Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jade McClendon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jade, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Over the years we have worked on many meaningful projects, We call them Passion Projects. A couple times a year my heartstrings get tugged on and I feel compelled to take action. Creating and Giving back go hand in hand for me. They are all meaningful, so I will touch on the most recent Passion Project. With the current devastation in Ukraine, and our hearts aching. I knew I had to do SOMETHING. While scrolling Facebook I noticed one of my local friends and 4 more doctors and nurses posted that they were in Ukraine volunteering with the non Profit Aerial Recovery Group. That was it! I messaged her immediately and got to creating…I designed a bracelet to raise funds and awareness for this incredible team who are on the ground in Ukraine, saving lives and providing medical support. We sell the bracelets through our website studiobbdesigns.com and our social media pages. The support we get from our loyal customer base is heartwarming and feels so amazing to give back as a community. The profits from these passion projects are without a doubt making a difference and we are so proud to provide an outlet to do so.

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?

Studio BB Designs is a mother / daughter team, based out of Calgary, Canada and Scottsdale, Arizona. We have been making and melting glass beads for over 20 years. The process is called lamp working. We melt sticks of glass freehand over a torch fueled by propane and oxygen into one of a kind glass beads. Each bead is carefully crafted and then fired in a kiln for strength and durability. Once the beads are cooled, they are taken off the mandrels, cleaned, drilled and thoughtfully made into one of a kind wearable art. We are so lucky to create not only what we love, but have the most incredible loyal supporters as well. Using high quality materials and attention to detail is very important to us. We take tremendous pride in quality and customer service we want our supporters to feel connected to not only our jewelry, but also us, as artists.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part of being a creative, and a small business owner is the freedom to spend time with our busy family. I have an incredibly supportive husband, our daughter Jaysha is 11 and training as an elite gymnast, and twin boys Niko and Tayo are 8. They are active, hilarious, and eat non stop. There are times that we are traveling for sports, and weekends filled with competition and games. I wouldn’t miss that for the world. We enjoy being home and spending time together. I love that they get to see me doing something that I love, encouraging them to be creative, and also being there for them to support their dreams and aspirations. Being able to adjust my own schedule is invaluable. Equally as rewarding is the incredible support, friends, and loyal customers that we have cultivated over the years. All from doing what we LOVE… Being creative has allowed us to build the life we dreamt about.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Overall we are happy with the timeline, the journey, and where we are now as a business. As I reflect on our 20 plus years of experience, I wish we would have jumped on the social media band wagon sooner. I have no regrets, but it has taken me a long time to understand the value of social media for small businesses. We thrive on connection with our customers, and early on I felt like part of that is lost in translation. It still is, to a degree, but we have learned to stay connected as a community and keep the personal touches as we have grown over the years. I hope our customers feel the connection as much as we feel their support.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://studiobbdesigns.com/?currency=USD
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiobbdesigns/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studiobbdesigns
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/StudioBBdesigns

Image Credits
Patchwork Photography Captured By Sidney