We were lucky to catch up with Brandy Hunter recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brandy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

It really is! To be honest, I couldn’t be more pleased with the name and I tell all my customers the same thing when they ask about it. “My fiancé calls me “Sugar” and my friends and family call me “Bird”! Oh and Jewels because well, I make jewelry!

However, name “Sugar Bird” is really more than just two nicknames slapped together. Im the most Gemini of the Geminis and I quite literally have two different sides of me. “Sugar” is more of a starlet. She has expensive tastes, and craves the finer things in life while “Bird” is just that little girl running around climbing trees barefoot in the woods, catching frogs and making potions. My brand really pays homage to woman I am today.

Brandy, 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’ve always been a creative soul. I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember, whether it’s painting, drawing, singing or piano.. I had my hands in something artistic. The arts were just what people associated me with. That was, until I joined the Navy.

I joined the Navy when I was freshly 18 all bright eyed and bushy tailed. I truly enjoyed my time in the service, but it came with some costs. Being stationed on a ship was a demanding job. Many of my hobbies were soon replaced with the hustle and bustle of ship life. My creativity would peak out every now in then through certain projects but it slowly took a back seat as I focused more on my career. If I was showing my talents, it was strictly for the navy and never for my own enjoyment. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I realized that I had truly lost that part of me and I was determined to get it back. I went to Michael’s craft store to find a hobby to reignite that spark and something drew me to the polymer clay isle that day. And boy am I glad it did.

The entire process of making clay jewelry is very therapeutic. My brain sort of just shuts off and all I can focus on is the next element of the design in my mind and how to I make it come to life. The non stop vigilance and hidden service wounds fade and that little girl in the woods comes to play once again.
I crave that state of mind and I get lost in it, that’s why you’ll see lots of detail and earthy inspiration in my pieces. It’s never a painstaking progress to add those intricacies, it’s quite the opposite really.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

When I first started making clay earrings it truly was just a hobby to kickstart my creativity again. The first pair I made was with that clay kit I purchased and I followed what design they suggested and they absolutely horrendous. I still have the pair to this day to look back on.

About a week later when I was messing around with clay with my best friend i made a pair of clay succulent hoops that I was really proud of. I remember us being all giddy and jumping around celebrating this creative breakthrough. It was then that I realized that I could actually make art and sell it.

I started small on facebook. I would post pictures of my new designs on my feed with prices and tell people to message me if they wanted a pair. I did lots of customs and everyone was very supportive. I couldn’t believe the amount of customers I was getting, the pure excitement of it all was something I will never forget.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I often get teased by my friends about how intense of a person I am. Honestly they are not wrong. I can be an absolute work horse and I tend to overload my plate. Some times I never know when to stop. However, this determination has really come to my advantage. Once I have my sights on something I become laser focused and I refuse to settle for “no”.

Of course being rejected hurts but every single time it happens it then becomes my sole mission for that “no”to become an undeniable “yes”. Obsessive much?? Maybe hah.

When I first wanted to do markets in the area I got rejected a lot.. or I heard nothing back. It was discouraging for sure but I knew I wanted to get into the local community and share my work. The same thing happened when I applied to be in some local stores. I kept getting told no. The no’s give me space to stop and reevaluate, to do some reflection and to plan a new course of action. Now I’m booking markets months and months in advance and I’m in four local stores!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sugarbirdjewels.com
• Instagram: Sugarbirdjewels
• Facebook: Sugar Bird Jewels
• Other: https://faire.com/direct/sugarbirdjewels

Image Credits
Sarah Schmidt Photography Mojo photo co