Today we’d like to introduce you to Vana Chupp
Hi Vana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started my business out of the need to bring creativity into my life. I was a new mom working freelance in architecture. I was looking for something to keep me creatively fulfilled while I worked from home raising our first born. I first started on Etsy – open a stationery shop on March of 2008 called Le Papier Studio (the paper studio in French). I began selling custom silhouette stationery and artwork all created with customers’ photographs of their loved ones. My little shop took off in a six months period. I began receiving a lot of press from mama blogs and other outlets who were interested in the type of products I created as well as my story as a stay at home mom creating a niche for herself.
My business grew organically through repeat business and word of month. It wasn’t until 2012 when I decided to start offering ornaments and jewelry as part of my collection. Fast forward to 2021, we rebranded to Vana Chupp Studio to better represent who we were and where we were headed. Currently, the majority of our work is in custom 14K fine jewelry and although custom silhouettes are still a big part of what we do, we’ve added custom handwriting and other personalization to our line of offerings. Our products are sold online through our shop at www.vanachuppstudio.com and in person by appointment in our studio in Richmond, Virginia.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Far from it, actually and that is totally fine as it has made us the brand we are today. Running a small business and stepping into the role of being an entrepreneur comes with many struggles from learning to navigate business decisions without proper business education to trying to grow into the role of a leader and continuing to evolve as a human being.
I owe a lot of my growth to the struggles along the way. Every one of them has been instrumental in who I am and how I run my business and the direction I’ve taken on how to run my business.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an architect by trade but a creative at heart. I graduated with a masters in architecture and creativity has always been a part of my life ever since the early years. When I started by business in 2008 I had no idea to what it would become, a legacy brand loved by thousands around the world that helps people tell their unique story through heirloom jewelry.
We specialize in custom 14k gold jewelry created from photographs of people and moments that mean the most. We like to refer to ourselves as memory keepers.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
As a very young child I was very involved in arts and creating with my hands. I was blessed to live by the water and experience beauty as part of daily life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.vanachuppstudio.com
- Instagram: @vanachuppstudio
- Facebook: @vanachuppstudio
