We recently connected with Katreina Aquino and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Katreina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

I think it’s perfectly acceptable to share your small business and encourage friends and family to check out what you’re selling as long as you’re not pressuring them to buy from you. Personally it’s such a turn off when a business is trying way too hard to get me to buy from them. I’ve had a few experiences with MLM businesses really pressuring me to buy their products even though I’ve made it clear I’m not interested. It makes me feel like they don’t actually care about their product or me, they just want my money and I’m not cool with that. People will let you know, whether it be with their words or their body language whether or not they’re interested in your products. If I sense the person is interested in my items then I’ll pursue the possible sale, ask questions or tell them more about my pieces. But if I can sense they’re not interested or at least not interested at the time then I’ll leave it at that. It’s important to me that my jewelry and accessories speak for themselves. If you connect with my handmade pieces, then great! Let’s talk more about it and let me help you find something you’ll love. But if my products are just not your style or vibe then I’m ok with that too.

Katreina , 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?

My name is Katreina and I make the handcrafted jewelry and accessories of Rozu Moon Handmade Boutique.

I am a former elementary school teacher with a love for sewing, jewelry making, and all things creative! I am also a proud AAPI maker and small business owner originally from the island of Oahu in Hawaii. I draw a lot of inspiration from where I grew up. My little family and I relocated to Kansas City, MO at the start of 2021 and though we miss our Hawaii, KC has truly become our home.

What inspired Rozu Moon?
ROZU came from letters I put together from me, my sons’, and my husband’s names (R from KatReina, O from NOah, Z from EZekiel, and U from JUstin). I was looking for a unique name that represented my values and vision. My family are my number one supporters and inspiration for all that I do so I wanted to include them in my brand. I also included the Moon in my brand name because it has always represented something beautiful, magical, and inspirational to me. And my goal is to reflect that in everything I create and offer in my handmade boutique.

Rozu Moon Handmade Boutique had been popping up at local maker markets and brick and mortars since fall 2022 in and near Kansas City.

We are a fairly new and growing small-business but I’m very passionate about what I do. I use quality materials and put a lot of thought and care into each piece I make and offer in Rozu Moon. If you’re interested in learning more about our small business and see where we’ll be popping up next follow us on our instagram @rozu.moon and visit our Etsy shop at https://rozumoon.etsy.com !

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Sewing and jewelry making started out as hobbies for me. I learned to hand sew and stitch when I was just a kid but didn’t purchase my own sewing machine until 2020, during the pandemic lockdowns. When I was a teenager I dreamed of a creative career in fashion. I loved refashioning and altering my old clothes, all through hand stitching. When clothing trends would change I would alter my clothes to fit new trends. I remember altering my flare pants into skinny jeans and all my baby doll blouses into bubbled cropped tops, all by hand sewing. But as I got older I was told that fashion and art was too competitive and that I needed to pursue a more realistic career. I went into college not really knowing what I wanted to do and eventually chose a career in education. I was an elementary teacher in Hawaii for 7 years and being a busy teacher and a new mom I never really had time for hobbies. Then when the pandemic hit and we were all put in lockdown with nothing to do I was inspired to try sewing again. I started with hand sewing masks for my family and my students. Then I looked into getting a sewing machine. My husband helped me find one online and after watching a few YouTube videos and practicing I learned how to sew on a sewing machine, which had actually been a dream of mine since I was a kid. At this time I was still teaching and sewing can really turn into an expensive hobby. So decided to open up an Etsy shop and sell my handmade masks. Business on Etsy was slow and when schools opened up again my side hustle took a back seat. Towards the end of the pandemic my husband was offered a job at Cerner but his placement was located in Kansas City, MO. We were unsure at first because we knew nothing about Missouri but it had always been our dream to live on the mainland and experience life away from Hawaii. So we took the job offer and moved to KCMO at the start of 2021. I had so many beautiful experiences in my career as a teacher but I never really felt like it was my dream job. So after giving birth to our second son during our first year in KC we decided I wouldn’t return to teaching. Instead I practiced my sewing skills and jewelry making skills while juggling life as a stay at home mom to 2 young kids. In 2022 I decided I wanted to reopen my handmade small business. But this time it wasn’t going to be just a side hustle. It was going to be my full time hustle and I wanted it to be successful. I did research on branding, marketing, and starting a small business. Around October that year I finally found the courage to relaunch my rebranded small business under the name Rozu Moon which I eventually modified to Rozu Moon Handmade Boutique. I started joining craft fairs and maker markets and slowly my small business began to grow. I became more comfortable networking and building relationships with other small business owners and creatives as well as organically growing my customer base. We’ve had a lot of growth as a young small business thus far and I’m excited to see where our business will be in the future.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I make majority of my products myself. For my jewelry I make I source quality beads, gemstones, chains, and other components and apply wire wrapping and bead work techniques to create necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. I make children and adult jewelry pieces. I like to use unique gemstones, pearls, colorful beads, glow in the dark beads, 14k gold chains, and sterling silver chains when making my pieces. My other items include hair accessories including scrunchies (mostly luxurious styles using velvet, silky satin, microfiber towel or knit fabric), knit heads for adults and kids, &hair claws (these are the only non-handmade item I sell). I also make and sell Scrunchie key wristlets, bags, reusable microfiber face wipes, and other goods. I make these items by sourcing quality fabrics, designing each item, measuring and cutting fabric, and sewing and assembling each piece myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rozumoon.etsy.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/rozu.moon?igshid=MTNiYzNiMzkwZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@RozuMoon?si=5n924NHdOfNmWqsM

Image Credits
All photos are my own.