We were lucky to catch up with Darian White recently and have shared our conversation below.

Darian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

Our first dollar earned as a creative actually ties into how we decided on our business name. Our friend Austin wanted to support our new business venture and asked us to make a purple toned bracelet for his mother as a birthday gift. When we were packing the order to be shipped we wrote a note letting her know who it was from and why she was receiving it. I (Darian) signed the letter, “handmade with love … and anxiety.” He thought it was funny and said it should be our business name because we were so worried about it being our first item that was shipped to someone and if they would love it or not and how it would handle in the mail. It tied perfectly to our business and we decided it was the perfect fit. So, our first order/dollar earned gave us our business name that we love.

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.

We are Love & Anxiety, LLC. A mother-daughter handmade jewelry and crafts small business based in Morgantown, WV. Our names are Shannon (mother) and Darian (daughter). Our jewelry and crafts mostly consist of natural gemstones and crystals, however, some are made from lab created gemstones, wood, ceramics and glass. Crystal suncatchers are one of our best sellers. These are hand-drilled crystal items, assembled with rainbow prism beads to elevate your home. We have always loved handmade items and jewelry, attended craft shows and supported small businesses, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that we realized that could be us too. My mom began working from home and started making different crafts to see if anything would really “stick”. I have been a stay-at-home mom for a few years now, and to spend time with my mom, we would have craft nights. After trying soaps, knitting and other various crafts, we realized we really loved jewelry making. We loved making our visions come to life and watching others fall in love or relate to pieces that we have created. For us it really isn’t just about profit, it is about human connection and the simple joys in life, spreading happiness and love in a world that is shrouded in darkness from time to time.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Bringing happiness and joy to our customers and the people we meet is one of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist. Recently we were at a vendor show and a woman with her two sons were looking at our sun catchers and said, “Grandma would love this.” Once she purchased her items, she shared with us that her mother recently passed away and she was buying the sun catcher to hang up in her window so when her and her sons saw it, they would think of their mother/grandmother and be reminded of the happy times with her and how much she would have loved it. It’s moments like this one that makes being an artist worth it because of spreading happiness, love and kindness.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Failure is not always negative. Failure can lead to growth and different potential outcomes. It is healthy to experience failure because there are different avenues of success. Beginning with wire-wrapping there were a lot of failed attempts, either the wires weren’t correct or the finished product wasn’t how we envisioned it to begin with. In regards to drilling gemstones, there were broken stones before we became skilled at drilling. It required a lot of practice and trial and error before we felt they were ready for customers. I always used to believe that failure was never an option, but now I believe that failure is indicative to success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://love-and-anxiety.square.site
• Instagram: love_and_anxiety_1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loveandanxiety1