We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sarah Learn and Deanna Guerrieri. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sarah and Deanna below.
Sarah and Deanna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
The idea of creating jewelry with pressed flowers was inspiring. There really wasn’t anyone else locally doing it at the time. It just felt like an old pastime tradition that we were bringing back to life while putting our own spin on it. Although the sentiment remained, traditionally pressed flower jewelry was not made for lasting wear. Pressed flower jewelry was once made by placing the desired flower in a framed setting between two pieces of glass. This process often allows air to get in, negatively drying out the flower over time. Resulting in the flower losing color, shape, and its all around beauty. Using resin allows us to preserve our flowers exactly as we arrange them. Our resin is UV resistant and long lasting. The idea of combining preserved flowers into jewelry was an exciting idea that we really wanted to perfect. We began by practicing with techniques of pressing flowers and different ways to arrange them. We went through lots of trial and error. Once we found our niche we stayed dedicated in our process and truly just made sure we had fun with it! After we built up our first batch of inventory, we began selling our designs at local events and markets. When we realized people got excited about our work, it started a fire in us. We started researching how to establish our business. Driven to get our products in front of as many people as possible, we started envisioning our work in stores and did a lot of cold calling to make that happen. The first brick and mortar to take a chance on us was Blush Boutique in Chargin Falls, Ohio. 8 years later we’re still carried there! We opened an Etsy shop and started selling our jewelry online. Soon we began creating consignment and wholesale opportunities with shop owners. We are now carried in many shops across the country and continue to grow!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Being best friends, we do everything together! Wednesday nights were our weekly wine and craft hangout. When we first began My Beverly Jewelry, we started out by using old photos and incorporating them into vintage jewelry and wrist watches. We loved what we were doing but remained to experiment with more materials. One day we had the idea of incorporating flowers. This vision grabbed a hold of us fast. We started growing our own flowers on our tiny apartment balconies, starting our journey of My Beverly Jewelry! Our jewelry offers something for everyone. Our line includes necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, shoe accessories, and more! Our designs showcase many northeast native wildflowers, ferns, and a garden variety such as Roses, Forget-me-nots and Black eyed Susan’s. Our jewelry is handcrafted by us! The pressed flowers found in our designs come from flower shops, local travels, as well as our very own gardens! Each piece is one of a kind. Our designs are made using a variety of metals; brass, stainless steel, and gold plated stainless steel. We hand paint the base color of each of our settings using acrylic paint and then begin placing our arrangement of flowers & preserve in a resin finish for lasting wear. What sets us apart from other pressed flower jewelry designers is our attention to detail, creative process, as well as the arrangement of our flowers. We also offer customization! We can also personalize using wedding, funeral, or any special occasion flower arrangements. This option makes a great gift or keepsake!
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Our friendship formed in the early 2000s while attending a Edgar Allen Poe play. We found ourselves giggling inappropriately, and just never seemed to stop. We knew very quickly that they had very special bond. A bond that has proven to conquer all the things in life! The laughter and love shared then is carried on today within our business!
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Leaving our prior 9-5 jobs we’d be lying if we said we weren’t nervous when we decided to lean on My Beverly Jewelry as our sole income. Being your own boss you know that if you fail, there’s no one else to blame but yourself. You’re pretty much in control of your own success. This was an extra driving force for us to succeed! Some of our first key milestones include establishing My Beverly Jewelry online and acquiring our first wholesale account!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mybeverlyjewelry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mybeverlyjewelry
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mybeverlyjewelry
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyBeverlyJewelry
