We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jenna Trethewey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jenna, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?
I earned my first dollar about a month after I started creating jewelry. I figured out the painstaking Etsy platform & listed some earrings. I had no idea what I was doing & was totally afraid. But, my newly adopted motto “Do It Afraid” was whispering to me so I did it.
In the most anticlimactic moment ever, I listed my items and nothing happened. Nothing happened for awhile actually. So, I waited. And waited. In the mean time, I continued to create because I just knew what I was making was special.
I was attending my niece’s hockey game at the local hockey rink. As a naturally hot blooded person, I wasn’t all bundled up but I did have gloves on. I was holding my phone, on silent, so I didn’t feel the notification come thru. After the game, my family was walking out of the stands and, true to myself, I was looking at my phone instead of where I was going. Whoops. Tripped but didn’t fall and then I screamed! Seeing “You made a sale on Etsy” was the best!
It was one pair of studs from Janice. I was over the moon! I spent the rest of the time waiting for my niece to come out of the locker room with a stupid smile plastered to my face. Inside, my mind was reeling! I was standing there dreaming and asking myself all the what if’s: what if a lot of other people realize my jewelry is special? What if this crazy jewelry thing blows up? What if I could do this full time? What if? What if? What if?
It was amazing!
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
My business was born during a time when I was grieving my dad. I didn’t realize that I was avoiding my sadness and drowning it in beer. I was up to 5 cases a week when I stopped drinking. I was incredibly hungover on January 1, 2020, when I decided that I had had enough. I was sitting at my bistro table, looking at a greeting card on the counter and thought, ‘those would make cute earrings.’ (Might have still been a little drunk, actually.) The next few weeks were kind of a blur, filled with nausea and confusion. I was sick from my body suddenly not being watered down by hops and confused as to what exactly I needed. I quickly learned that when one becomes sober, one gets a lot of extra time on their hands. Upon this revelation, I immediately began thinking and researching to figure out what to do to fill my time. I was looking through old boxes of photos and stumbled upon my favorite photo of my mom, in Spain, on her senior trip in high school. I researched how to make it into a pendant and, as expected, completely ruined the photo because I had no idea what I was doing with resin. I had ordered all the supplies and followed the directions exactly and it was an epic fail. Not only was the photo ruined but my mind was wrecked. I was so vulnerable. I needed something to keep my mind and my hands busy so I didn’t turn back to the bottle just out of sheer boredom!
I continued researching like the FBI regarding jewelry making because I love earrings! I had boxes of paper (scrapbook paper that I no longer used since my son was older than five lol! & greeting cards from my husband.) I had paper cutters and other supplies so I just started experimenting. Literally, I still have hardened resin on my beautiful oak dining table. That first time I poured resin, I was using a toy bullseye from the Dollar Tree that had raised pegs on it. I thought if the resin ran over, it would just go down in the pegs… but it also went onto the table and eventually the rug. It was a disaster! Let alone all the bubbles from stiring it too quickly. My husband was standing there looking at me, eyes wide, like ‘what the…?!’ I was freaking out, flailing my arms about my head because I didn’t know either! But, I didn’t give up. I was determined. I just kept trying. I just kept scrapping the failures and noting the successes.
From a young age, I had a deep desire to be understood and accepted exactly as I was; so, being transparent in my business and encouraging others to stand out from the crowd were a must. This eventually transitioned into my brand of quirky style, open honesty and humor. Oh, a life without laughter is no life at all! I was going to say whatever I wanted to say while posting on social media, because I was letting people get to know the real me. I was honest with my sobriety struggles and therapy endeavors. I was more focused on the connection with my Olive Babes than sales. I soon found that relationships were worth more than any dollar amount. I think my priority of personal connection over profit is very evident when I meet clients in person. They can tell I am not just selling them something; but, that I am genuinely interested in them! It makes them feel important because they are! They have now become part of my story, my sobriety, my life. I couldn’t do this without them. Each purchase not only helps pay my bills but it keeps me sober. Jewelry and my Olive Babes saved me.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
The best thing society can do for creatives is encourage them, starting at a young age. If you have a creative in your life, specifically a teenager, using your words and actions to encourage them to pursue their dreams of being an artist is the best thing you can do for them. My son is a senior in high school and traditional schools encourage three paths after graduation: college, military and blue collar. That’s it. That’s where they stop. My son doesn’t want to pursue those. He wants to be an artist/creative. For him, their resources aren’t helpful. In fact, they discouraged him by telling him that he needed a “plan B for when his artistic endeavor fails.” Nothing is more discouraging than suggesting to a teenager that maybe, just maybe, they won’t make it because they are “choosing life the hard way.” Why is that statement even a thing to a graduating senior?!
My high schooler should have been shown alternative routes to get his music/fashion out there instead of reiterating that there is only three ways to walk out of high school with alternative routes almost surely securing certain doom. They could encourage him by offering entrepreneurial resources like free, local agencies that offer coaching and guidance for small business owners. High schools could be offering lists of local art fairs and festivals where being a vendor would help teenage artists get their names out there. Schools could educate students how to open and run a virtual store on Etsy or other free apps.
Words are just words if they aren’t backed by action. Instead of career days only highlighting further education, the Army or becoming a plumber, have career days offer alternative routes to earn money by bringing in free agencies to teach life and business skills. Teach children that networking is important by connecting them with their local art museum or other local creative entrepreneurs for job shadowing. These encouraging actions could make a world of difference for these kids. If the educators in traditional schools aren’t sure exactly what to say, not turning their noses up at artists and creatives but instead pointing them to some adults who actually live the life these students want is a very good start.
How did you build your audience on social media?
BE YOURSELF – everyone else is already taken! Absolutely no one is interested in hearing unauthentic, ingenuine robots giving lip service about anything. Being your authentic self is where it’s at! People can tell when you are just being you with nothing super scripted or reworked to perfection. People connect with you when you make mistakes because they do too. It’s realistic! No one is perfect and I wasn’t about to set the bar at that impossible level. Nope. Not interested. I was determined to show myself for who I was, the good, the bad and the ugly. Life is just easier when you are yourself. There’s no character to remember, no lines to memorize. Sure, there’s some anxiety and some fear but just DO IT AFRAID! Showing your vulnerabilities offers followers another way to connect with you. When they see their own struggles and problems through you, you’ve made a difference. I mean, hopefully, you will also encourage people along the way that they are wonderful just as they are; but, also, if there are things they want to change, tell them it’s not too late. There’s hope yet! Quote them George Eliot’s “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” When I post on social media, I usually just put what first pops into my head. I don’t immediately post it because that would be foolish. I do, however, edit it if necessary, to ensure that not only I don’t get put in social media jail, but also that nothing of what I say can be skewed too far out of context. Of course I fail sometimes but I just keep going, apologize, correct things when I can and move on. The worse thing to do with your social media presence is expect everyone to get you and like you. You will piss people off. You will hurt people. You will confuse people. You will offend people. My rule of thumb is this: if your followers know that none of the hurt was done intentionally, that you are genuinely apologetic, and that you will be more sensitive to people’s feelings in the future, while remaining true to yourself, then that’s all you can do. I think your tribe will find you online and it could be the start of beautiful friendships. But if not, then it wasn’t meant to be anyway. Focus on all the followers who do “get you.”
Contact Info:
- Website: TheOliveTale.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/theolivetale
- Facebook: Facebook.com/theolivetale