We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cassandra ( Cassie) Herzog a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cassandra ( Cassie) , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Life is dumb. We are all products of two people who most likely got too drunk one night and bam- We are born, we learn basic skills, and then we are just expected to thrive and eventually become successful adults. It’s kind of fucked up, isn’t it? Being a business owner has taught me to form new definitions of success and what I think success is supposed to look like. When I was growing up, no one placed any importance on education or being successful. Most of the people in my hometown never left. They were born and raised and then they took over the family business which was most likely real estate in some shape or form. My parents trudged along in jobs they hated for men they despised. No one in my family ever went to college and I was told if I wanted to go to college, I was going to have to find a way to pay for it myself because no one was going to take out any loans for me. I scraped by doing the bare minimum in high school, had no extracurriculars, and was never part of any official club. I took the PSATS hungover as hell and to no one’s surprise, did very badly. I went to the local city college for three years, waffling between potential majors, and finally made it to UCSB for two years where I graduated with a very useful degree in Political Science and History. I never had high hopes for myself or my future and that made me a very angry, emotionally unstable, asshole. I waited tables for years and I assumed I would just keep doing that until I married some entitled rich kid named Chad who would enforce the negative feelings I had about myself while he cheated on me with his secretary and all the while I would pop out some kids every couple years in the hopes that more kids would mend our broken relationship. Spoiler Alert-that didn’t end up being my future and my entire life changed when I moved to Denver.
My success up to this point can be attributed to my sheer desire to prove to any person who ever doubted me wrong. Yes, that’s right. My success is a product of Spite. I think there will always be a chip on my shoulder and I am no longer embarrassed to admit that that chip is why I believe I have been successful in my craft. I don’t care what moves you, as long as something is moving you, and for me, the haters and doubters are what moved me.
It was those conversations early in my jewelry-making career where people ( men) would say, ” oh that must be so fun.” “What a great little hobby you have there,” “Oh Good for you! That must keep you nice and busy”. Insert Middle Finger emoji here. I started this career by making jewelry for myself in 2012 with supplies from Michaels and ten years later, I have built a 6 figure jewelry brand, am in over 80 stores nationwide, have UK and Australia stockists, have been featured in the Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Thrillist, Conde Nast Traveller Magazine and I have also started a new clothing line/online boutique called Champagne Riot. I say all this not to brag, but to help normalize being proud of your accomplishments. It’s time we, especially women, stop being coy about our success and start shouting that shit from the rooftops.
So, what does it take to be successful?
It takes absolute unbridled grit, tunnel vision, and a willingness to put yourself out into the world-honest and raw. It takes fearlessness, guts, and resiliency to thrive and build something substantial that you can be proud of. Creating art is vulnerable. If you don’t have the balls to bounce back and persevere through the endless roller coaster of absolute narcissism and crippling self-doubt, you won’t make it. Being a small business owner and creative has taught me so much about myself and what I am capable of and now I get validation from my work instead of from toxic people who don’t want the best for me. I no longer let “no’s” devastate me, I set boundaries, take risks, and make mistakes. but I am never afraid to be myself and ask for what I want. You have to be a dick sometimes, you have to be okay with standing up for yourself, your business, and your brand. This means that no, the customer isn’t always right and I’m going to tell you that, It means upsetting some people, raising hell, disrupting norms in your field, upholding boundaries, and making hard choices. I go to the ends of the earth to find that email contact, search linked in for connections, and hunt down agents in new york when I want to get my jewelry on famous people. Do I always get an email back? Hell no, but I don’t get upset or spiral, I just move on to the next person, and let me tell you- I am shameless. Successful people have an air of confidence that borders on arrogance and If you can’t be a little arrogant about the years you have spent honing your craft and how far you’ve come, I am here to let you know that it’s time you give yourself the credit you deserve.
Even though my motivation for success was essentially born out of spite, it has morphed over the years into the desire to stay true to myself and the brand’s direction. It is important that I am authentic and honest because as long as I show up in the world this way, I will attract the kind of people who will love Lux + Luca as much as I do. Being honest with yourself and having a clear direction will organically motivate “your people” to find you and help you grow. It really is that simple.
