1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:27,720 Hi, welcome to my podcast, jewelry is your side hustle, and I'm sugar gay is burned. 2 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:32,120 Today we have a very special guest. I'm just meeting for the first time, just like you, 3 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:38,600 and we're going to have a joyful time. And this is Camilla Campbell, and she is a jewelry 4 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,040 maker. She does a lot of things. I think we should really let her kind of like tell her 5 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:47,760 story. I won't like step on her parade. But welcome to my podcast. I'm so glad you're 6 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:49,360 here. Happy Friday, TGA. 7 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:54,280 Happy Friday. Thank you. Thank you so much for doing this and for having me. I'm excited 8 00:00:54,280 --> 00:01:02,680 to be here. Tell us about your so you know, everybody has a journey and the journey is 9 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:08,680 so important to help other people know where they are in their journey. And if they're 10 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:12,640 doing the right thing, you know, like all those little bits and pieces, our story is 11 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:18,480 so important to how we are here right now. I want to hear that story. I want to hear 12 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:24,440 like, what brought you here? Like brought me here. How are things going? All that kind 13 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:29,440 of stuff. I hear you. Okay, what brought me here? Well, okay, so I've been designing 14 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:37,920 jewelry for over 20 years. I got into learning about jewelry when I was in my teens. We lived 15 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,880 in Connecticut, lower Connecticut, close to New York City. 16 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:53,560 I'm sorry. I'm multi-tasking. I really got into the jewelry scene. Actually, my aunt 17 00:01:53,560 --> 00:02:00,040 is actually who introduced me to jewelry. When I was a teenager, we would go into New 18 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:06,920 York City in the Garmin district. They have so much galore of bees and just your creativity 19 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:12,480 could just run wild. And that's exactly what happened. It started off as just like, you 20 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:16,840 know, beating jewelry around the table. You know, that was kind of my introduction to 21 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:24,840 it. Fast forward many years later, over a decade later, I was working in corporate America. 22 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:32,160 I had just relocated to Atlanta. That was during our, the last sort of recession that 23 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:37,880 we had. 2010 like that. I was a little bit before that. I was around like, I was around 24 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:43,840 like 2000, around 2008. I started the business around 2008, which is I think we were kind 25 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,800 of like peeking right into it where, you know, the economy was just getting really, really 26 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:56,840 bad. And my husband had lost his job. And I was the sole, you know, provider. So I'm 27 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:03,680 like, we need a way to make some money. And it's so, you know, it's so interesting how 28 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:08,560 creativity is born out of necessity sometimes. Like, you know what, I have skills. I do 29 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:15,320 something I can do, but I truly enjoyed it. And I saw it as a creative outlet to my corporate 30 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:19,800 career. And I had a background in marketing, I had a background in business. So I was just 31 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,200 like, you know, let me just go for it. Right. So I started my Etsy shop. I think everybody 32 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:28,440 does there on that time. I think I like, I think we were like the Etsy OG back then, 33 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,280 because that was the only place you really heard of like, you know, handmade stuff going 34 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:39,000 up for sale. And it kind of just exactly where it started. I just kind of just jumped into 35 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,560 it. I didn't have a business plan. I didn't know what my plan was. I just, just like, 36 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:50,160 let me just start making some stuff and seeing what sells. And as year after year, it's just 37 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:54,560 like, you know, you learn more, you do things, you pivot, you do, you know, there's just 38 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:59,760 no blueprint. And I'm sure we're all seeing that now of just what success looks like. 39 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:07,720 It's a personal story, right. And so that's kind of how I got started. 40 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,720 What were you making back then? Like, what was your like, like, what? 41 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:17,560 I did a lot of wire wrapping, a lot of wire wrapping with beating and stuff, which I truly 42 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:22,480 enjoyed. It was definitely like a stress relief when I was really, really good at it. And then 43 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:30,480 around 2010, I started dabbling in metal smithing. And since then, I've never looked back, like, 44 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:35,320 I'm just all about the metals, you know, working with precious metals, you know, I haven't 45 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:40,640 dabbled into stones just yet. But it was, I think I have evolved business wise, because 46 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:46,520 I've always been interesting and taken it another step further with my creativity. And 47 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:52,360 also, you know, just building a customer base as you go along. Customers have been really 48 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:58,680 pivotal in a lot of my success, because a lot of times they challenge me with through 49 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:03,920 custom orders, right? That's a lot of that's how I actually pivot as an artist and, you 50 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,400 know, got into metal smithing because it came from a custom order. And I can you do this 51 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:14,640 for me? Well, I may be able to. Well, why don't you try, you know, type thing. So after 52 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,280 at I'm still on Etsy, but I don't really sell too much on there anymore. I've been really 53 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:24,840 focused just on my soul standalone e-commerce shop. I've been doing a lot of pop ups and 54 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:30,160 markets. What is that called? Let's just Oh, hello, the pink locket. So yeah, the pink 55 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:39,880 locket.com everywhere. Pink locket, the pink locket. Yes. Where did that name come from? 56 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:44,640 You know, every time I get this question, people are surprised at the answer. There is no there 57 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:53,360 is no there's no deep meaning to this name. Okay, I think during the time the word pink, 58 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:58,240 the color pink during that time of like 2008 was just like a really popular. I think that's 59 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:02,400 when like we had like an explosion of just like everything was just pink. It was barbie 60 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:06,840 time again. It was just like, you know, it's like, you know, the pink locket. I think, 61 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:11,640 okay, kind of right. I think it was probably just like, you know, brainstorming and those 62 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,120 are the words that clicked in it. You know, it's memorable because people remember it 63 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:20,440 as long as you can remember it. It's a visual thing. Yeah. Right. Right. So, you know, and 64 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,040 people have asked me, are you going to change the name? I'm like, no, because I need something 65 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:31,520 people can remember. So, so there's no deep meaning behind the name whatsoever. But so, 66 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:37,520 I have, yeah, so I started concentrated on my standalone website. Over the past few years, 67 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:43,760 I have been dabbling more in doing a lot more in person shows. So like pop ups and selective 68 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:50,040 markets because