well known um but yeah that's where you can find me everywhere

468
00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:07,040
and obviously if I'm ever in any storefronts I will promote it with all my heart yeah and and

469
00:51:07,040 --> 00:51:12,880
and I look forward to finding you at one of those so we will connect again I feel like we're little

470
00:51:12,880 --> 00:51:20,240
friends now so you know I am I might be the matriarch of the jewelry uh little fashion jewelry kind

471
00:51:20,240 --> 00:51:25,920
of stuff on my world but you're welcome to come into my world anytime and dip your toe into

472
00:51:28,480 --> 00:51:34,960
and even inspired me so always remember that like it does take a lot of us together to go oh look

473
00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:42,800
at this like oh that's kind of fun and I'll later have a piece of jewelry that you're kind of inspired

474
00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:50,160
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

475
00:51:50,160 --> 00:51:56,240
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

476
00:51:56,240 --> 00:52:02,240
I have I tell you so in my collections of course I have you know all kinds of collections and I

477
00:52:02,240 --> 00:52:09,120
have some really dark stuff because at one point like skulls and all the bones and all that was

478
00:52:09,120 --> 00:52:14,080
so like animal skulls and all that they're probably all just like sitting right over here somewhere

479
00:52:14,960 --> 00:52:21,440
they were a big part of my little jewelry world for a while because I like it I like that I can do

480
00:52:22,080 --> 00:52:28,560
all different kinds of stuff you can't pigeonhole me I'm gonna dip my hole in something it's gonna be

481
00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:38,720
fun but it's been really great and thank you so this has been Angel Jasmine and she is an amazing

482
00:52:38,720 --> 00:52:45,280
jewelry and Austin Texans and I'm so glad that we got to talk to you today and talk about all things

483
00:52:45,280 --> 00:52:51,360
jewelry where you've been where you're going where you're headed and and how we can help each other

484
00:52:51,360 --> 00:52:56,800
because I know it's a journey and it really is much more fun if we bring our friends along so

485
00:52:56,800 --> 00:53:02,400
you're now one of my friends and and it really was a great hour spending with you so and this will be

486
00:53:02,400 --> 00:53:10,240
posted and and then you can share it with the world and I look forward to continuing conversations

487
00:53:10,240 --> 00:53:15,920
with you and seeing you in person at the next month meeting of the Austin women and jewelry

488
00:53:15,920 --> 00:53:21,200
business it's a combination of one of those words I'm terrible with those things no for sure

489
00:53:21,200 --> 00:53:27,360
it's any the Instagram or whatever I need to follow and thank you for having me I'm super excited

490
00:53:27,360 --> 00:53:32,880
to get to share this with my followers and stuff so they could like get to know me a little more

491
00:53:32,880 --> 00:53:57,920
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.