We recently connected with Alex Lindelien and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My mom became pregnant with me at the very young age of 15 and raised my younger brother and I all by herself. She faced a lot of battles and hardships on her own and it played a heavy hand on how she viewed the world. Two things she always preached to me from a very young age was 1) to ALWAYS treat everyone with kindness because you never know what people are going through in their personal life and 2) the importance of keeping an open and accepting mind. These values are something that have stuck with me all the way to adulthood and definitely had a key role in my business.
Her lesson of being kind to everyone naturally made me an empath therefore I’ve always thrived in jobs that are customer service based. I have been a barista for the last 7 years because although I love coffee, the connections I’ve built with my customers are the reason I adore my job and look forward to heading into work every day. Thanks to the amazing relationships I had with so many of my regulars I had a huge built in support system. Therefore once my business launched a large handful of my coffee shop customers instantly became my business customers as well. Being in customer service also made the transition to working art shows a little less intimidating because 7+ hours of talking to shoppers was already the norm for me!
Her second lesson of being open minded has had a very strong impact on me in all aspects of my life. From my large range in friends and their personality types, never ending list of interests, vast variety in music taste, and love for all different aesthetics and styles; she has helped me find the beauty and positivity in almost anything (she has also made me the world’s biggest devils advocate on quite literally any topic haha). Thankfully due to this wide range I have it has helped me base my business model. In the beginning I was nervous my inability to “niche down” would negatively impact my sales. Instead it had the opposite effect! At my in person events I would constantly overhear people say that they appreciated that they could shop for themselves, their grandma, and their best friend all in one spot despite all having different styles. This is how my slogan “something for everyone” came about. Thanks to my upbringing inclusivity is very important to me. I always want everyone to feel welcome and that they’re in a safe and judgement free zone when around me and/or my work.
I am very thankful that despite everything my mom has been through she has never let it impact her kindness. Her want to spread warmth and acceptance has shaped me into the person I am today. If I am able to change anyone’s life from this article it would be to help spread my mom’s mission and to participate in acts of kindness:
-Pay it forward
-Compliments! If you think something nice about someone make sure to say the compliment out loud to them!
-Smiling goes a long way
-Send an “I’m thinking about you” message to those you love and check in on them
-Talk less and listen more
-Always extend the invitation
-If you see an introvert or quieter person being spoken over in a crowd make sure to step in and help their voice be heard
-Respect others opinions even if they vary from your own
-Live, and let live
-Leave positive reviews for small businesses
-Tip extra or put loose change in tip jars
-Donate to local charities
-Make a meal for someone that might need it
-Easiest of all: just be kind.

Alex, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I adore all things art. My favorite past time is reading, creative writing, attempting new craft projects, and repurposing/upcycling items. My right brain is so top dog dominant that sometimes I have to check that the left side of my brain still exists haha. With that being said, I like to believe that with enough passion you can learn how to do anything at least mediocrely so I love to dip my toes in various art forms. What started as a toe dip in making earrings for myself due to allergic reactions to store and antique shop bought earrings eventually lead to my now profession.
I was tired of spending money on earrings just for me to itch my ear off within 10 minutes of putting them in. So I decided perhaps I should just start making my own pairs that way I’m aware of the metal being used and can create the exact style I want. I began wearing my creations out in public which resulted in compliments paired with asking where I “bought” my earrings. When I told people I made them myself it was typically followed by people asking if I sold them online. At the time I took it as more of a compliment than anything until one day something happened in my personal life that caused my hours at work to be cut in half. Financially stressed on how I would pay my bills I thought back to all the comments of people saying they’d be a customer if I sold my earrings and voila, “Mind of Plenty” was born.
Playing around with different names I landed on Mind of Plenty for a creative mind with plenty of ideas bouncing around. This name means a lot to me because although my earrings are what I am known for, I appreciate the freedom of being able to create a large range of other products as well. With the name as the umbrella by the beginning of 2024 I was able to add hair accessories, bookmarks, decorative wall hangers, key chains, rings, and plant pot stakes to my business.
Even though I make pieces for all different aesthetics my umbrella theme is dedicated to plants. 85% of my work from the jewelry to the bookmarks and hair accessories contains real pressed flowers and plants, faux leaves, and many different shades of green.
If you’re a passionate plant lover, book enthusiast, or someone that likes to wear fun and unique accessories my shop is perfect for you!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

This is not specific to my business, but instead something most creatives can relate to:
With the uprise of fast fashion companies like Shein or big box craft stores like Hobby Lobby I think it’s really easy for customers to overlook how much time, effort, and skill goes into an artist’s original work. It’s not uncommon for artists to overhear customers say something along the lines of “these prices are too high I could get this for half the price at Hobby Lobby or online.” It feels like a verbal slap in the face to the hours and money we pour into our work.
I encourage people to follow local artists on their social media platforms, especially accounts that show the behind the scenes of how they make their art or products from start to finish. I believe most people would be genuinely shocked at the detail and time that goes into each creation. Perhaps they would even gain a new found appreciation as well. When you purchase from a small business you’re essentially purchasing a passion project in which the artist put a considerable amount of detail and care. This is return raises the quality significantly compared to what you would purchase for a next to nothing price online.

However, on a positive note I’m very happy that over the last few years shopping small has become a very common and praised practice. It’s really cool to see the community come together and uplift local artists in their area. Showing up, complimenting, and purchasing from us does tremendous things for our business and self confidence. I have some really incredible and consistent customers that come out to support and offer words of affirmation every time I see them. They fill my cup all the way to up to the very tippy top and for that I am eternally grateful. Our small businesses would be absolutely nothing without our supporters.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Unfortunately my business is one of the most saturated mediums out there. If you head to a craft or art show a good bulk of it will be jewelry. This not only makes the competition sky high, but also the shopping experience for the customer goes down when there are multiple booths offering the same thing. In November of 2023 I did a show where they restricted the number of jewelry and candle vendors allowed in due to the heavy saturation of these two categories. At the time I only made earrings and when I was accepted I was really frustrated to learn onsite that even though I had been promised I would be one of only 3 jewelry booths, almost every other stand in there also sold earrings as a small side product in their medium category. This ended up being my worst event to date. At first I was really bummed about this, but then I let it motivate me into revising my business plan. I thought about my business name, Mind of Plenty, and how it didn’t restrict me to just jewelry like “Alex’s jewelry” might’ve done. I then thought about my passions: I love to read and I adore my plants. I laid out all my business supplies and thought to myself, what can I create when I combine my passion and current hoard of inventory? That’s when the bookmarks and plant pot stakes entered the chat. By branching out and adding these new products it opened up my client base and allowed room for people who don’t wear jewelry to come by and shop. I started advertising my decorative wall necklace hangers as decorative wall key holders and that too brought in additional people. It’s been almost a year since introducing the bookmarks and they’ve been consistently my best seller since their launch and my wall hangers started selling twice as fast as soon as I re-advertised them. I am beyond thankful for that terrible sales-wise show because it allowed me to pivot my thought process and product line. I think being an artist and small business we are ever evolving. We take the criticism we hear and do what we can to adapt and be better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mindofplenty.com
• Instagram: @mindofplenty_
• Facebook: Mind of Plenty

Image Credits

With Love, Minneapolis