Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dana Birke. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Dana, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.
I continually have specials where I offer a percentage of my sales to various organizations or fundraisers-from fire victims here in Colorado to victims of the war in Ukraine, I feel it’s of paramount importance to always give a little back to community, organizations, and issues that are important to you.
Dana, 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?
The beginnings of my becoming a jewelry designer have a pretty ‘woo-woo’ origin! I was so sick of being a personal chef. I could not bear to make one more lemon chicken. So I went to my psychic healer, naturally. She said she could see me being either a personal stylist (which I would like!) or a jewelry designer. Seriously. There is A LOT more to the crazy kismet of that story but as the universe would have it, a lovely bead shop had just opened at the bottom of my road and I decided to take classes. The owner of that shop also owned a jewelry shop where I interned and then worked at, and you can guess the rest. That was 14 years ago! In 2012 I went out on my own and dana birke designs jewelry was born. It has been an incredible journey that pretty much started out with my thinking, “Are you insane?!” But perseverance is a powerful tool and jewelry designing is no longer a hobby. It’s my full time profession. I love what I do and I particularly like bringing joy to my clients. The world is a tricky place right now and I think it’s really important to spread happiness wherever and however we can. I always say the love and joy I put into everything I make is my ‘special sauce’. I think it’s my way of contributing positivity to my community and the world at large. I suppose my ‘proudest achievement’ was when 9News did a little segment on me. After the Marshall Fire I put out a post on several social media pages offering to make a free pet charm necklace(s) for anyone who had lost an animal in the fire. It was a decision I made without thinking about how many orders I would get, what it would cost etc. I simply felt I needed to do something to help in a small way. It was a really nice feeling to be recognized for doing something that feels like 2nd nature to me. Like I said, spreading a little love wherever I can through my work. It turned out to be a win/win as I subsequently received lots of future orders and gained new clients because people wanted to support the woman who made the pet charms!
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I hate the term non-creative. It’s bunk! Everyone is creative. They just need to learn to tap unto it. Before this profession (and the personal chef profession) I was a middle school English and Social Studies teacher and my class was a fun one! This is not to say we didn’t learn the content but we did it in creative ways and kids loved it! Everything we studied had a creative project attached to it (and a public speaking one) and some kids were reluctant because it was a bit out of their natural wheelhouse. But after a while they would get on board. Somewhere along the way we’re taught that being creative means you know how to draw, dear Lord, who started that rumor. There are so many ways to be creative and to express yourself and it actually feels really good when you’re doing just that. Do not be afraid to try something new. Do not be afraid to make a mistake. Do not underestimate yourself. While you may be very comfortable in your current lane, if there’s a voice in the back of your head niggling at you, give it a listen. The end result might be very rewarding and surprising.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Customer Service. Customer Service. Customer Service. This is the location, location, location of, well, just about everything! It is truly my mantra and I consistently go out of my way to create what a customer wants and to stand by my work. This is not to say that I don’t ‘Own My No’. Believe me, I do. But I try to get that out of the way up front. “Do you give lessons?” No. “Do you do this in 14K gold?” No. Always pleasant and kind but if it’s not in my job description/business plan I always suggest someone else. That said, if someone wants to come over and peruse my gems, sure! They want it shorter, longer, gold instead of silver, ready in time for their vacation, etc. I go out of my way to ‘get ‘er done’ in a timely fashion and with a smile on my face. This has paid off in spades. I simply treat my customers how I want to be treated and quite honestly it’s not that hard. Every now and then I get someone who is truly difficult and I just view it as a reminder to breathe deeply and remember that it’s probably a good learning experience . It also reminds me that I have choices, and in the future, with this person, I just may be at liberty to use my no.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.danabirkedesigns.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danabirkedesigns/
Image Credits
Photos by Kirsten Boyer Photography