We recently connected with Karen Claveria and have shared our conversation below.
Karen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
Like many small businesses, Trinket Traces was born in the heavy isolation of the 2020 lockdowns after I was laid off from my hospitality marketing job. However, the seed was planted long before. Growing up in the Philippines, my parents gifted me an adjustable flower ring that I still treasure today, sparking a lifelong love for accessories that hold meaning. In college, my sister and I even poured our creativity into a short-lived polymer clay store called Dork and Diva Designs. Life took over, but that first taste of creating made me realize I was meant to run my own business one day.
That creative drive eventually led me to launch a lifestyle blog in 2014. After navigating a dark, personal rough patch, a single blog post in 2019 revived it, and by the time the 2020 lockdowns hit, that blog became my absolute lifeline. I poured everything into writing about mental health, healing, and running features that highlighted my friends’ businesses and journeys. It was fulfilling, but I wanted more. After months of facing a stagnant job market and silence from employers, I realized I couldn’t keep waiting for someone else to give me an opportunity, and I needed to create it myself. Around that same time, my favorite jewelry store also closed down and it felt like a sign. Deeply influenced by my years working in retail, I knew the power the right accessory had to make someone feel seen. I didn’t just want to tell stories anymore; I wanted to weave them into jewelry.
From that moment, a switch flipped. For my birthday in October 2020, I gifted myself an LLC for Trinket Traces and dove headfirst into research. I taught myself operations and intricate jewelry-making techniques from scratch, drawing on my experience as a retail store manager to handle the logistics and financial side of things. From there, I secured my domain, chose Shopify, and used every ounce of my marketing and blogging background to build the backend, design the site, and shape the branding completely on my own.
My original plan mapped out a 2021 launch, but the urgency to change my life pushed me to accelerate everything. On December 15, 2020, Trinket Traces officially went live to the world while I was physically recovering from COVID. It wasn’t just a business launch; it was a personal triumph driven by a fierce mindset to build something entirely for myself, creating a safety net from future layoffs and a space that was completely my own to dive into.
Karen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I didn’t create Trinket Traces just to sell accessories; I wanted to create jewelry with deep, personal meaning. While I launch each piece with my own intention behind it, my greatest joy is seeing how my customers interpret that meaning and breathe their own life into their trinkets. I love getting to know people’s stories, which is why I created a feature called “Trinket Tales,” a dedicated space where customers can share exactly why they chose a specific piece and what it means to them.
From the beginning, I’ve made it a point not to follow the crowd. Creating one-of-one designs is my way of celebrating everyone’s unique journey. There is something incredibly powerful about knowing you’re wearing a piece that’s uniquely yours and entirely different from anything else in the world. That concept is exactly where the name comes from. I want my jewelry to be a reminder of the “traces” of our lives that we carry with us. I believe these traces, gathered from every season of life, are what defines who we are. I wanted to build a community of people who share the same sentiment about honoring their personal stories and the different eras of their lives. Having total creative freedom is what allows me to bring that vision to life. Coming from corporate environments where I felt like I couldn’t showcase my true potential and skills, running my own business gives me the freedom to pour my real capabilities into every single design.
My rebrand and relaunch in August of 2025 marked the beginning of a profound new chapter, and moving forward, each collection will build on that narrative. I want my collections to tell a story or highlight a specific season or journey I am navigating. For example, my first post-relaunch collection, Soft Armor, represented a season of becoming and rising from the ashes. It highlighted resilience, reflecting much of what I went through during my two-year hiatus. Because I am a giver at heart, I want to give back to the community through this work. I love hosting giveaways to show my appreciation, and starting with the Uncharted Collection, I’ve committed to choosing a local organization to donate a portion of each sale toward, an independent initiative that will change with every new collection.
By pivoting away from holiday-inspired themes and focusing on meaningful, everyday wear, I feel the jewelry carries so much more weight and intention. I want my customers to be able to relate to the stories behind these pieces. What I want people to know most about Trinket Traces is that we aren’t just making accessories, we are creating tangible reminders of your resilience, your milestones, and the beautiful traces of your journey.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
If there is one word that defines my journey, it’s most definitely resilience. While launching Trinket Traces was an act of creating opportunity for myself, my strength was truly tested over the last few years when I went through three consecutive layoffs within the marketing industry. Losing the stability that comes with steady employment took a severe toll on my confidence, and I felt like I had completely lost my sense of identity.
For a year and a half, I had to do the hard work of finding myself again, redefining who I am outside of my career, and learning not to base my worth on a job title. It took time to find that spark again, but every road always led me back to Trinket Traces. Instead of letting those setbacks knock me off track, I made a conscious choice to double down and go all in on my true passion.
Relaunching felt like starting from the scratch again, but this wasn’t just about business growth, it was about immense personal growth. I returned to this chapter as a completely different person with a deeper perspective, a renewed mindset, and harder boundaries. I went through an incredibly dark period back in 2018 and 2019, and while these recent years have been challenging, I navigated them with a lot more grace and lightness because of what I had already survived.
Of course, I still have days filled with doubt, anxiety, and worry. But what saves me is choosing to change my mindset and to just keep showing up, no matter what. I am incredibly fortunate to have the unwavering support of my loved ones, and my motivation comes from a deep desire to build a better life for myself and give back to those who have supported me along the way.
As a constant reminder to keep moving forward, I look to a tattoo I got back in 2019. They are lyrics from Paramore’s Hate to See Your Heartbreak that read, “For all the things that you’re alive to feel, just let the pain remind you hearts can heal.” Reading my old blog posts for motivation and immersing myself in my craft helped me find my purpose again. There is an unmatched sense of pride in building something entirely on my own, and every piece I create is a testament to the fact that I didn’t just survive the hardships, I overcame them.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Building my social media presence has always come down to two things: showing up authentically and genuinely trying to connect with my community. It has been an amazing experience so far and I’m beyond grateful for all the people who support Trinket Traces to this day. Some of my followers have been with me since day one, and some are actually friends from my old blogging era who now support my jewelry venture. In my personal life, I love getting to know people—I will talk to anyone and everyone if I’m in the mood—and that naturally translates into how I run my business. Just being yourself and being relatable helps a lot more than trying to follow a strict corporate script. Prior to my hiatus, I would always show up on my stories and engage with my customers there, and since my relaunch, it has been a major goal of mine to get back to that level of daily connection. Lately, Threads has also been a great way to connect with new people and get my jewelry out there. I just love how everyone on that platform seems to have a genuine sense of community.
Speaking as a marketer, my biggest piece of advice for anyone just starting out is to be incredibly clear about who or what type of person you want wearing or using your products. Knowing your target audience is key. From there, just show up authentically. When you are genuine, you naturally attract the right people, loyal customers, and other business owners who are perfectly aligned with your values.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.trinkettraces.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trinkettracesjewelry/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trinkettraces/
- Other: Threads: @trinkettracesjewelry