I'm finding we have to meet our customers where they're at, like getting 69 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:54,880 out there in a community FaceTime is really important. I think the pandemic has shuttered 70 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:59,640 us all inside where it's just like, you know, we need to step away and actually be more 71 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:04,600 in community because that's kind of what that's kind of what's going to pull us all out of 72 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:09,280 this rut there. And now I believe it's just like community because I don't know any other 73 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:14,880 way. Right. Right. How do you find your pop up markets? Are there a lot of you still in 74 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:20,800 Atlanta now? I'm still in Atlanta. I'm still in Atlanta, which is like the we just from 75 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:27,600 April until like October is just like fast festival after festivals. And there are a 76 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:34,560 lot of big ones. A lot of the ones that I had that I've been doing, I'm a part of certain 77 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:39,000 Facebook groups where they kind of all have a lot of makers and promoters of these shows 78 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,840 kind of like, you know, communicate. So a lot of times, a lot of the shows that I do 79 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:48,720 find or the pop ups or markets that I do find are within community within those Facebook 80 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:53,720 groups. Yeah. And they're very well vetted Facebook groups as well. So those are great 81 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:57,880 ways to find, you know, get feedback also on different markets that are worth it or 82 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:02,440 maybe not depending on, you know, what it is that there's a lot of work. There are a 83 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,000 lot of work. There are a lot of work. And I tell you, there are people like kudos to 84 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:13,520 people that do it every weekend. I'm not one of them. My max is like one weekend a month 85 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:18,400 because it's a lot of preparation, you know, that goes price everything price everything 86 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:26,720 the setup breakdown, you know, so yeah, so yeah, so you know, I have I have I have built 87 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:33,200 a community of vendors and other vendors, you know, that do other markets and as well 88 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:40,400 as other promoters and you know, it's very much a very entrepreneurial. What do you call 89 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:48,920 it? Entrepreneurial growth state, I find Georgia, they make it really easy for you to kind 90 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:53,280 of set up your business, you know, it's not highly expensive as other states and stuffs. 91 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:59,360 I will say that about being here is that entrepreneurship, they do shine a lot on a lot of entrepreneurs 92 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:00,360 here. 93 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:08,320 Yay, we love that support. It's really, you know, it's the key because, you know, it's 94 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:16,520 a lot of work being an entrepreneur. My god, like every day is some big challenge sometimes 95 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:26,760 like just dealing with the world. The world is tricky. Like, yeah, so yeah, so now what 96 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:31,000 are you making like what is your like what is your like favorite thing that you're now 97 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:38,400 doing? We meet each other on the Artisan Guild, the Artisan Group. Yes, the Artisan Group 98 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:39,400 throughout. 99 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,080 That's how that was been working for you. 100 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,120 Okay, so I've been a part of the Artisan Group. Gosh, it's been a long time. I've 101 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,120 been since 2013. 102 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:55,000 Okay, and there's a lot of movies and movie stars in Atlanta. 103 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:03,160 There are. Yeah, yeah, there's a lot. I feel like the Artisan Group has been, it's been 104 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:10,400 a game changer because instead of you going out and actually having to pitch, you know, 105 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:16,080 to stylists, it's readily available and you can pick and choose the ones that you want 106 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:23,200 to do. The next one that I'm doing is actually a display with other Artisans from the Artisan 107 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:29,320 Group for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yeah, yeah, so which is October, I believe 108 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:35,720 it's October 7th. The gifting is October 17th through the 19th, but I think the actual award 109 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,040 show is the 19th if I'm not mistaken. 110 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:39,040 Exciting. 111 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:43,160 Yeah, so that's been the big, the big one for this year. 112 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:47,280 Do you have some rock and roll pieces? Like, kind of like. 113 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:51,880 So the pieces that I decided to go with, I'm from the Caribbean, I'm from Jamaica. So over 114 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:57,800 the summer, I created my first Caribbean collection called Escape to the Caribbean. And it was 115 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:03,280 based on elements and pieces of the Caribbean that I felt that should be highlighted. So 116 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:10,100 one of the pieces that I highlighted was the steel pan drum, which looks like a hammered. 117 00:11:10,100 --> 00:11:16,000 So I have pieces that resemble like the steel pan or part of the steel pan drum. That's 118 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:22,200 not going to be on display. And then I also created, I use the sugar cane, the roughage, 119 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:26,880 the silhouette of a sugar cane to create a sugar cane bracelet cuff, which will also 120 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:34,960 be beyond display. And then a plant we call, it's a fruit called a breadfruit leaf. So I 121 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,080 made a necklace resembling that. So not necessarily anything. 122 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,560 I grew up in Grand Cayman. 123 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:42,560 You did? 124 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:43,560 Yeah. 125 00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:44,560 Oh, wow. 126 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:46,680 I can't trick me. I know about gay rum. 127 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:49,680 Okay. Okay. So you know exactly what I'm talking about. 128 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:52,040 Not gay rum. My name is gay. You know everything. 129 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:53,040 Oh, wow. 130 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:54,040 Right? 131 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:55,040 Oh, yeah. 132 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:59,040 Oh, wow. Okay. So you know everything I'm talking about. 133 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,800 I do. I do. I do. 134 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:06,240 And then when you say Caribbean, because I'm a color girl and I'm not a metal Smith girl, 135 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,480 I was thinking, oh, all those ocean colors. 136 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:10,480 Colors, yeah. 137 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:11,480 Yeah. 138 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,760 All of that. Blue, blue. Yes. Yes. 139 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:15,760 Yes. 140 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:20,600 Jamaica. I just, I loved it. I loved it. I loved it. I was just actually reading an article 141 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,120 about Jamaica just now. So yeah. 142 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:24,120 Yeah. 143 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:25,120 Yeah. 144 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:27,040 So yeah, it's beautiful there. 145 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:32,040 It is. It is. The Cayman is beautiful too. That was one of my favorite islands to visit 146 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:37,680 growing up just because the beaches were just like, oh my God, they were like immaculate. 