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

Hi Jen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When trying to determine a name of our company, my husband Chris and I wanted something that represented the element of fire. The individual pieces that make up our handmade ornaments are cut using a laser and we wanted something that spoke to this method. We wrote a list of many different names (I wish I still had this!) and used several online tools and generators to get our creative juices going. We didn’t like any of them. Not a single one. They all sounded too silly or too formal. We gave it a rest.

I remember watching TV one night when all of a sudden Chris blurted out “Forged Flare”. Just like that, we both loved it and the name stuck.

Jen, 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 have always been creative — having been born into an artistic family. My mom is a painter, my dad is a woodworker and even both of my sisters are artistic! At age 8, my grandmother on my mom’s side started teaching me how to paint with oils. By age 10, I was helping my mother paint with acrylics and my dad was teaching me how to use a scroll saw. I began to help my parents with their business Carol’s Country Critters and Collectibles creating painted wooden figurines and attending art shows throughout the midwest. In fact, one of my proudest moments was when I painted and sold wooden tulips. I used the money from that to purchase my own Nintendo NES! I was only 10 years old.

In school, my favorite class was always art and I loved painting. Originally, I wanted to be an animator (hand-drawn — not 3D). It was the mid 90s and my bedroom had magazine clippings of all my favorite animated movies taped to the walls. One of the best animation schools at the time was East Tennessee State University — only an hour and a half from my home.

It was there I met my future husband Chris — who was also majoring in animation. The year we graduated college was the year that hand-drawn animation began to die. The sad closures of almost all the traditional animation studios across the country signified the end of my dream of becoming an animator. While Chris did pursue 3D animation over the next few years, I took another career path — a path that began to provide me with invaluable skillsets that I have used to build my business.

Over the next 15 years, I worked as a graphic designer and eventually landed a job as a web designer for one of the largest and most respected online shopper marketing agencies in the country. I designed campaigns for some of the most recognizable global names in retail and learned so much of the science behind online marketing. I was with the company for over 11 years. Unfortunately, the agency shuttered and I found myself without a job at the end of 2019.

I toyed with rejoining the corporate workforce, and even attended several online and in-person interviews, but the unnecessary drama and politics of the entire interviewing process led to the decision to start my own company.

In September of 2020, Chris decided he wanted to design and make an ornament for his mother for her birthday. Her two favorite things are angels and calla lilies, and so he made our very first angel — a suncatcher-style calla lily. She absolutely loved the gift and everyone who saw it thought it was so neat. We knew we had something special and decided to design more nature-themed ornaments. We branded them Mother’s Angels®. They became an almost-instant hit.

While we tried different products over the years — including jewelry and various other ornament designs (including a line of fairies with the same designs as Mother’s Angels®) — nothing has come close to the success we’ve seen with our Mother’s Angels®. Originally designed as birthday and everyday gifts, we were surprised when the messages and emails started pouring in.

We started receiving emails from customers with personal stories about loved ones who passed away and how our Mother’s Angels® remind them daily of the love they shared. People have miraculously found our company in some of their saddest moments, and we offer a glimmer of happiness.

Our Mother’s Angels® are purposely designed to be displayed year-round and are meant to celebrate life’s special moments and memories.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Prior to starting Forged Flare®, I freelanced on the side as a graphic and web designer (in addition to my then full time job). I used the money from freelance jobs to purchase our first laser, all of the tools and materials we needed. I actually continued to freelance until earlier this year! I eventually had to give it up due to our rapid growth. It was such a sad time as I LOVED all of my clients and the fun projects I got to be a part of. It also was incredibly scary as that was my safety net and some of these clients I’ve had for almost 15 years! It was truly a make-or-break moment.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In January of 2020, I started a brand called DejaDoodle. DejaDoodles were a line of hand-painted, laser cut wood and papercraft magnetic designs that were geared toward families who loved to cruise.

Each individual DejaDoodle was a 6″ tall representation of a person and allowed the customer to pick from a variety of interchangeable hairstyles, clothing and accessories that best represented them and each member of their family.

The idea was that the customer could purchase DejaDoodles and fun accessories to decorate their stateroom door on a cruise ship. Unfortunately, COVID came and decimated the cruise ship industry. When I realized that cruising wouldn’t resume quickly, I had to pivot my entire business.

It was such a hard decision to make — every waking moment from January through October 2020 was focused on making DejaDoodle a success. I had handcrafted a lot of inventory, created many designs, built a website and social media and even started marketing. Sometimes tough moments in life open doors to amazing opportunities.

Around that same time is when Chris designed the first Mother’s Angels® suncatcher ornament and a new dream was born.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.forgedflare.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forgedflare
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forgedflare

Image Credits
ABstyled