Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Diana Marsh. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Diana, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

In 2013 I was an elementary school teacher living in Brooklyn, NY. I had always loved jewelry and dreamed of opening my own business one day. I had a collection of vintage charms that my Great Aunt collected on her world travels and I became obsessed with researching them and then eventually collecting more. I picked some of my favorites and had a necklace made with them that I began wearing every day. As I began collecting more and more unusual pieces, I decided to start selling them online. I love collecting antiquarian books and prints as well, and as I was seeking inspiration for my business name I came across a gold crest with thistles and roses on one of my old books about Queen Elizabeth I of England. This crest inspired the shop name, Thistle & Bess. My business originally began as a connection to my family, inspired by my Great Aunt’s charm collection, and my family is of Scottish and English heritage. The tough but beautiful thistle is the emblem of Scotland and “Good Queen Bess” is the nickname for Queen Elizabeth I of England. I loved that the name Thistle & Bess tied in both the history that I am fascinated by and my own family background as well.

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

Thistle & Bess brings a smart, vintage flare to the Ann Arbor area, offering fine jewelry and one of a kind treasures, along with well-curated handmade goods. As an avid collector myself, I travel the world looking for high quality products that are a bit quirky and seriously stylish. I aim to carry the most innovative new brands that you might not have seen before, handcrafted in cities all over the world, from Brooklyn to London. Thistle & Bess provides unique products, whether it is vintage barware or a statement necklace, to a consumer seeking something a bit eccentric, collected and different. We specialize in fine jewelry, carrying some unusual pieces that are handmade by artists from all over the world, as well as making our own line of Thistle & Bess fine jewelry that is inspired by antique jewelry. Thistle & Bess strives to be an active member of the community, offering a gathering space for small exhibitions, workshops and events that feature local artists and products.

Thistle & Bess began in 2013 as an antique and vintage jewelry line in Brooklyn, NY, as a side hustle while I was teaching elementary school in the NYC Public School System. I love collecting antiquarian books, prints, and vintage and antique charms and pendants. This passion for history drives me to seek beautiful and unusual trinkets that tell a story. As the jewelry line Thistle & Bess began to grow, I realized the need to bring more interesting and well-made products to consumers. In a market dominated by chain stores, I envisioned creating a storefront that offered the customer fresh and exciting new products, unique in artistry and quality. Being a Michigan native, I thought that the quaint and creative Kerrytown area of Ann Arbor was the perfect community for me to realize my vision and I opened our brick and mortar location in 2015. Thistle & Bess carries a variety of handmade products, including fine jewelry, fashion accessories, barware, bath and beauty products, home accessories, paper and select children’s clothing and toys. My shop is like a little jewel box of collected treasures.

As a business owner, I am most proud of the strong community that I have become a part of over the years. Not only am I thankful for the loyal and supportive customer base that have continued to shop at my store (through some pretty rough years!), but I am also so proud of the collaborative spirit that I have built with the artists who’s work I carry in my shop, as well as the other area business owners I have met as well. I truly feel that working together with other businesses lifts us all up. I am so lucky to be a part of such a vibrant business community of like-minded people.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

As my brick and mortar shop began to grow, we started carrying more and more fine jewelry made from independent artists and this was really successful for us. These are investment pieces that people want to see in person and try on before committing. As we began selling more and more jewelry, I decided that I wanted to start making our own fine jewelry line as well. A special collection that was inspired by antique jewelry and a nod to where our business began. I had a ton of ideas for designs and collections, but I am not a jeweler by trade, so I needed to start researching a way to have someone bring my designs to life.

This is where my amazing community stepped up for me. I reached out to some of the other jewelry designers that I worked with to see if I could pick their brains about the best way to start this manufacturing process and received a generous referral to a New York based fine jewelry consulting firm specializing in technical design and manufacturing that one of my designer friends had worked with. Having a referral from someone who had already worked with this firm was so incredibly helpful, because I was able to see the work that they had produced together, as well as hear first hand accounts of the process. I flew to NYC and met with the team and have been working with them ever since to make our fine jewelry.

The manufacturing process has been a huge growth process for me and my business. It is as if I run two different businesses now- managing my actual shop, and now also designing and managing the manufacturing process for our jewelry line. Taking on a new creative project has breathed new life and excitement into my business for me personally, but it has also been stressful at times. It has been a huge time and financial investment, and there has been quite a learning curve as well. While I may have grand ideas about the jewelry that I want to create, I am slowly learning the technicality that goes behind making them. In the end, I believe that taking this sometimes scary next step is a smart move for my business because I am investing in my own ideas and products that then have the potential to take us to the next level (wholesaling, etc). I am so proud of the things that we have been making and I am excited to see where this next phase will lead.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I think that many business owners relate to the pivot that we had to make when the pandemic hit in 2020. Thistle & Bess is a business that was built on connection- touching, feeling, gathering, and experiencing a specially curated space is what makes our shop special. When we had to close for almost 4 months I really took that time to buckle down and work on building a viable online shop. While we had an online shop before the pandemic, it was pretty minimal and barely had any of our merchandise in it. Building a better online shop was always something on my to-do list that kept getting pushed to the bottom. “I’ll get to it eventually” I would tell myself. Well, when we were closed, I had no more excuses. It was time to get to work. Luckily my shop is one that was able to pivot and and put all of our inventory online. We saw sales steadily coming in online throughout the pandemic and that obviously kept us in business. It is something that I am thankful for now, as we still regularly ship packages all over the US. It makes me so happy to see the reach that our little shop has now. This was a pivot that came out of a very dark place, but ended up helping our business grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thistleandbess.com
• Instagram: @thistleandbess

Image Credits
Cat Carty Buswell