147 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:40,960 Like I think I held my, I went to the turtle farm and that was the first time. 148 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:42,640 Like I held the turtle. 149 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:43,640 Yes. Yes. 150 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:44,640 I think it was probably. 151 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,480 Did you try eating it because I don't know if they do it now. 152 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,320 No, they used to. No, they did. They shared they turtle burgers. Yes. My uncle tried to 153 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:54,120 give me. I was like, no, that's as far as I'm going, but it was. 154 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:59,120 I remember being so excited to actually hold like an actual turtle. Like I'd never seen 155 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,400 a turtle farm. It was, I wasn't made. 156 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:08,760 I had so much fun there. I have so many good memories. Like I get to smile forever. And 157 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:13,120 the black coral, that was another thing in the sharks teeth. So I still make sharks 158 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:18,960 tooth today. Sharks tooth today. There's tons of them in my studio because those pieces 159 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:23,520 were, you know, that was, that's from that time period of my life. Right. Right. I still 160 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:29,320 have the first one that I, that I bought that was covered in gold and it means the world 161 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:31,560 to me. Like lots of good memories. 162 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:32,560 Yeah. 163 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:38,280 I was hot and sexy and cute back then too. And back then there was, so I'm talking about, 164 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:42,800 I'm older than you, but there was not that many people there. Now it's like, no, no. 165 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,960 I mean, you could, I could like swim seven mile beach and then hitchhike back, you know, 166 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:50,800 it was, it was one of the safe, I mean, it was the safe, it was one of the safest islands. 167 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:58,160 I remember going there, I was probably about 11 and it was just safe. Like it's, I had 168 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,120 a great, I have a lot of memories from vacationing there. 169 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:02,120 Yeah. 170 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:08,840 I mean, it's good memories in life for grand. 171 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:13,920 So the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is going to have some of your jewelry. Now has that 172 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:17,040 a permanent collection or do they return that or how's that? 173 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:22,480 They return it back to me. So what it is is they'll, the artists in group, I'm there with 174 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:26,240 the artists in the group, so it's a collective. So there'll be other artists who are also 175 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:33,080 showing, displaying their, their pieces of work as well. And we will get, you know, because 176 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,400 celebrities come in and out of these gifting suites to kind of like, you know, look at 177 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:37,400 what's in there. 178 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:43,440 So we will get our photo taken with our product with, you know, one, two or three. 179 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:44,440 You'll be there? 180 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:45,440 You'll be there? 181 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:49,640 I won't, no, I won't be there, but my jewelry will be there. So the celebrities will be 182 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,880 able to take pictures, you know, trying on your jewelry and stuff. So you can get those 183 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:53,880 photos to use. 184 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:58,640 And if they like it, you have to give it to them, right? That's how it works. 185 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:04,320 They do have, they do have gifting. So we do have what's stuff on display and then they 186 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:09,680 will have like gifting bags with different products that are displayed in it. So I believe 187 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:15,160 they will get some sort of gifting. I don't think they know what though. 188 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:16,160 That's okay. 189 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:17,160 Yeah. 190 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:21,960 It's part of the fun. It's the magic of the rubbing off the gold, you know, it's like, 191 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:24,080 you know, it's social proof too. 192 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:28,720 Yeah, yeah. Yeah, definitely. Definitely. So I mean, it's, you know, so, you know, events 193 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:34,720 like that are pretty good. And then just television shows, you know, just, it just saves a lot 194 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:39,480 of time, you know, I think, and I think it's a really good resource and we're all a community. 195 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,960 Once again, we're all a community. So we can kind of like, you know, grow off each other, 196 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:48,120 you know, different strategies, you know, does this look good? Does this, you know, 197 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,520 very, a lot of good feedback from the groups? 198 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:55,320 It's really the important part of joining these groups. I'm a member of several groups, 199 00:15:55,320 --> 00:16:02,160 like, I don't know how many, but not a ton, but is that sense of community? Because it's 200 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:08,160 so important when you're an entrepreneur and you're working at home or whatever and you're 201 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,160 like, Oh, I'm having this great success. I just want to share it with somebody because 202 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:15,680 yeah, it's like, they don't understand. It's like, I got this. 203 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:20,880 They have little baby steps. Yeah. Those little things where when you have your little shared 204 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,960 success, like, you know, your group of makers and entrepreneurs are going to know exactly 205 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:30,000 and be just as excited for you as opposed to, you know, others who are just not really 206 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,400 familiar and it's not their fault. But you know, they just don't understand. 207 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:39,040 Yeah. It's a big process. Not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur. My husband, 208 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:43,960 for example, he would cry if I said, you got to go do something. He'd be like, 209 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:52,480 Oh, my hair. He's an engineer. Not interested. Oh, yeah. It takes a whole different. Like 210 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:57,160 you were born an artist. I was born an artist. Like that's how it started. Like was through 211 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:03,600 you as a young person and just being curious and wanting to learn and making things. And 212 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:08,600 then that kind of translates forward to, you know, oh, I'm in a pinch. I need to sell something. 213 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:12,760 Oh, wait, I have that great skill. I can do that. And then now you've followed it through. 214 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:17,160 Are you still having your corporate job on top of this? I do. So I still do work my corporate 215 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:21,440 job. You know, benefits is a thing. You need healthcare. 216 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:26,040 Yeah. Security hours. Those are important. 217 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:31,360 You need a healthcare. You know, and I've been able to balance it. At first I was, I 218 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:37,040 remember when I first started, it was all about like, Oh my God, that whole quit your 219 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:42,280 day job movement. That kind of just, I think it stressed me out more than anything. Because 220 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:47,000 it gave you the feeling that, okay, I have to choose one, you know, and it's kind of 221 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:51,280 difficult to do that. Everybody's number is really different. Everybody's financial outlook 222 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:55,680 personally is completely different. And I felt like I was putting added pressure on myself 223 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,400 where it didn't need to be added. So I'm just like, you know what, let me just go through 224 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:06,840 the motions and see how it goes, you know, what I love to do this full time, of course. 