We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Thayer . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.

Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The idea of my business started as a coping mechanism to deal with a serious illness i was experiencing.

In 2015 i pretty dramatically injured my knee doing one of those mud run obstacle courses and ended up needing 3 surgeries over the next several years to address the issue.

So when in 2020 i was diagnosed with Adenomyosis, a condition in which endometrial tissue exists within and grows into the uterine wall., and ended up needing to have a full hysterectomy i was already familiar with the depression, frustration, and loneliness that can accompany a big surgery and long recovery.

I decided this time i was going to take steps to protect my mental health during surgery recovery. I hired a life coach, talked with my sibling and my husband and we collectively decided i needed a hobby that would allow my mind to stay busy and engaged while my body did the hard work of healing.

Enter beading.

Creating beaded earrings quickly became something that i was pretty much obsessed with. I was watching videos online, chatting with other beaders on instagram and made or attempting to make something new every day. There was and still is so much to learn and i love that.

The idea of sharing this thing that was bringing me so much joy and healing with everyone just seemed like the next step for me. So i started my business instagram page and signed up for a etsy account.

Now I sell earrings on etsy, in person at markets and via instagram. My hope is that my earring make the person wearing them feel beautiful, confident and ready to face whatever challenges face them.

Amanda, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Of course. I am married and have 1 kiddo. I have 2 dogs, Wicket and Elsa. I love animals so I really enjoying spending my free time volunteering at a local horse rescue. I even got my husband, daughter and mother in law involved so it’s a feel good thing we get to do as a family. I started beading as a form of therapy. There is a saying in the beading community “beading is healing” and for me it has been so true. Beading allowed me to keep my mind busy during a long surgery recovery, it allows me to be creative, it gives me new challenges to solve and i love that no matter how much i learn there is always a new technique, a new bead, a different size bead or shape to learn about and use.

I really enjoy how inspiration can come from anywhere. I have an earring inspired by a sun set, one inspired by a sweater, a couple that embody the cowgirl vibe, one inspired by a favorite tv show of mine and several different holiday offerings.

Currently, i only make beaded earrings but i plan to expand into bracelets after this holiday season. I pride myself on using quality materials. My ear hooks are either sterling silver, gold fill or stainless steel. I also like to support other small businesses when buying my supplies. One of my favorite things to do is to find a bead shop when i travel and scoop up some new treasures. The excitement of being somewhere new and the fun of a new shop really gets the creativity swirling.

I make earrings in a variety of sizes. I have small stud earrings for when you want a beautiful but low drama accent to your look for the day and also long and dramatic earrings for the days you want to bring the full drama.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I feel like the best way to build a loyal following on social media is to show up as your authentic self. Share who you are besides what you sell or create.

My favorite accounts to follow are the ones that let me into their life a little. What are you making for dinner tonight? Where other interests do you have? I want to see your cute pets.
Once i started showing more of who i am as a person i feel like it sparked some fun conversations between me and my followers. I get more likes overall since i started making to effort to really be “me”

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

For me the best source of new clients has been referrals. I really strive to create a good experience for my customers. From my packaging to responding to inquiries in a timely manner i want my clients to feel how important they are to me.

Also, networking. I joined the MOB, mom owned business, and i have received several client referrals from people in that group. Building meaningful relationships with people that will speak you name in a room of opportunities is a powerful business tool.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.etsy.com/shop/amandathayerdesigns
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/amandathayerdesigns

Image Credits
Amanda Thayer