We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Tankel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.
Alright, Amanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I started cocoatemyshoes initially as a hobby and an outlet during the pandemic chaos. I had been diagnosed with one of NYC’s first cases of COVID and after relocating to Los Angeles to be with my then-boyfriend, my mental health did a nosedive. At the time I was dealing with side effects from having Covid while also feeling completely lost and unsure of what I wanted to do in my life. After my relationship ended, I started making jewelry to distract myself from what felt like my world was crashing down around me. For the first time, I was doing something I truly enjoyed doing and it felt like it could be something bigger than just a hobby. A few months later I made a necklace for Billie Eilish and when she posted it on her IG, I knew that I was right.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
cocoatemyshoes is a female and Jewish-owned jewelry brand handcrafted here in Los Angeles. Named after my bunny Coco, our jewelry is made to order using materials ethically sourced from around the world in an effort to reduce waste and be more sustainable. All of the packaging has Coco’s face on it and each order comes with its own polaroid of her, which has been instrumental in shaping the brand’s identity.
I started the brand from the ground up without any contacts or real understanding of how to run a business. As difficult as it was, I’ve learned so much and I’m proud of how I’ve been able to grow coco especially in the past year. In 2023, I made custom necklaces for Kim Kardashian, Diplo, and Snoop Dogg and shipped orders to 16 different countries. We were featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair UK and started to be carried by other stores around the country. We just signed a deal with Anthropologie and will be sold on their website soon, which I’m still in disbelief about.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Launching a jewelry brand without capital, contacts, or substantial business knowledge, particularly in an oversaturated market and challenging economic climate, demands unwavering resilience. The highs can be overshadowed by the exponentially more lows, with numerous moments of self-doubt and contemplation of giving up. Social media exacerbates these struggles, especially when comparing oneself to seemingly thriving brands, all while encountering a barrage of rejections.
I knew that getting into stores was essential to coco’s growth, and after being consistently rejected, I had to learn to take my own ego and self worth out of it. I spent hours of research, creating a data sheet of over 1000 stores all of whom I contacted. While there’s purchasable lists and distributors who represent brands, they were out of my budget.
Despite initially receiving few responses, all of which were rejections, I kept following up every few weeks.
This approach, while tedious, was a game changer, and it started to work. It took two or three messages for Anthropologie to respond and shortly thereafter, placed an order.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The last several months I’ve been in the process of rebranding. Since it started as a hobby, there was a lack of strategic thinking in terms of branding, identity, and narrative. Over the past year, I’ve started to understand how essential these elements play in the growth of the brand. I worked with Pablo Airth, a talented graphic designer and together we redid my logo, visuals, and website. There was so much work that went into this and it required introspection, trusting my intuition, and patience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cocoatemyshoes.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cocoatemyshoes/?hl=en
Image Credits
crsh. of room for error.