We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Fernandez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

It all started from a very young age. Since I can remember, I have always loved everything artistic.

I remember when I was little, my grandma used to take me to all the courses she used to take, to learn how to do anything handmade from Crochet to painting, and then we used to go to many festivals to show and sell people everything she had done. That was, for me, the moment when I realized that even being super young and without being clear about what I wanted in my future, I loved everything that was creative and the feeling of showing the world what you have done.

So, I studied Fashion Design and Marketing in Colombia and thought about creating my own brand there, but I was given the opportunity to move to the States, and I think that if you do not take advantage of the opportunities that come your way, even the scariest ones, you will not know what God had planned for you, so I moved to the United States 11 years ago.

After several years postponing my dream, I finally decided to take that step and launch my brand. I feel that with Almash, I can express myself and show people that all our dreams, if you work hard, have consistency and persevere, can come true!

With Almash, I have had the pleasure of knowing a lot of people and of “going back in time” and attending many festivals as I used to do with my grandma, but this time with my brand, my designs and the designs I have chosen for everybody to see and that has been one of the most wonderful feelings!

Jessica, 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?

My name is Jessica Fernandez, I was introduced to all the creative and craft life from a very young age. I have always create and express myself through it.

This is why I created Almash. At Almash, we believe that fashion should be fun but it can also be meaningful and that is why I use trends to create and choose unique and fun jewelry and accessories that light up our day and also that have meaning for your life or for the moment you are going through; that is why I use crystals and gemstones in all the pieces that I handmade.

We are unique because we create and choose all our products from the heart and considering what benefits or how the pieces can help the end user.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It has not been easy! I think nothing worth it in this life is easy or smooth! I have had to struggle coming to this country by myself, being homesick and missing my family, learning a new language, working on things I was not passionate about just to make a living, managing to being an Hispanic in this country and much more! But I also think that all of this has made me stronger and helped me to be a better person. “There is nothing so bad that it does not bring something good with it.”

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Perfection is not real! I used to search for perfection all the time and that blocked me a lot. I wasn’t able to design or do something just by procrastinating and thinking about the best moment and the perfect piece. STOP doing that! no one is or will be perfect, we are all perfect with our imperfections and be free and just letting go is the best way to move forward.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @almashenergypieces