225 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:11,560 But you know, you also have to think take other things into consideration when you have a 226 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:16,880 job. You know, you need healthcare. You need, you know, a way to stay for your retirement 227 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:24,520 effectively. You need, you know, so there are things and not to mention, having, keeping 228 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:28,760 my regular corporate job has allowed me to actually invest money into my business. Of 229 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:31,840 course. Where, you know, I'm not having to worry, 230 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:36,400 okay, I won't be able to do this because sales weren't this this month. Well, I can, you know, 231 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:42,720 I have, I have a source of income. So I know that every day I make the right back into my 232 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:49,360 business. I mean, that's true. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's just, it's not a flaw in the system. 233 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:55,040 It's just what makes my jewelry better is that I have a great job. Right. So, you know, 234 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:59,880 luckily I can do it from home so I can just slide back and forth. Right. Exactly. Flexibility. 235 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:05,840 Yes. Yes. I agree. Yeah. Do you have any other friends that are around you that you get to 236 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:11,840 like bounce things off? Bouncing off. So I do, I do. Oh, immediately around me, since I've started 237 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:17,160 doing a lot more markets in the Atlanta area, I find that I do have a lot more friends who are 238 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:25,040 entrepreneurs and artists makers. I have built, been able to build that community luckily. You 239 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:29,920 know, and then a lot of my friends that I, you know, that are far away that support me online. 240 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:35,760 So I have been truly, I will say I have been really truly blessed with a great tribe. I talk 241 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:41,280 about my tribe all the time, just through like different communities, just through different, 242 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:47,040 I don't feel alone in the space because, you know, you have people that kind of understand. And not 243 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:51,680 only that, like I've created accountability groups to kind of just like, you know, there's certain 244 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,840 business goals I'm trying to drive and I need, you know, people who understand my business to kind 245 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,920 of hold me accountable for it. We have weekly meetings. Okay. What did you work on? What did 246 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:06,240 you not do? How can you push this forward? And then also, and then it doesn't even have to be, you 247 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,640 know, artists based businesses. It could just be they own whatever business they do, because there's 248 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:15,280 a common thread amongst entrepreneurs, whether you're creative or not, when it comes to issues. 249 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:20,000 And, you know, the basic things that we issues that we run into, you know, and they're able to give 250 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:25,600 me their perspective too, from their own industry that you probably, I probably wasn't even thinking 251 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:32,240 of. So I find like I have been, I've been, I've been truly blessed with a tribe of people around 252 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:36,640 me who kind of understand like if I have an issue, I feel comfortable. I can, all right, you know, 253 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:42,000 can you help me through this? I'm not understanding something. Or, you know, this is my strategy. 254 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:48,000 What do you see? Where do you see holes in it? So I don't really feel alone as much as I did 255 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,400 years ago. I think when I first started, you kind of felt alone because there really weren't, 256 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:57,280 entrepreneurship really wasn't big. You know, I think now there's a lot more resources, a lot 257 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:02,880 more people moving into the space, which is a good thing. And we're also, I did see on your, 258 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:07,600 your Instagram where you put your goal right out at the top. I'm like, I love that. Like, 259 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:14,320 let's master mining, right? That's the thing about like you and I together, we make one good brain 260 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:18,960 that's really like thinking about all this. And I am, there's a master mining group that I'm going 261 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:24,960 to be a part of for, it's just for four weeks. But, you know, I really crave that. I think it's just 262 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:34,080 so important. And so I, I get you. I understand. And I got that. And I got that idea from another 263 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:39,680 Jewish artist who was on her own challenge. And she was like, you know, let me hop on this challenge 264 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:44,480 with you. I'm just like, because you were inspired, like, it's the vulnerability is putting it out there 265 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:48,080 and letting people know because there are people out there who really want to support you and 266 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:52,960 share you along, but they have to know what is what your goal in mind, you know, right? And we're 267 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:59,120 also content creators. Like that's the one thing about Instagram is it, I've been on Instagram a 268 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:06,560 long time. Have you? Yeah, since early, early days. Yeah, me too. And now it's just like, well, now 269 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:12,000 it's just a different way of expressing myself. But I definitely have, you know, really been able to 270 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:18,560 embrace creating content. Some people really struggle with that because it's a technical challenge. 271 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:25,680 It's not like, like some people just like, I can't do it. I was like, pressure off. It's not that hard. 272 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:32,800 Just just hit post. Yeah, just come up with something. And I like, but yeah, so I, I get it. 273 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:39,600 Like, it's really evolved since, I don't even know, like back then, like, I don't know, I had a store 274 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:46,480 back then. So it was pretty easy to buy me. But then those kind of all has gone away because of COVID 275 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:52,560 and all that. It's like, is it, is it working that we have Instagram? Are we, are people finding us 276 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:58,960 because of Instagram? I don't know. I don't know. I'd love to, it's like, not a money. That's all 277 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:08,160 it matters. Like, the king run those ads. You run those ads. And they fight you and things, 278 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:12,880 good things will happen. I have noticed that my Etsy ads, other pay per click, 279 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:19,280 be paying off more than the meta ads did. So I'm kind of like, you have to constantly be 280 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:26,000 evaluating and shifting and going, well, I can do meta add any day. Let's get this set up where 281 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:32,000 fair, fair. Are you unfair? I'm unfair too. Yeah. Yeah. I do ads on there. I don't know. 282 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:37,520 I don't know how to say from there, but I don't know. It's hard. Isn't it? It's, you know what, 283 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:43,280 it's hard. And, you know, I'd like you have been on, I've been on social media for since early 284 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:50,720 adopter. And what I