We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Lee recently 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.
About 4 years ago I was having a hard time finding jewelry that I wanted to wear that was unique and represented my edginess so I started making it for myself. In 2020 I had a bit of a rough pregnancy with my second daughter so I had to sit a lot and anyone that knows me knows I’m not good at that. To pass the time I start creating different earrings and learning different techniques which lead to starting a collection. My husband encouraged me to start posting them on Instagram to see what people thought and to my surprise they quickly sold. That’s how Strong Mama Metals was born and since then I created a very successful Etsy page, can be found in 3 stores, and have done markets in Washington state and all around North and South Carolina,
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 lee I am the one woman show behind strong mama metals. I do everything from make the creations, package orders, social media, work markets, and anything and everything else. I came up with the name Strong Mama Metals because at the time I had one daughter and was pregnant with the second one and was competing in powerlifting. I now currently have 3 daughters and train Muay Thai. I am grateful for this business as it has allowed me to be involved in my daughters life more and grow as a person. Some days I am creating while holding them and bring at least one of them to every market but I wouldn’t change a thing. I am also married to a man who has never let me quit no matter how hard some days have been and encouraged me to continue to grow. This year I was able to turn strong mama metals into an LLC and have so many more ideas for it to continue to expand. love seeing my creations being worn and seeing the expressions on peoples faces when they find something they love. I am still surprised every time I have a successful market or am asked for wholesale orders or even make a sale on the online store really and am forever grateful for all of 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?
About a year ago I was struggling finding myself a little frustrated with the business because I had started creating pieces that I thought would sell or that the would be poplar with vast majority of people instead of creating the alternative unique creations I loved making. As soon as I went back to creating what I loved my business quickly took a positive turn and I was able to fall back in love with it. I now stay turn to my creativity and I found see that appreciate it more.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Originally when I started strong mama metals I was living in NC and really just sold on Etsy and Instagram. About 6 months into it my family and I relocated to Washington state were I was able to grow the business by getting myself into a store there which I still love so much called Haute Madre in Battle Ground. From that I was able to connect with other makers to get into local markets and while continuing to grow my online sales. About a year and a half after moving we decided to move back to NC and I was scared to start over and have to establish myself in a new area again. However when we got back I quickly starting applying to markets, talking to local makers, and was able to start selling my jewelry to a boutique in Greenville SC called Rockerbelles that opened even more opportunities like the Greenville fashion show. It was definitely a little frustrating having to start over on the opposite side of the country but I believed in myself and my creations and was able to grow even bigger.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/StrongMamaMetals
- Instagram: @strongmamametals
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/strongmamametals?mibextid=LQQJ4d