We recently connected with Rachel Dean and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

I manage my own social media. I like to interact with my customers and potential customers online. It helps me to see what everyone is liking; what designs of mine people are paying attention to.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started Rachel Belladonna Jewelry June 2021. It was something that I was thinking about doing for a long time and last year after watching a few YouTube videos about jewelry making and reading a few books I decided to give it a try. I knew I wanted to work with crystals and gemstone because I’ve always loved gemstone and crystal jewelry, and these were things that I was already familiar with due to my obsession with crystals and their healing properties.

I started out with gemstone bracelets. A Rose Quartz gemstone bracelet was the first one I made. I had so much fun with the creating it and it was such a relaxing experience, I knew then that I made the right decision. I was able to make it in my bed which was important to me because I have Sickle Cell, a genetic blood disorder that causes mild to severe pain and keeps me in my bed a lot or in the hospital.

After making the first bracelet and when I felt comfortable, I announced online that I am going start Rachel Belladonna Jewelry and received my first two orders from two of my really good friends. I actually made their orders while in the hospital. Most of the first bracelets I made while in the hospital. Doing this really helped me in so many ways. It helped me deal with the depression of being sick and in the hospital and it also gave me something else to focus on besides the pain. Still does which is something I’m extremely grateful for.

I created my Etsy shop and wanted to offer more than just bracelets so I learned how to make necklaces, earrings, and anklets. Eventually I want to add rings to my shop as well.

I’m so happy and proud that people are actually liking my creations and I’m beyond thankful for all of my return customers. I want potential customers to know I offer custom orders. I love doing custom orders. I have a list of bead options on Instagram and Facebook for people to choose from. I also don’t mind adjusting the sizes of bracelets that I already have listed in my shop, so if you see something you like but it’s not your size, please don’t hesitate to message me about adjusting the size.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

So far for me the best sources of new clients social media and vending. Connecting with people on social media has helped my business in so many ways but especially with gaining new clients. I try to advertise my business on any social media site I can and doing so has helped me gain new clients. Social media has also help me to start vending which also has helped me gain new clients. Vending is helpful because I get to meet even more potential customers and pass out business cards. Vending has allowed me to reach people who may not be online.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I choose to sell my jewelry on Etsy. For me it was the easiest choice to start out with. It’s formatted with all the information that is needed to sell. It has different categories such as size, color, style, type, shape, etc. for you to fill out when listing your items. For me it helps me to give as much information to my customers about what I am selling. There’s things I wouldn’t think to add to my listings unless someone asked me. That’s something I really appreciate about Etsy. It also takes care of the shipping depending on the size of the item I’m selling. Some of the cons include some of the fees but I do understand that for all that the site does for you. It can be a little intimidating starting out. But I would suggest spending time reading through the site and playing around with it to get use to it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RachelBelladonna
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelbelladonnajewelry
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Rachel-Belladonna-Jewelry-108315781676884/
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/rachbelladonna
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/c/RachelBelladonna
• Other: https://tiktok.com/@RachelBelladonna