have always found, and you stray away from it, you come back to it, 285 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:57,600 is growing an email list. Yes. No matter what, it doesn't even have to be huge. Like, I mean, 286 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,200 I mean, it doesn't have to be, it does not have to be huge. I think we put so much pressure on 287 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:06,400 ourselves that we need to be in front of so many people, but you need to be in front of the right 288 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:13,120 people. If I'm in front of 200 people who are my right people, that's it, your audience. That's 289 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:16,880 your audience. And they're just, they love your work. They're not going to question the cost. 290 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:21,040 They're not going to question the value they know to find you. They're comfortable. They love you. 291 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:26,480 Exactly. They come back time after time after time. Exactly. And I have found that 292 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:32,160 there is just gold in your email list. There, that is your, you know, no matter, 293 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:37,600 I've done it too. Straight away, gone to, you know, focused on meta ads, focused on this, 294 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:43,600 and I come right back to my email list every single time. I sent out an email, my newsletter today, 295 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:48,800 had a little bit of a bump because I had, I have GoDaddy and it has a new blah, blah, 296 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,640 this, blah, blah, blah, and I was like all night last night, like texting, I'm going, 297 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,880 what is going on? And then this morning I got up super early before my husband wanted me to. I'm 298 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:02,880 like, I got to check and see if it went through. Yeah. But you know, that's, that you just never 299 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:10,000 know, like every day is like something, but that's so important because, you know, and you can see 300 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:15,040 the analytics I could see immediately when I did go, I could see who opened it. Who opened it. 301 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:21,760 Who did it. Yeah. It's been a surprise. Right. So I mean, you know, I just think, I think 302 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:28,240 it's quality over quantity, right? Yes. Yeah. I actually hadn't done one in a while. I don't 303 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:38,160 know why. I can't explain the time. I'm so busy. How did I let that slip? But I think I was waiting 304 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:43,120 for some big announcements, that kind of things that kind of, yeah, rug, and then it's like, 305 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:47,920 okay, well, I'll just wait for more weeks and then that'll happen. Yeah. And I, you know, and I, 306 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:52,720 and I, and I get that too. I've been a little bit more intentional about, you know, I don't, 307 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,720 it's like every email doesn't have to be about a jewelry drop. It could be something simple. 308 00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:03,360 Let's run back old designs. Let's have some fun. One thing that has been, that has the highest open 309 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:08,880 rate, okay, motivational Mondays. People just think of the minds of the people on a Monday, 310 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:14,960 right? You're coming off the weekend. You don't want to talk to the Monday. You need motivation to 311 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:21,040 get through just Monday, not to mention the rest of the week, right? So I started doing motivational 312 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:27,280 Mondays of just like a saying, a phrase, something, something to kind of help somebody, right? 313 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:32,560 People love those. Matter of fact, I haven't done one. I used to do them on my Instagram and I 314 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,360 haven't done it in a while. And people are like, are you coming back with motivational Mondays? 315 00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:41,440 I'm like, you guys really watch this stuff. I used to have meditation Mondays and we would all get 316 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:47,200 together and meditate. That was kind of fun. You're sitting in a store and it's like, hello. 317 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:54,480 And everybody's happy. And, you know, I miss those days as we're meditation Mondays. Yeah, 318 00:26:54,480 --> 00:27:00,400 my one day. It has a ring to it. Yes. Yeah. So we like all this. It's so, I think it is really 319 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:06,240 important to be positive and joy is the key. Like I can sing that as a song. Joy is the key. Joy is 320 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:12,480 the key because we have to like really like make that that is why we're here. Like that's why we're 321 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:18,480 here. We love what we do. We love making things. We want to share that joy with somebody else. We 322 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:24,320 want people that that wear our jewelry to go, oh, this felt so good because 10 people said hi to me 323 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:28,880 today, which is a great friend of because they're wearing something interesting. And so we've got 324 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:36,000 that kind of thing happening too. Is that, you know, you know, being bold and wearing jewelry is an 325 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:45,120 important part of most definitely. I think it's empowering. Yeah. Yeah. I have a saying. I had a 326 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,680 saying about hoops hoopwear. It's like, how do you feel when you wear hoops? I always because 327 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:53,520 that's a hot seller with a lot of my customers. It's just hoops. Right. How do you feel when 328 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:58,000 you wear them when you don't wear them? Right. I feel like I can conquer the world. I feel like I 329 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:04,560 can, you know, bury me in my hoops. Right. It's just like there's never been a time a person put 330 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:10,000 on a pair of hoops and they did not feel empowering. Exactly. Exactly. But just jewelry 331 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:16,080 overall just does that. And I don't think, you know, people realize that like as a jewelry designer, 332 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:22,480 you're empowering people. You're allowing them to be themselves. You're allowing them to kind of 333 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:26,960 curate their own look and being, you might not be in control of everything, but you're in control 334 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:34,480 of what you decide to put on that day. And jewelry is a huge, a huge proponent in that. 335 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:40,320 And it's like in our DNA. It goes back to ancient, ancient, ancient people times, 336 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:46,000 like to early beginnings when they were like looking at a bone going, hey, this bone's a link. 337 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:53,120 Cool. Like maybe I should like wear this bone somehow. Right. Symbolism. Yeah. I mean, there's a 338 00:28:53,120 --> 00:29:01,280 a little a bear tar pits in LA. If you ever go there, go to that museum. It's amazing because 339 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:06,560 there was these big sinkhole, right? And that, and if, you know, filled up with water, but really 340 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:12,320 down below it was in the tarp. So the animals would all come and they would like get chased into the 341 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:18,160 hole and they would fall into it. All these things happened. And people did too. And there was a girl 342 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:24,880 that they've, you know, reclaimed from that and she had a necklace on. And this would have been, 343 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:31,120 I think it was like 30,000 years ago. And that necklace today, I could wear it, I could make it, 344 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:36,480 and I could sell it. It's like, yeah, that's exactly the look that we all have today. It's not 345 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:42,080 kind of like charms where it was like, you know, a bow and a shell, little trinkets that she had 346 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:49,680 picked up. She put on some CNU and there it was. And that was 30,000 years ago. So yeah. So this is 347 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:56,000 not new to us. This is exactly what we should be doing because we are creators and creators are 348 