Lessons Learned

The road to being a successful entrepreneur is not an easy one. I’ve had my share of doubts and struggles along the way. I want to share a story about a “transformative” weekend back in 2017 that helped me face and overcome my fears, gain perspective and use the experience as a stepping stone for what was yet to come. I signed up to be a seller at a three-day wholesale market at the Javits Center in New York City. It was expensive to travel there, stay in the city and participate in the market. I was in the realm of artists like Stella McCartney and Mark Jacobs, just a few floors down from them. Needless to say I definitely felt like the “small fish in a big sea” that weekend. During the first day of the show, no one came to my booth-not one person…. There were thousands of people at the show and I ended the day feeling like a fraud and full of self-doubt. That night, from the my best friends Brooklyn apartment, I called my husband, Damion. I told him about the disastrous day and asked him what he thought I should do. He was quiet for a bit. Then he said, “Well, you can either give up and come home, or stay there and tough it out.” 

Well, I decided to give it another try and bravely showed up for day two of the market. On that day, a woman who, as I can only describe as the quintessential “New York Woman”. She was dressed to the nines, and had the swagger and panache that comes from living in a big city like New York. I looked down at her own torn jeans and cowboy boots and in that moment, felt very inadequate. The jewelry pieces I had brought for the show were made of electroformed raw Amazonite and formed copper wiring. They were “rough and gritty” looking pieces. The New York woman looked at my collection for a minute and then said, “I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.” And she walked away. That moment, at first, was a huge ego blow. But as the woman retreated into the crowd, I thought to myself, “I don’t get you, either.” I decided then and there that my art was different. I wasn’t trying to make “something for everyone”. I wanted to create pieces that exemplified my own personal qualities of raw, natural, unique, stylish, amazing jewelry. Jewelry that was made from my heart, with my own hands, for the love of creating and for the joy that my pieces would bring to MY customers. Not everyone “gets” my style or spin, and that’s ok. But for the people who do get it, my work is awe-inspiring! 

Day three of the market came and I was able to sell enough of my pieces to cover the cost of the trip and I was able to connect with some new wholesale clients as a result of the market as well. The lessons learned that weekend were well beyond what I had expected when she first arrived. But it was an experience that transformed me into the unique and confident artist and creator I am today.