In summary, being successful to me means freedom. Freedom with my time, with my self-expression, financial freedom, and the freedom to literally be me and put it out into the world for people to enjoy ( or complain about). My jewelry line is unapologetic, raw, real, and not for everyone- and I am very okay with that.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
In 2010 I moved to Denver from my hometown of Santa Barbara and after a life-changing trip to Burning Man, I decided to start making jewelry out of old clock parts and anything steampunk-related I could get my hands on. I had no idea what I was doing or how to start making jewelry, but I had a feeling I could be good at this. So, off I went to Michaels craft store. Armed with a 2k loan from my then-boyfriend, I open up Broken Revolt- an upcycled, steampunk jewelry line. I started making jewelry for myself and when women were stopping me in bars asking where I got my pieces, I knew I was on to something. I started making some really awful things early on and when I look back now, I can’t believe some of the crap I allowed myself to peddle to the masses. But you learn and you grow and I was determined to be something more than what I was. In 2012, I was kind of getting out of the Steampunk phase and was considering closing Broken Revolt to go back to school so I could stop waiting tables and get on some sort of professional track. That was the plan until one day I was looking through my spam email and something caught my eye- ” You have been nominated for Denver RAW Accessory Artist of The Year.” I had no idea what this was about until I opened it and saw that people actually nominated and voted for my brand to be in the running for this award. I ended up winning and that was the confidence boost I needed to not quit, but instead pick up the pace. Fast forward to 2016, I decided to rebrand into something a little less niche and Lux + Luca was born! Lux + Luca is a Lifestyle Jewelry Line for the Unapologetic Badass. I designed LL to inspire confidence and create empowerment in all who wear it and I wanted to make jewelry that was unique and relatable and fun!
What sets Lux + Luca apart from other jewelry lines is that I come with real-relatable words and phrases that make you say, “oh my god I totally feel that way.” I didn’t set out wanting to make snarky rings that say, ” Fuck It”, or bar necklaces that say, ” Bad Bitch Energy,” but here we are and people freaking love it. I was so sick of the ” Love” and “Grace” bar necklaces and one day I just decided to stamp Fuck It and it turned out to be my Bread and Butter phrase. I’m sure being known as the Fuck It Jewelry Girl isn’t every kid’s childhood dream, but I am learning to embrace it, because Fuck It, why not?
I am a fierce supporter of BLM, LGBTQIA, Women’s causes, and animal rights organizations and I donate to them regularly. My newest venture, Champagne Riot is basically Lux + Luca as an apparel/ gift line, and the sentiments of CR very closely mirror Lux + Luca’s vibe. Champagne Riot is what happens when people are sick of ” coffee before talky” shirts and want to embrace how they really feel- Disappointed but not Suprised. Lux +Luca is my firstborn and I am so grateful for its success because it has allowed me to embark on this second business venture. I can’t wait to show you what it’s all about. You can join the riot at www.champagneriotshop.com
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
There are some great apps through shopify which allow you to create brand loyalty through customer retention. I use Privy and Recapture for my business. Every quarter I go through my abandoned checkouts and if they left an email address, I send a personal email to them with a coupon code. You would be surprised how effective that is. I also put a coupon code directing people to my website when they make an Etsy purchase. That is a great way to drive organic traffic to your site. I’m starting to get better at sending regular newsletters, but that is probably one of my weakest skills. I always have coupon code cards in my car and in my purse. and I talk about my brand to everyone and anyone shamelessly.
I build trust with my clients by being authentic on social media and delivering a high-quality product. I send handwritten thank-you notes to all of my new customers, and I treat my regular clients like they are family. I try to make myself available to everyone and always respond promptly to emails. Guaranteeing my work and standing behind it is incredibly important to me and I hope that comes across in my work and actions.
Question not found
I am a self-taught metalsmith and wouldn’t be where I am today without YouTube and a whole lot of mental and emotional resiliency. Something that really grinds my gears is when people say their jewelry line is handmade when it’s really just hand-assembled. Anyone can slip a charm on a chain and call it handmade, but it is up to the consumer to keep their jewelry artist honest and accountable. Ask about their processes, how do they forge their pieces. Do they do their own casting? Do they electroplate their own charms? Did they just go to Alibaba and buy a bunch of crap adding the components to a chain? Handmade in my opinion is made.by.hand. Period. I cut my own metal from 6×12′ sheets using a metal guillotine sheer, I solder my components, I hand stamp every letter with a hammer individually, sand, and polish every piece. Are there times when I see some premade charms like Labradorite that I can’t resist? Of course, but I have also taught myself the skills and put in the hours to make jewelry from start to finish and I have earned the right to call my jewelry handmade. I am very proud of that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.luxandluca.com / www.champagneriotshop.com
- Instagram: @luxandlucajewelryco @champagneriotshop
Image Credits
Dubidoo Studios- Dana Walker- head shot All others are photos I have taken myself