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:00,320 different. You know, not everybody's a creator. We have to have the people that make money. And 349 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:06,240 those are our creators. And then there's us. That's right. We're part of the tribe together. We're 350 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:11,280 the creators. Yes. Yeah. What else do you create besides jewelry? Is there anything else that you 351 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:21,920 create? You know, it hasn't, it hasn't really bled over into anything other than jewelry. I 352 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:28,320 still, no, no, I'm not. That's not 100%. I have started making, and it was years ago, and I've, 353 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:37,360 it was born out of frustration. polymer clay bowl. So I have one that people love. It says, 354 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:43,520 today I will slay. It is black and white marble and it has like copper, rose copper gold, 355 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:51,360 paint around it. And everybody just loves it. And I created that. I remember it was one holiday 356 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:55,680 season and we all know how holiday seasons can get can get very just like, you know, 357 00:30:56,320 --> 00:31:00,000 crazy and just make you second guess everything about your business and your creation. 358 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:06,240 And I was like, you know what, I think I had extra leftover clay from something else. Let me 359 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:10,560 see what I can create. So whatever. So I had that, that holiday, I think I created about me about 10. 360 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:20,080 And they sold off like nothing. So I've kept that kind of in rotation over the past years. 361 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,800 So I think that's probably that's probably what's been born out of my jewelry creativity. 362 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:29,840 Other than that, I'm trying to think, I know I'm like creative in other ways, but 363 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:35,680 digital creativity. Yeah, well, yeah, setting up your booth. 364 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:42,240 Setting up my booth, marketing, all of that. Packaging. Yeah, packaging. Yes, definitely. Yeah. 365 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:47,600 Yeah. So I mean, it all website. As a matter of fact, I just actually redid some parts of my website. 366 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:53,520 And you never know what you can do until you actually jump into it and actually do it. 367 00:31:53,520 --> 00:32:00,480 Right. You discover a whole lot. But thankfully what I would I do like now is that there's just 368 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:05,440 so many resources out there is like if you want something done, you can get it done. You know, 369 00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:11,040 you don't know how to do something. Particularly with all the tools are out there, you can, 370 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:15,520 there's something that, you know, you can find a solution for. So I think that's my 371 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:23,280 joy in the moment. It's just just like if you were lost with anything, you can find a solution 372 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:32,000 for it, you know, have you have you dabbled with a chat GPT because I use it. I use it. 373 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:39,840 I guess I use it all the time. And I use it because I think because there's this whole thing about 374 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:47,760 AI create versus whatever, you know, and I'm we can do everything ourselves. Yes. I'm not a proponent 375 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:53,440 on copying anything that's original. But as artists, we have to start we start with something. 376 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,880 What do we start? We start with our own creativity, whether it's words, whether it's design, 377 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:03,040 whether it's something else and for a beat or something. So, you know, these tools are available 378 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:09,760 to us. And if you use them the right way, you're responsible with using them. It can be very 379 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:15,600 beneficial in your business. You know, so I think finding ways to actually incorporate that. Like I 380 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:21,920 think I did a video one time when I was doing YouTube shorts and I found a AI app that will 381 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:27,440 take that one YouTube video, spice it into different shorts, transcribe it. So now I have five pieces 382 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:35,200 of content when I originally created one. Right. Bravo. So I think of so many ways to use it. I 383 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:40,640 this week I ran kind of the signature on my email, which had a lot of links. I'm like, 384 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:46,640 I'm re-organized these so that it makes a little bit more sense and you know, look good. Done. 385 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:51,680 Two seconds. I'm like, Bravo. Like I just want to pet it and say thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 386 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:58,400 You also know that you can get mad. You can threaten. I have an IT degree and that's one of it. I 387 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:04,160 learned from, I learned it from Microsoft. They're like, you can like threaten to like hurt it if 388 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:09,440 it's not behaving. Oh my gosh. So I've kind of like sometimes like, you better get this right because 389 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:17,360 like whatever. I haven't named my assistant yet. I think the assistant needs a name. 390 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:27,440 I haven't named my assistant yet. Yes. Because it is surprising how it just like everything can just 391 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:34,240 go through that. And I empower everybody that is listening to create an account if it's a free one 392 00:34:34,240 --> 00:34:39,200 or a paid one. Yeah. Just think of all the different ways you can use it because I use it during the 393 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:45,200 week. It's always open on my app across the top. I'm like, oh my god. It's even a great 394 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:50,640 scheduler. Like if I have for like, if I have my, if I'm doing my monthly campaign email, 395 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:57,200 you know, a content and I just need to know, okay, I can put into it what campaigns have worked over 396 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:02,560 the last whatever days, what I'm thinking, what I'm launching, what am I doing? I can pretty much, 397 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:07,120 it's a brain dump. I can dump everything that I am thinking and that what worked and 398 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:10,960 you need to be savvy with the prompts or as you will get garbage. But 399 00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:18,800 and it'll come up with a whole entire calendar. Like all I did was organize it for you and took 400 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:23,920 out what's right or right. You, you gave it that creative content. So, you know, those are ways 401 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:28,560 you can use it to actually, now picture how long it would have taken me after I brain them to manually 402 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:33,520 pull out a calendar and do all of that. Yeah, it's a couple hours. Yeah, I show everything, 403 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:41,040 any time, it's definitely such a work and I'm a personal writer. Like that's my job. My day job is 404 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:49,920 as a tech writer and I, they don't have it at our job, but I definitely like, if they gave me like 405 00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:55,200 five and they've done the five pages of text, it's like somebody wrote something and I'm like, 406 00:35:55,200 --> 00:36:00,800 yeah, I rewrite this. Yeah, just write this to me so I can like see it right. And then I'll, 407 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:06,240 you still have to rewrite it. You can't like, you can't not have those skills. 408 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:13,440 You know, Grammarly is also a key part. I pay for that. Because these are, you know, these are 409 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:19,280 just things that kind of make us look better. It looks better on our brand. Going out and our 410 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:24,640 emails are correct and everything is right. It's efficiency too, right? Yeah, they're going to 411 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:32,240 take over and kill us. But like, I mean, the algorithm is AI, right? Yeah. Just, it is where 412 00:36:32,240 --> 00:36:36,320 we are right now at this point. I was just, I was like, we're thinking, I was thinking like, 413 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:41,760 what jobs can AI not really take over? I said, I'm not ready to have a massage therapist. Right. 