We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elizabeth Cline a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Elizabeth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
In some chapters of my life, yes—I’ve fully supported myself through my creative work. But it wasn’t a straight shot and it took many paths.
I actually started my creative career with a jewelry and clothing line in the early 2000s….it was tougher then, you still had to code a website and no amazing platforms like shopify and instagram. It was not profitable for me, i really didnt know what I was doing, but I got an A for effort. Then in 2007 I walked away from it all, craving adventure, I traded the studio for a drum kit and spent years touring the country with my husband in our duo, Juanita and the Rabbit. It was a beautiful, messy, exhilarating time on the road until 2011, when we felt the pull to land somewhere and build something rooted.
We co-founded The Lost Church, a nonprofit performance venue in San Francisco, and I shifted into the world of E-commerce Brand Styling. Over the years I styled for major labels like Levi’s, H&M, Old Navy, Stitch Fix, and ThirdLove. So yes I was earning a living as a creative..but it wasn’t my soul mission.
From the outside, it looked like a colorful, accomplished creative career… but inside, there was still something I felt compelled to do. I missed working with beautiful stones and the way jewelry lets you translate energy into something you can wear against your skin.
That longing became impossible to ignore, and in 2019 I came full circle and launched Dreamers of Dreams—a gift to myself for my 40th birthday and a promise to bring more beauty into the world. It was the moment I finally stepped back into my original fire.
Earning a full-time living from Dreamers of Dreams didn’t happen overnight. It was a slow transition for a couple of years, and by 2022 I quit all my styling jobs and focused full time on Dreamers of Dreams. Then 6 months later tragedy hit, with the death of my step dad, and I was shouldered with the daunting task of caring for my mother, liquidating their belongings and moving here into an assisted living.
To say my business suffered is an understatement, but it’s what needed to be done, and with that successful transition I was able to enroll in an excellent year long business course working with jewelry business coaches. This gave me the ability to re focus and build back up with a new set of tools.
I think coaches, classes and the support of peers in your industry is a must. Often as makers we sort of do it all on our own, but it is really important to seek help, feedback and education.
The big milestones came one by one: learning to price my work with clarity, understanding exactly who I design for, refining collections, building wholesale relationships, going to trade shows, signing with sales reps and letting myself be both the artist and the businesswoman. Once I focused—truly focused—on my best designs and the women who resonate with them, the growth felt more natural, more aligned.
Looking back, could I have sped up the process? Sure. If I had a clear vision of what I wanted to create…but that’s the journey, and point of being an artist… to let the art come through. Honestly, every new chapter of life has shaped me. Every reinvention gave me new skills and a deeper sense of purpose. My #1 advice is allow yourself to ask for help, and don’t give up before you’ve really given it your all…and then some.
Elizabeth, 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 am Elizabeth Cline, the designer and creative force behind the brand Dreamers of Dreams, a small-batch crystal jewelry brand based in San Francisco. The name comes from a very old poem by Arthur William Edgar O’shaughnessy, but we all know it from the 1970’s Willie Wonka movie, and Gene Wilder recites the beginning: “We are the music-makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams”. This quote has always stuck with me as something very powerful, and it became the name of my company.
My work sits at the intersection of fashion, and soulful self-expression. Everything I create is meant to be both beautiful and energetically meaningful — pieces that feel as good on the spirit as they look on the body. I work primarily with natural stones and high-vibration crystals such as Herkimer Diamonds, Labradorite, Opal, Moldavite and Tourmaline. Each piece is handcrafted in my studio with care, clarity, and a bit of rock-and-roll magic. My clients often tell me that my jewelry feels both elevated and deeply personal — like it was made just for them.
Dreamers of Dreams offers a range of necklaces, bracelets, earrings rings and accessories that balance raw natural beauty with refined design. Every piece is created with intention. I think of my designs as wearable talismans — adornments that help anchor your energy, inspire your confidence, and remind you of your own inner power.
What sets my brand apart is the blend of spirituality and style. There’s an unapologetic boldness to the work, a sense of empowerment, but also a softness and emotional intelligence. My mission is always the same: To bring out your inner rock star, one gem at a time. I want my clients to feel more like themselves when they wear my pieces — brighter, braver, more aligned, more expressive.
I’m most proud of the way my jewelry makes people feel. So many of my customers share stories of choosing pieces for healing, for growth, for new beginnings, for honoring milestones, or simply to reconnect with something true inside themselves. That emotional connection is the heart of Dreamers of Dreams. It’s never just about the jewelry — it’s about the shift that happens when someone adorns themselves with intention.
If there’s one thing I hope new clients or followers understand, it’s that this brand is built on love, craftsmanship, and soul. Every design is created with a clear purpose. And every collection is infused with the belief that beauty can be transformative.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
OOh I love this question, because I feel that education in business and spiritual inspiration is a non negotiable. Here are my favorite top 10 books:
1. The Desired Brand Effect by Tracy Matthews
2. The Power of Story by Jim Loehr
3. Atomic Habits by James Clear
4. A Clear and Simple Prayer by George Bertelstein
5. Effortless by Greg McKeown
6. The Energy of Money by Maria Nemeth
7. Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
8 Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman + Mark C. Winters
9. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
10. The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr
here is a link to my book recommendations on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/shopdreamersofdreams
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
It’s not so much a lesson, but a frame of mind that I continually work on.
In the very beginning, when my business was just an idea, I almost gave up before I even started. I mean truly I was trying to talk my self out of it. The self doubt was crippling. In true to form “limiting belief behavior”, I had this notion that artists can’t make money, and everyone makes jewelry, and there was no space for me.
I went to talk to a dear friend who is a therapist/ spiritual coach of sorts…and she just got me straight..thank god. She has this sort of no bullshit attitude, loud east coast accent, and she says “what do you mean artists can’t make money? You’re going to tell me so and so (..these mutual successful artists we know) don’t make a living?” She was right, what nonsense I was telling myself. Then to my dismay about “well everyone makes jewelry and its not special” she replied “I don’t make jewelry…and no body is YOU, no one can be you, no one is going to do it like you..your uniqueness is ir-replicable”.
And that was that, that was my lesson that I wish to share with every artist…
1. Don’t give up before you even start.
2. Artists can and do make a living being artists, stop with that story.
3. No one is You or is going to do it like you, that is your unique perspective and gift.
So go do it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shopdreamersofdreams.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopdreamersofdreams/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopdreamersofdreamsjewelry
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@shopdreamersofdreams
- Other: link to poem: https://www.shopdreamersofdreams.com/pages/we-are-the-music-makers-the-dreamers-of-dreams
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopdreamersofdreams
Links to books: https://www.amazon.com/shop/shopdreamersofdreams
Image Credits
Katie Addo Photo, Elizabeth Cline