414 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:46,160 As a robot just yet. So there are certain industries where I think you are pretty safe, 415 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:52,080 because I'm not having a robot give me a massage. Absolutely not. 416 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:57,280 But there are, there are different things. Now, it's the weekend. What do you normally do on the 417 00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:02,000 weekend? Do you take time off or do you work on the weekends? So normally on the weekends, 418 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,680 it's usually my time to kind of just like, that's when I do a lot of bulk of my orders. 419 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:11,040 Because I have a little bit more time this weekend. I have now that we're moving into the holiday 420 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:15,600 season, the weekends going to be probably filled with markets. I have a couple, I think I only 421 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:21,680 have one this month. That's on schedule. But so Sunday, I have a market, which I'm really excited 422 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:25,440 about. Whenever I get a chance to be in front of customers and kind of just like, you know, 423 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:30,800 you know, it's your brand and then just kind of just like, I might sometimes, I might not sell 424 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:35,600 too much. But if I could walk away with a couple emails and some good contacts or whatever, you 425 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:42,480 know, it makes you feel good to kind of start the week. So this weekend, I have some, the market 426 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:49,280 on Sunday. So as we move into the holiday seasons, now I'm gearing up to launch a new 427 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:54,160 personalized jewelry piece for the holidays, because that's the top seller for the holidays. 428 00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:59,040 I find people love personalized jewelry pieces. They buy other things too, but I'm finding that 429 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:06,080 that's the most common. So I've kind of revamped, given the little refresher of some of the classic 430 00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:10,640 ones that I've had in my shop that probably need a little bit more of newness, refreshing. 431 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:16,800 So I will be launching that this month. I'm starting long holiday launches really early this 432 00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:22,320 time. Normally I wait till November, but I'm just like, no, I'm just going straight into October. 433 00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:28,800 Yeah, for sure. I definitely get that because people are shopping now. I had somebody just 434 00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:33,200 at the peak bought something from there, just, you know, just they're putting a little bit every 435 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:38,720 month. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Do you ship out of the country because I've kind of had a little bit 436 00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:44,000 of problems with that lately. I don't know how you know, I did, I do ship out of the country. 437 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:54,400 I think the biggest thing is the custom and duty fees that they're hit with when it reaches their 438 00:38:54,400 --> 00:39:01,200 country, which I don't have any control over whatsoever. But I think that is a deterrence 439 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:07,680 in a lot of international orders. It's just the duty fees that I have. I think that's a 440 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:15,920 that is a deterrence in a lot of international orders is just the duty, the duty, you know, 441 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:23,680 and taxes that are due when it arrives. But I do offer it. It's not, it's a very small percent of 442 00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:30,400 my business. Yeah, it's kind of a, but it's nice to see that people all over the world are looking 443 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:35,760 at our stuff. Like that kind of feels good. Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. When you see, when you look at 444 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:40,640 the analytics of like who's, there's some places that's like, how did you even find me? I didn't 445 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:50,160 even know this island existed. What is going on? Now do you have kids? I saw somebody walk by. 446 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:56,000 Is that your, Oh, that was my son. Yeah. Yeah. I have three sons. So I have a 13 year old. That was 447 00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:02,400 a 13 year old you saw. And then I have older boys, my stepson's there, 27. So the one you saw 448 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:09,360 walk by was my, was my 13 year old. Oh, that was great. Like it, you know, it is about family and 449 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:17,200 work balance and all this. I get that we're there. I'm, I'm, my kids are all grown and I have grandchildren 450 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:23,840 now. So, you know, that's, that's, you know, another thing, but it's nice to have the freedom where 451 00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:28,960 we're home and we're, you know, we're not having little babies. I feel, I was there. I was that 452 00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:33,520 mother that was multitasking and doing 10 things, reaching a diaper and eating something. 453 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:42,000 Because it never has stopped for me. Yeah. Yeah. But then my kids, because they grew up seeing their 454 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:50,720 mother with a really great work ethic, it all turned out to be very successful. Yes. And so, 455 00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:56,800 you know, they're, they, I was listening to my son, my son's been doing a podcast for a long time. 456 00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:00,560 And it's just finally ever, because he's leaving, but I was listening in the car to it. He's like, 457 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:05,040 don't forget to listen to the last one. I'm like, okay. And the very last thing is, the very last 458 00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:12,080 thing he signed off was like, okay, a shout out to my mom. I'm the biggest fan. I almost had to 459 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:17,920 pull over. I'm happy about that. That's what it's all about. You, you know what, when you hear 460 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:24,720 things like they like your right, I did my best and it turned out great. And I even said like, 461 00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:30,480 you inspired me to have a podcast. Like we, you know, we can like feed off of each other and work, 462 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:34,880 you know, I think he was the first one that said, oh, this chat GPT, you got to get on it. 463 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:42,800 I'm like, okay, I'm like, so we were learning from our, our sons in this point, like, so that 464 00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:47,840 we're keeping current and keeping ahead of that curve. Because I bet your 13 year old has some 465 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:52,000 really good insights. Oh my God, all of them do. They've all worked in my business at some point, 466 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:56,480 or another, the little one he like grew, he was born right into it. So yeah, 467 00:41:56,480 --> 00:42:02,400 he was stacking my boxes for years. Yeah. You get them just put the labels, the stickers on them 468 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:07,120 and stack them. And funny, it was like a couple years ago, he said, mom, can't you give me something 469 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:13,440 else? Do you know I can do more than just label and stack boxes. Okay. You want to get promoted. 470 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:20,240 But they've all, yeah, they've all, they've all worked in the business that at some point, either 471 00:42:20,240 --> 00:42:28,400 jewelry production, mailing out, helping at shows. So they have gotten an open 472 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:36,640 front row seat to what it's like to be a creative entrepreneur. And my one of my other sons, 473 00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:43,360 that's one of their twins, they're 27. But one of them he is, he works in film production. And he's 474 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:49,760 an aspiring actor and he does behind the scenes stuff. So he, he came into my office the other day 475 00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:54,080 and he was here sitting down. He's like, so how's business going? What's going on? So, you know, 476 00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:58,400 like, oh, you want to know how business is going to be. So, you know, I'm there telling him, you 477 00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:02,880 know, what's working, what's not working. And he's there giving me, okay, well, what about this? 478 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:06,720 What about that? You know, and he's showing me other jewelry brands and what they're doing, 479 00:43:06,720 --> 00:43:11,600 you know, do you think you want to incorporate that? So definitely respected because it's just 480 00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:15,920 like you would never have that input that perspective if you've never worked my business at all. 481 00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:21,840 Exactly. Oh, you know, just like that. I'm like, okay, you really were saying attention to folks. 482 00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:26,400 Yeah, we love it. We love that. And it all comes from the circle and that they can, 483 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:30,640 It's a little circle. And they're proud of their mothers. I know your sons are proud of you. 484 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:36,400 And that we, you know, that we've kept up this business, you know, through the hard times and 485 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:43,680 grown and, you know, really grown our whole brand, you know, the brand. So I don't know, 486 00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:48,880 I've been doing this for more than 20 years, but they, so they all happened at those early. 487 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:55,200 Now they were like, seriously, they know, he used to be my girlfriends and say, 488 00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:59,520 okay, we know you're really busy and we know you can't really stop working. So just bring your work 489 00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:05,920 over and then we'll just talk and drink around you. That's what those are my girlfriends like, 490 00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:11,920 because you can never really stop. Like it's very hard to, you know, put it down when you got, 491 00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:19,120 we're pre-noun Christmas. We know this is a push. This is real. This time of year is the blur. 492 00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:24,880 It's just like, you're just, you're just doing, doing, doing, doing. Then we'll rest. And we'll rest. 493 00:44:28,720 --> 00:44:34,800 Oh my God, it's so good. Well, I have really enjoyed meeting you. I hope that, I always tell 494 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:39,920 everybody, I tell all my students, I tell all my podcasts that I am your friend for life, because 495 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:46,240 now we have bonded. We've spent more time together than all my other friends combined today. 496 00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:53,920 It's really a nice time for me to get to meet you, Camilla. And we're going to always be friends. 497 00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:58,800 And I really hope that you'll like invite me to your mastermind group. Or if there's anything, 498 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:08,160 I can like spread the joy of your joy here. I will. Like, it's all overlap and it's all friends. 499 00:45:08,160 --> 00:45:14,720 And we really do need to just know that somebody is out there today that doesn't need to cry by 500 00:45:14,720 --> 00:45:21,200 themselves. And that's what I mean for people. Hey, you having that kind of a day? Give me a jingle. 501 00:45:22,320 --> 00:45:29,120 I appreciate it. You, what you're doing is just like, you know, it's grateful, definitely grateful. 502 00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:34,640 And you're an island girl. So we like, everything happened to me on an island girl. 503 00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:43,440 Those are my good memories. That's my heart and soul right there. So many great memories. 504 00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:52,400 It was a time and a half. I can't go back, but also it's just all changed. So it's okay. 505 00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:58,320 I did take my kids there and we did the stingrays. We did all that kind of stuff so they could kind 506 00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:06,080 of see it, but it's all changed. I do have some friends there still. And yeah, it's just a small 507 00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:12,240 world there. It's like, it's big. So everybody knows it's pretty bad. Yeah, everybody. My friend 508 00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:19,200 from high school in Houston ended up moving there, gay and married. His sister-in-law was the 509 00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:29,280 sister to my boyfriend. But I first had him. I'm like, oh my God, do you know him? Oh my God. 510 00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:37,200 How is that like two steps? I'm one step away from that. And that was my past. So it's just fun, 511 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:45,360 you know. Just how it all is. And of course, Jamaica is much bigger. But yeah. And, and yeah. 512 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:52,320 So, and also did y'all do okay during the hurricane there? Yeah, you know, we were very 513 00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:58,480 blessed and fortunate. We didn't have any damage, but I'm in the metro area. So there are other parts 514 00:46:58,480 --> 00:47:05,200 of the metro area that were near creeks and stuff that kind of flooded. And then South Georgia, I 515 00:47:05,200 --> 00:47:12,960 think got hit probably the worst. They got a real beating. So, but we were fortunate. I don't 516 00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:18,480 think people expected it. Like we knew it was coming. But usually when, by the time it gets here, 517 00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:23,840 we have tornadoes. Right. And the worst we have to worry about tornadoes. There's this one lady 518 00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:30,720 who slept in her basement the night thinking of tornadoes and woke up to nothing but water. Yeah, 519 00:47:30,720 --> 00:47:35,200 in her basement. So it was just like, you know, we hear a hurricane, we think tornado. 520 00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:42,800 But this one was, this was different. This was different. I, you know, so hard. Yeah, I, that 521 00:47:43,520 --> 00:47:48,160 it's just so hard because you got to really feel for that when you see all this 522 00:47:48,960 --> 00:47:52,880 tragedy. So, and I have some stores that are in Asheville that carry my jewelry. So, 523 00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:57,360 yeah, I don't care about my jewelry. I just want to make sure, make sure they're okay. Yeah, 524 00:47:57,360 --> 00:48:03,200 it's definitely hard times. Yeah. So I have really enjoyed this kind of a lot. I have to, 525 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:08,800 I just said it wrong, but you know, I am getting that. I have been getting that for the longest. 526 00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:11,600 That's all right. That's all right. It's all good. Like, 527 00:48:14,400 --> 00:48:19,520 you love it. We want that. That's the name. It's on the tip of our tongue and we just want to say it. 528 00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:28,160 So please keep me posted and please add me to your newsletter. Add me to your Facebook groups, 529 00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:33,120 whatever you can to say, yeah, let's sugar in because I'm not going at your door. I want to 530 00:48:33,120 --> 00:48:38,800 be appreciated. We're in the artist group together. That's a great collective. And I also know of a lot 531 00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:45,280 of other really great organizations that could really be possibilities. So if you ever go, 532 00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:50,320 let's do a sugar Scott. Okay. Definitely. I appreciate that so much. Thank you. 533 00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:56,960 Well, is there any last words of wisdom you want to tell other side hustleers out there, 534 00:48:56,960 --> 00:49:01,440 not necessarily your jewelers, but just people that are side hustle is the key word right now. 535 00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:06,800 Yeah, it is. You know what? Just go out there and do it. There's no such thing as failure. You 536 00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:12,080 learn and you pick up the pieces and you keep going and try to find the joy in it. It's a process. 537 00:49:12,080 --> 00:49:18,560 You got to find the joy of the process. It's all about the joy. Joy. Joy and gay. Yes. My two favorite 538 00:49:18,560 --> 00:49:27,520 words. There you go. Sugar, joy, gay. Okay, dear. Well, enough for today. I hope you have a wonderful 539 00:49:27,520 --> 00:49:33,520 rest of your week and have a great market on Sunday. I appreciate thinking about you. I hope you 540 00:49:33,520 --> 00:49:38,720 have great weather there and I hope everybody's out and empties their pockets into your treasure. 541 00:49:38,720 --> 00:49:47,200 So good vibes. I appreciate it. Okay. Well, let's talk again soon and keep me posted. I will. Thank 542 00:49:47,200 --> 00:50:02,320 you so much. Okay. Thank you. Bye-bye.